This movie was quite anticipated in our household. So much so that we went on the opening weekend of the film. We've loved the books since Henry's parents gave them to him for his birthday many years ago. His parents were on sabatical in Oxford when they got them and actually read them before sending them to us. Our first book is called Northern Lights instead of The Golden Compass because it is the English version. Anyway, we love the books and were very much looking forward to their appearance on the big screen. They got the cast down perfectly. Everyone was just like they should have been and played their parts beautifully and I thought Lyra was well done, too (not always true with child actors). They got the cinematography and scenic/costume/lighting design down correctly, too. So, why was I disappointed with this movie?! Well, I'll tell you...
I felt like I couldn't catch my breath - and not for reasons of suspensefulness or excitement. It was because we were being rushed through the storyline at such a pace as to make a person feel dizzy. If you hadn't read the books you might think all the events that take place occur in just a couple of days instead of over a period of months. I'm sure that issue will continue to irritate me in future viewings of the film.
My other issue with the film was that they scored it with a juvenile soundtrack that undermined the seriousness of the plot and the scenes. It was distracting and I kept wishing I could over-dub it with something more like the Lord of the Rings movies (scaled back a bit, of course) or some other more mature and epic score. Irritating.
There are the usual compressions from novel to film, where many different events that happen to different people end up happening to one person in the film version of the story. Those I expect. I also expect the abbreviated exposition since we have the visual world to aid us in telling the story.
Overall, I say for people to go see it, but I do give the above noted disclaimers. I enjoyed it but apparently expected more than could be delivered. The same was true with the equally over-hyped DaVinci Code. Loved the book and I'm sure I'll watch the movie more than once but it isn't on my list of media to grab in case of a fire. That's what I get for expecting so much from a gajillion dollar budget!
Enjoy the preview below. It still gives me chills - if only the movie were as good...
