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The Catholic Church just can’t catch a break. Pedophile priests. The mega-selling "Da Vinci Code." The passing of Pope John Paul II. From points east via Hollywood now comes "The Golden Compass," a glum un-holiday fantasy that pits a little girl, witches, gypsies and a polar bear against an evil empire that’s a veiled stand-in for the Church.
The first part of British author Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Compass" has been christened the “anti-Narnia,” and for good reason. Pullman leads his heroes in a direction directly opposite to C.S. Lewis’ orthodox Christian notions of original sin, sacrifice and redemption. But director Chris Weitz’s worst sin has nothing to do with religion. This muddled "Compass" lost me soon after it started.
Somewhere in a parallel galaxy not so far away, people everywhere are accompanied by their “daemons.” Call them spirits, consciences or souls, these externalized creatures can be cute, foxy or frankly demonic. For the spunky Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), her constant companion is Pan (voiced by Freddy Highmore), who can morph into any number of little critters, depending on Lyra’s mood.
Character development goes south in Weitz’s rabid rush to sink his teeth into a villain. Feel free to hiss at the Magisterium, a council of sinister elders out to stamp out freethinkers and heretics. One of their evildoing schemes is to kidnap little kids and take them to the North Pole. No, they’re not using them as slave labor in Santa’s sweatshop. They want them to “grow up” and brutally wean them of their daemons.
The Magisterium’s tactics aren’t so unlike Weitz’s own, which force the young and inexperienced Richards to carry the drama on her shoulders. She sags under the load. Lyra’s superhuman quest is to get to the frozen North, rendezvous with her explorer uncle (Daniel Craig) and save the children. To help in her journey, she’s given an olden golden compass—sort of a pocket-sized, mechanical Ouija board—that mystically points to the truth.
Overloaded with digital sets and haphazard special effects, Compass is the type of movie that renders any conventional discussion of cinematography and décor virtually meaningless. The CGI creatures that cavort in Lyra’s world look and sound impressive, but—can we say this?—they have no soul. As Lyra’s treacherous mentor, Nicole Kidman is unmistakably flesh-and-blood, but she’s not much more than gilded window dressing.
If you were to take the lion from The Chronicles of Narnia and morph him into an angry polar bear, you’d probably be confronted by Lorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), one of the many allies that Lyra picks up on her journey. Despite all the Disneyfied talking animals on the prowl, you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think that this is a cuddly kiddie film. In a vicious preliminary bout, Weitz stages a smackdown between Lorek and a furry foe. That’s followed by the main event that has the kids and a squadron of witches battling an army of Cossacks.
Truth be told, "The Golden Compass" is a hollow, tin-plated mess.
The first part of British author Philip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "Compass" has been christened the “anti-Narnia,” and for good reason. Pullman leads his heroes in a direction directly opposite to C.S. Lewis’ orthodox Christian notions of original sin, sacrifice and redemption. But director Chris Weitz’s worst sin has nothing to do with religion. This muddled "Compass" lost me soon after it started.
Somewhere in a parallel galaxy not so far away, people everywhere are accompanied by their “daemons.” Call them spirits, consciences or souls, these externalized creatures can be cute, foxy or frankly demonic. For the spunky Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), her constant companion is Pan (voiced by Freddy Highmore), who can morph into any number of little critters, depending on Lyra’s mood.
Character development goes south in Weitz’s rabid rush to sink his teeth into a villain. Feel free to hiss at the Magisterium, a council of sinister elders out to stamp out freethinkers and heretics. One of their evildoing schemes is to kidnap little kids and take them to the North Pole. No, they’re not using them as slave labor in Santa’s sweatshop. They want them to “grow up” and brutally wean them of their daemons.
The Magisterium’s tactics aren’t so unlike Weitz’s own, which force the young and inexperienced Richards to carry the drama on her shoulders. She sags under the load. Lyra’s superhuman quest is to get to the frozen North, rendezvous with her explorer uncle (Daniel Craig) and save the children. To help in her journey, she’s given an olden golden compass—sort of a pocket-sized, mechanical Ouija board—that mystically points to the truth.
Overloaded with digital sets and haphazard special effects, Compass is the type of movie that renders any conventional discussion of cinematography and décor virtually meaningless. The CGI creatures that cavort in Lyra’s world look and sound impressive, but—can we say this?—they have no soul. As Lyra’s treacherous mentor, Nicole Kidman is unmistakably flesh-and-blood, but she’s not much more than gilded window dressing.
If you were to take the lion from The Chronicles of Narnia and morph him into an angry polar bear, you’d probably be confronted by Lorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), one of the many allies that Lyra picks up on her journey. Despite all the Disneyfied talking animals on the prowl, you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think that this is a cuddly kiddie film. In a vicious preliminary bout, Weitz stages a smackdown between Lorek and a furry foe. That’s followed by the main event that has the kids and a squadron of witches battling an army of Cossacks.
Truth be told, "The Golden Compass" is a hollow, tin-plated mess.
