Ever watch a movie in its entirety, but have no idea whatâs going on? Thatâs what watching âThe Golden Compassâ is like.
Based of the 1995 YA novel, “Northern Lights,” the film follows the story of the spirited young Lyra Belacqua. She lives in a world in which part of the human soul resides in an animal companion called a daemon. And a powerful church called the Magisterium rules the land.
Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) lives in the care of her uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). But she eventually gets whisked away up north by the elusive Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), who insists on taking Lyra as an assistant. Eventually while she is on this trip, Lyra learns Mrs. Coulter is involved in a sinister plan that involves kidnapping local children. Two of Lyraâs good friends were kidnapped as a part of this plan. Lyra escapes Mrs. Coulter and travels far and wide to stop this plan and bring her friends home.
This movie should have been good. It had all the makings of a good film â solid source material and a stellar cast. In addition to Richards (who delivers a strong debut performance), Craig and Kidman, Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellan, Ian McShane, Christopher Lee, Eva Green, and Sam Elliot can also be found in this expansive cast. But despite all these elements in its corner, âThe Golden Compassâ simply was not a good film.
So why didnât it work? There might be a few reasons, really. Right off the bat, the writing is clunky. âThe Golden Compassâ was intended to be part one of a trilogy, mirroring the trilogy of books. Introducing a trilogy takes a lot of world building. Especially when that world is filled with sci-fi elements, such as the daemon. But âThe Golden Compassâ doesnât really do much of that. The dialogue is long-winded and clunky.
Not to mention that the direction feels sloppy. âThe Golden Compassâ masquerades as an epic fantasy story. A movie like that should move confidently and at a smooth pace. Instead, it is meandering. The story wanders from moment-to-moment, feeling unsure of where to go. The movie did have a conclusion â albeit a loose one, as this was supposed to be a trilogy. But nothing about it feels satisfying in the slightest.
Audiences are getting a redo of Lyraâs story in HBOâs forthcoming âHis Dark Materials,â a mini series-version of the trilogy âThe Golden Compassâ was based on. Letâs hope the television show does not let us down like the movie did.
