The Golden Compass
I went to watch The Golden Compass this afternoon - all on my own, as Dancer is on a work trip for a couple of days.
If you aren't familiar, The Golden Compass is based off the first book of Phillip Pullmans fantastic trilogy, "His Dark Materials".
I've been thinking about my reaction to the movie, initially I was quite happy with how they handled it, but after letting it sink in for the afternoon, I'm not so happy.
The story it is trying to tell is very, very fast paced. They cover huge amounts of geography, emotion, character building - somehow, the movie manages to lose that. It isn't until they meet the Ice Bears that you give a damn about Lyra, and her friend that she goes to great lengths to rescue is entirely forgettable.
The visual effects are stunning - but almost to the point of overwhelming the story. The balloon that Lee flies in is, in my mind from the books, of the style of a hot air balloon, but in the movies it becomes this flying ship kind of thing - the vehicles they use don't fit my interpretation of the world either.
So I think, after the movie is over and I've digested it, I'm a little dissapointed in the handling - apparantly the guy who directed American Pie was the director here, which is a very odd choice, but would explain a lot of the problem.
I hope they make enough money to finish up the trilogy - and I hope it improves - but so far, this isn't going to be the Harry Potter franchise replacement they thought it would - just like Eragon before it.
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