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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2007-12-08

Re: The Golden Compass 

A few nights back I advised everyone not to go see "The Golden Compass" in its first few weeks of release. It cost $150 million to make, and the book it is based on is rather explicitly anti-religious, having been written by an avowed atheist,

Turns out, there's a better reason not to go see it: it, apparently, stinks.

From the Rocky:

This adaptation of the first novel in British writer Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy has some fanciful moments but never achieves the sense of awe-inspiring wonder of the Lord of the Rings films, to which comparisons will be inevitable.

It's also probably too scary for a lot of kids, with its themes of totalitarianism and mind control; adults, meanwhile, may find it hard to take seriously, despite how seriously it takes itself. . . .

But the whole thing is a bit of a drag,


And from the Post:

Known for his deft handling of the very different romantic comedies "American Pie" and "About a Boy," writer-director Chris Weitz has run into some trouble with the saga's rhythms. His "Golden Compass" feels like a truncated epic — or a detailed trailer.

In the age of overly long movies, it may be hard to count this as a flaw. Yet, Lyra's journey to the North to save friend Roger and other children from sinister experiments is too brisk.
It's a Cliffs Notes rush to a wintery showdown. . . .

"The Golden Compass" is a sourpuss "Da Vinci Code" for movie-going youngsters.

So, now you know what the critics (who you might suspect of being sympathetic to the film's underlying bias) think about this one--wait for the video.

It would be good for Hollywood to get the message about this; a successful opening means its more and more likely that the other two books in the trilogy get made in to books. But if the first two weekends are disappointing, maybe Hollywood will pull the plug on the other books.

And then we can all sit back and comfortably await the theatrical arrival of "Prince Caspian."
Posted by: Michael / 12/08/2007 02:41:00 AM

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