All anyone talks about when
discussing The Golden Compass is the controversy regarding its
supposedly
anti-religion and anti-church message which will turn impressionable
children
into Satan worshipping demons or soulless Atheists according to the
opposition. How
come no one wants to
talk about how it is just an average movie?
Ill Tempered Talking Polar Bears are the only
elements of the film
saving it from obscurity and failure!
Dakota Blue Richards stars
as Lyra – a precocious, spirited orphan being raised at a
boarding school. While
her uncle, Asriel (Daniel Craig), is an
explorer who feels he has found a portal to other worlds, and the
existence of
a mysterious, and some think dangerous, substance referred to as dust,
Lyra is
quite special in her own way.
A devious and powerful lady,
Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), has taken a shine to this young lady, and
persuades the headmaster to allow Lyra to accompany her on a trip up
north. Along the
way, Lyra finds out she
is the only person left in this world who can read The Golden Compass
– a
compass that reveals all truths. She
also discovers Mrs. Coulter’s secret diabolical plot, and
must continue north
to save her friends from the clutches of this dastardly woman and her
horrific
plans.
Is Lyra the one mentioned in
the prophecies? Can
she save her friends?
Writer/director Chris Weitz
has a very difficult task in front of him.
First of all, The Golden Compass clearly feels like
it is the first in a
series of movies (the book was the first in a trilogy of novels), so
not
everything is solved for the viewer, or even explained all that well. Weitz wants to save some
of the biggest
revelations for potential movies #2 and #3, so he tries to keep many
elements
shrouded in mystery such as the origin and effect of dust, why it is
controversial, as well as the groundings and composition of the
Magisterium (Is
this supposed to be the
church? The government? A unified collection of powerful people? The Stone Cutters?). We get brief glimpses of
the Magisterium, Gyptians,
Witches, the ill tempered talking polar bears and more, but
don’t know much
about how they interact or their histories with each other. However, if it’s
possible, The Golden Compass
is vague and thrilling all at the same time.
While the movie wanders off
into goofy talk at times, much like me talking about The Force or the
Prime
Directive probably drove my parents crazy when I was a kid, Weitz
visually brings
to life the mystical world created by novelist Philip Pullman where
people have
a manifestation of their souls, called daemons, follow them and act as
their
companions throughout the film. As The Golden Compass evolves, we see some cool special effects, wildly
imaginative
vehicles used for travel, and big, epic battles, including brutal
paw-to-paw
combat when those ill tempered talking polar bears start throwing down! Believe me, these polar
bears would run the Coca Cola bears out of the North Pole and steal
their Cherry
Coke Zero in the process.
On top of the special effects,
we also get some top notch acting.
Kidman
is fantastic as the cold, creepy, devious woman with an agenda who
sends chills
through your soul with a calculated stare (much like Tom Cruise might
have
gotten back in the day). Ian
McKellen
and Ian McShane (they tempt me into changing my name to Ian McWaffle)
make the
talking polar bears into valiant warriors and imposing figures, when
they could
have been mockable or silly beyond belief in the hands and vocal chords
of
lesser actors. Plus,
I just love Sam
Elliot as Cowboy Lee Scoresby. Sure,
we
have seen him do this role over and over again, but he’s so
cool and perfect,
you don’t mind.
So, what about the
controversy? Is The Golden Compass some
evil movie that will poison the minds of the young ones against God and
religion? I think
the protests and
outrage are a bit premature. All
of the
talk about God and religion is much more prominent in the later books,
so I
have a feeling it will be more controversial in future movies. In The Golden Compass,
nothing seems to be an
obvious symbol or metaphor for the church, religion or anything of the
sort,
unless I’m just stupid and it all went flying over my head
while I was paying
attention to the brawling bears smackdown.
The Golden Compass is a very
violent movie, so be mindful of the PG-13 rating.
Remember, the PG in PG-13 stands for parental
guidance. It’s
useful to talk with your
kids about power, the corruption of power, and why you feel your church
and
your organized religion is not abusing power, but helping people. That will have more
influence than a couple
hours in a movie theater.
2
Waffles (Out of 4)
The
Golden Compass is
rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence.
Copyright
2007 - WaffleMovies.com
