Synopsis:

In a parallel universe, a young girl named Lyra begins a dimension-crossing odyssey that never ascends past a typical children's adventure.  The Golden Compass makes its way to DVD and Blu Ray and is amid an atheistic conspiracy to build hatred toward Christianity and ultimately convince children to eliminate God...or so some people might have you believe.  When The Golden Compass came out in theaters, members of the Catholic Church boycotted it and members of Christian groups worldwide evoked mass hysteria on mainstream media's constant assault on the Church of God.

The Freak's Rating: C : It always fascinates me when people explode at a threat to their religion.  It amuses me that their overreaction to the possible war waged on their faith more often than not causes light to shine upon the subject they fear, far more light than would have shone if they just would have remained silent.  The Golden Compass is the first of a series of books by Phillip Pullman, an atheist who admittedly included multiple references in his stories putting the Catholic Church as an enemy of mankind.  I am a Christian and am offended at the implication that Christianity is evil, but I do agree with him on some of his views on the Catholic Church having its hand deeply into our way of life, sometimes on an uncomfortable level (at least for me).  I don't believe they are evil though; pushing that philosophy isn't something I'd support.  However, I don't believe this is the movie that accomplishes the author's "assault".

New Line cinema wanted to take a children's story with possible sequels (think a family version of Lord Of The Rings) and spin it into a movie franchise.  Though I don't believe they picked the right director to accomplish their vision, I think they did a decent job.  The problem here is that you know things are toned down right from the get go.  The Golden Compass is inconsistent with its shots of people's demons (their souls which are alongside them in animal counterparts) and there are spots in the story that are flat out confusing.  I found out later during the director commentary that huge chunks of the film were cut after the religious hysteria hit.  The evil characters in the film seem very two dimensional and the good guys really don't give you much to cheer for either.

Kids will NEVER understand this has anything to do with religion, as it runs just like every other fairy tale film they have seen.  There is more worry for parents here with the violence and darkness.  The film could be scary for kids and it also includes the most violent right hook ever filmed in a family movie (watch for it :)  ).  Acting is adequate, but nothing special.  Special effects are sprinkled evenly throughout the film.  The biggest disappointment is the script, which is obviously toned down because of its underlying themes that studio heads thought would offend some.  So don't skip The Golden Compass because of its religious undertones, skip it because it isn't very good.

Sebastian's Rating: C : meh the book was better

Brian's Rating: C+ : I am partial to movies in a fantasy setting.  It is a genre that I love, particularly in books, and I always support it coming to the screen.  Having said that, I am getting spoiled.  Where movies like Willow, Never Ending Story, and Labyrinth were all I had I was pretty much forced to lower my expectations of standards to support the genre.  Now, in the advent of LOTR, Pan's Labyrinth, and the Narnia movies it is hard to give props to a movie like the Golden Compass although it would have otherwise shined in comparison had it been released 10 years ago.  The story is imaginative and creative.  I just wish it had been done better at creating a movie from a story that has potential to be captivating.  They missed it.

I have not read the book, although it sounds interesting.  Even so, you can watch this movie without even knowing there was a book and quickly realize that it must be based on a book and is doing a poor adaptation of it.  The story did not flow well, it was hard to grow attached to any of the characters.  Oddly, Nicole Kidman is the only character that I really understood, and she was a bad guy.

In the last 5 years, the standards for combining live action with computer generated graphics have increased greatly.  The bar has been raised, and this movie did not make it over the bar.  Many scenes were downright distracting when there were live shots combined with the CGI.  An example is the Cave Troll scene in Fellowship of the Ring.  Poorly done, but forgiven due to the release time.  The bar is higher now.  moviegoers expect better.

Finally, I will give my two cents on the religion thing.  I am a Christian, and I am not offended by a movie or book like this.  Sure, I think an atheistic viewpoint is dead wrong, but I have never understood why people want to blur together a political or religious message from real live with obvious fiction.  Particularly in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres, the line between a the story, and reality is clear.  Let a story be a story, and nothing more.  If it is imaginative and captivating, then it is entertaining.  Leave the philosophy to novels like Moby Dick.  Having said all that, I agree with Scott, you have to look pretty hard to see the religious undertones in the plot.

Again, to echo Scott.  The reason to not see this movie is simply that it was not very entertaining.  There are many more fantasy setting movies I would recommend before this one.

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