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Premiere of The Golden Compass!
By Ryan Parsons | Image property of New Line Cinema.
The Golden Compass
Golden Compass UK'd and Reviewed
Two of the first reviews have rolled in for The Golden Compass. New Line helped us find them, so they are obviously positive. Expect a few more early reviews before the film hits theaters.
Fox News
The Golden Compass" is here. After being treated to tantalizing bits and pieces, I’ve seen the whole movie, a sumptuous two-hour adventure that has as much to do with being anti-Christian or Catholic as "Flipper." So much for that.
No, "The Golden Compass" is not "The Lord of the Rings." It can’t be. For one, it has a female protagonist, Lyra, 11, played by Dakota Blue Richards, who nevertheless is serious enough to carry the day when she has to and then get out of the way for big explosions and fight scenes when the boys and men arrive.
But still: The first part of a trilogy based on Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" series is a visual knockout, extremely captivating and a sci-fi feast for everyone 12 and up.
Guardian Unlimited
If Darth Vader wore a blond wig, a slinky dress and a dab of Chanel behind each ear, he could hardly be as evil as Nicole Kidman, playing the gorgeous villainess Mrs Coulter in this spectacular new movie version of Northern Lights, the opening episode of Philip Pullman's fantasy series His Dark Materials.
You're just plunged straight into the action and have to get used to this bewildering, exotic new universe as best you can. The effect is interesting and alienating, though the tiniest bit more absurd than I think Philip Pullman would have intended. It's not hard to see which buttons this movie is hitting: Narnia, Hobbits, Hogwarts, Star Wars. Christopher Lee has a small part - and I very much hope he is given more to do in succeeding episodes.
The crowded imaginary universe of The Golden Compass takes some getting used to, and in some ways, as a non-follower of the Pullman books, I have still to be entirely sold on it. But it certainly looks wonderful, with epic dash and a terrific central performance from Nicole Kidman, who may come to dominate our children's nightmares the way Robert Helpmann's Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang once did ours. It has no other challengers as this year's big Christmas movie.
The Golden Compass opens to theaters on December 7th.
For the trailer, movie stills, full synopsis, set visit, and addition info, go to The Golden Compass
Movie Page.
Ryan Parsons
Sources: Image property of New Line Cinema.
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