"The Golden Compass" is New Line Cinema's bid to create a new fantasy trilogy based on a series of books, a la "The Lord of the Rings" or corporate sibling Warner Brothers' "Harry Potter" franchise. While technically brilliant and a wonder to behold, the film version of the Philip Pullman novel is as cold emotionally as its snow-covered locations are environmentally.
A particle--known simply as dust--has the power to unite entire worlds and, indeed, the universe. When a young girl, Lyra Belacqua (newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), overhears talks about dust from inside a closet, her inquisitiveness is piqued. Lucky for her, an apparent benefactor in the form of Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) wants Lyra to accompany her to the great North, the only known source of dust. But before they leave, she finds other children are turning up missing. In a bid to find out where they are, Lyra enlists a cadre of allies--Gyptians, an ice bear and other rogues--to free her friends.
The titular "The Golden Compass" is a MacGuffin in this story, an object which has real no purpose other than to propel the events on screen. It doesn't matter--in this film, anyway--that the compass can answer any question posed to it by turning a set of hands. Nor does it matter that the symbols on the compass could refer to any number of questions, let alone the specific one being asked of it. And never mind that the ending of the story never comes. The film, quite simply, stops.
In essence, what has been committed to film at an estimated cost of $180 million is the setup for further adventures. Much like "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Golden Compass" assembles the pieces, gives the audience a few action set pieces, but never commits to any emotional arc. The characters have their own introduction scene, there are giant armies and computer-generated battles, ominous foreshadowing for the follow-up films, but nothing that brings the story to a close. I was half expecting to see "To Be Continued" pop on the screen as a flying vehicle fades into the distance.
And that's the greatest curse of the film: It doesn't amount to anything on its own. There is no sense of loss, no emotion similar to other successful fantasy epics. "Star Wars" kept Darth Vader alive to menace Luke Skywalker in potential sequels, yet the self-contained story was resolved. The main story about rescuing Princess Leia and destroying the Death Star was complete. Here, the main villain (Coulter) is simply whisked away offscreen while another (Lord Asriel, portrayed by Daniel Craig) is left dangling in supposed danger.
All of which takes the proverbial air out of the finale. There has to be closure for the audience on both an emotional and storytelling level. It not only garners goodwill toward the film as a whole, it also allows us to feel as though the last two hours were not wasted. What is the payoff? Why did we just watch seemingly pointless diversions to the ice-bear kingdom and a scuffle between the animals? I understand this is an epic and the entire narrative couldn't be told in one film; without that ending to rope the audience into the next chapter, the adventure feels all for naught. It's like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book that is missing the final page. Give us a good reason to want to see more of this universe.
There's a moment of supposed revelation at the end of the film, one that tries to rope in our emotions and create a bigger conflict than there already is. It's a hopelessly manipulative ploy, one that doesn't deserve to be there. A cynic would think there was an ulterior motive; but since the film is based on a novel, the script has to be cut some slack in this regard.
The rest of the film? Decent enough escapist fare, which doesn't justify the bile lobbed at it by certain religious groups. The complaint, as I understand it, is the story teaches children to rebel against authority, to question the world around them, and to fight a group called "Gobblers" (or Gobs for short). Really, the accusations against "The Golden Compass" are pathetic, much like the controversy over "Harry Potter" introducing children to witchcraft. Sometimes, a movie is just a movie.
Enough cannot be said about the special effects in "The Golden Compass." As with all its cinematic siblings, computers created this world in a way unheard of even ten years ago. It's a rich and detailed world combining the best elements of Middle Earth, Coruscant (from the "Star Wars" saga), and Victorian England. With blimps running on some unknown power source and carriages on the street without the aid of horses or fossil fuels, everything we're exposed to on screen has been painstakingly designed and rendered. From the exquisite vehicles and technology to the snow-covered finale, there's nary a hair out of place. While the ice bears don't look entirely real--there is still a disconnect between reality and what a computer can create--they are the only "average" aspect of the visuals.
I've spent a lot of time talking about the ending of the film and very little about the rest of the film. That's because it is merely a prologue to the story proper. Some conspiracy with a government scared its citizens will begin to think for themselves is the general outline for the rest of the plot; it's rather by the numbers and obvious, asking the audience to project our own feelings onto the common people when, in reality, the script doesn't take us there.
I fear we won't see the next chapter of the series on the big screen anytime soon. "The Golden Compass" never imparts the sense of epic storytelling it needs to for us to care or come back for further adventures. The story itself is content to meander along and end on a cliffhanger, hoping the big names (Kidman, Craig, Eva Green, Ian McShane, Ian McKellan, Sam Elliott, Christopher Lee, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kathy Bates) and the special effects bring us back. There's simply no way New Line can justify the price tag, given the quality of the product on screen. Is "The Golden Compass" family friendly? Absolutely. But with religious groups attacking it, how many families are going to find their way to the theater?
"The Golden Compass" is an oddly cold, emotionless film. Even when the ice bear Iroek is tied up in the final battle, seemingly at the end of his journey, we're struck with the feeling of "who cares' as opposed to real dread. Remember how we all felt when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Gandalf were fighting for life? That's how we should have felt here. But we don't. The film itself is too busy introducing characters, wowing the audience with special effects, and setting up the universe. It should have concerned itself more with emotion and better storytelling. This film, on its own, is disappointing but not a "bad" film.