In the Europe of an alternate universe, the governing body is the Magisterium, a quasi-religious organization that rules with absolute power. Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), who has returned from an expedition to the North, has discovered the existence of a form of matter that threatens to upset Magisterium doctrine.

Receiving funding for further research, Asriel again departs, leaving behind his young niece, Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards). Lyra later begins her own journey north, travelling with Marisa Coulter, a high-ranking Magisterium official. Lyra soon discovers that Coulter is behind the recent disappearances of several young children, including two of Lyra’s friends.

Lyra escapes and continues the journey with a band of river-faring Gyptians. Using her alethiometer--a compass-like device that reveals the truth to the select few who can operate it--Lyra sets out to find and rescue her friends.

CRITIQUE

A swarm of controversy met The Golden Compass upon its arrival in theaters, but this movie will likely be remembered more for its role in the collapse of New Line as an autonomous entity than those protests. Production and marketing costs edged past the $200 million mark, but the movie only managed to scrape up a little more than $70 million in ticket sales.

It nearly tripled that amount in overseas markets, but New Line sold the lion’s share of those rights in order to raise the original financing, so how much of that money the studio will actually see is unclear. The Catholic League, which spearheaded the campaign against the movie, has taken credit for the disappointing box office, but I don’t think their efforts had any real impact.

The trilogy of Philip Pullman-penned books that inspired the movie (this one is based on the first entry, Northern Lights) don’t have the name recognition of the Lord of the Rings (not-so-subtly evoked here by the presence of Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee) or Harry Potter adaptations, and I think many of the more ardent fans of Pullman’s works are actually adults, who have taken to the plot’s ambitious themes (The novels were inspired by Paradise Lost, and the villains are members of a thinly-veiled Catholic Church, although Pullman’s story is far more an attack on the abuse of power--especially unchecked power--than it is an attack on organized religion.)

It’s the meat of the plot, not the skeletal frame, that has drawn people to the books, and I think many fans were turned off when it became clear that the studio and writer-director Chris Weitz (who co-wrote American Pie and co-directed About a Boy with his brother Paul) intended to downplay the religious allegory. And kids probably took one look at the trailers and realized the movie was likely to be nothing special (I know I sure did). This movie didn’t underperform because of a group of narrow-minded individuals who shout just to hear the sound of their own voices, but rather because most people simply didn’t care.       

Weitz’s screenplay severely compresses the events of Pullman’s book, resulting in a story that is choppy and confusing. (It’s somewhat akin to David Lynch’s version of Dune, only not as laughable or bewildering.) The material cried for a movie that runs at least 140 or 150 minutes, but this one (even with the lengthy end credits) doesn’t even hit the two-hour mark. There’s no time to develop the characters, or go into depth with regards to the crisis the heroes face.

There’s also almost no world-building, which is something practically every work of speculative fiction needs; the audience is introduced to a world in which human souls take the form of animal companions called dæmons, bears talk and wear armor, witches appear out of nowhere, and travel between parallel universes is possible, yet nothing is really divulged about the nature of any of this. I went in expecting the movie to be episodic, which is certainly the case, but I was nonetheless hoping it would far more fleshed-out than it is.

In the end it’s just another fantastical tale of a plucky hero/heroine out to save the world, with virtually nothing to distinguish it from so many similar tales. (Weitz has confirmed the existence of a longer cut, which I’m sure we’ll see on DVD at some point. New Line lost too much cash on this not to milk it for all they can.)

Of all the changes Weitz made from the text, one is doubly puzzling. No, it’s not the softening of the religious angle or the complete excising of one late sequence--it’s the chronological shuffling of the bear fight. In the novel this comes after Lyra’s trip to the Magisterium research facility, which makes far more sense. The movie, on the other hand, sets up the notion that Lyra has a huge army of warrior bears at her disposal, yet doesn’t employ them in her battle against their common enemy. (Imagine the Allies developing the stealth bomber in 1943 and deciding not to use it against Germany and you’ll get the picture.)

I think this altered chain of events will make even less sense in the second movie (if it even gets made), as Lyra will have travelled to one destination, suddenly travelled a great distance to another, and then returned to the original spot to finish something she should have taken care of in the first place. Weitz argued this was done in order to cap the movie on a high, satisfying note, but his logic is flawed all around.

For reasons that remain unclear, this movie won an Oscar for its visual effects. Given that it was released in a year that also gave us Transformers and the third entries in the Spider-Man and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, it shouldn’t have even been nominated. I think everyone assumed Transformers had a lock on the award, and I’ll admit to uttering several expletives when the winner was announced. I don’t know, maybe the effects in Michael Bay’s blockbuster were so good they made voters think they actually were seeing giant robots, or maybe the fact that the titles of both movies begin with same letter was confusing.

I’d like to think it was something along those lines, as I can’t believe anyone could look at the shoddy effects work here and consider it a better effort than the stellar, seamless work of ILM in that movie. At best the effects in The Golden Compass are merely okay, and at worst they’re downright awful. The cityscapes and airships are fairly accomplished, but the dæmons and bears look horrible, like something you’d encounter in a cute-rate television production. I guess $200 million doesn’t buy what it used to.

THE VIDEO

The 2.35:1/1080p transfer isn’t the knockout many people were expecting. Like so many other CG-heavy movies, The Golden Compass appears to have been subjected to extensive digital tweaking, which smoothes out the disparity between the live action and computer-generated elements, but at the cost of too often flattening the image and robbing it of depth and detail. Colors are expertly rendered (the opening act, bathed in sunlight and golden hues, comes off very well), and black levels are strong throughout. The post-processing manipulation removed much of the natural film grain, but the image never looks overly digital.

THE AUDIO

The DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 7.1 track (in English only) provides all of the sonic fireworks you’d expect from this sort of fare, but at times it’s a bit too much. Dialogue generally sounds fine, but it’s often obscured by the effects and music in the action scenes. Surround usage is plentiful and expertly mixed during the action sequences, and the low end makes its presence known (and felt) throughout. And if you’re looking for demo material, look no further than the bear fight and climax. No other audio tracks are included; English SDH and Spanish subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The only extras on Disc One of this two-disc set are the following commentaries:

The commentary by Chris Weitz is more interesting than I was expecting. Weitz concisely covers practically every aspect of the production, although he glosses over much of the behind-the-scenes friction (which included having some of the bigger names in the cast foisted upon him by the studio).

The Enhanced Video Commentary is a repeat of the above commentary, although this time Picture-in-Picture material--most of it behind-the-scenes footage--accompanies Weitz’s talk.

Disc Two:

The following featurettes are presented in high-def, and make up the bulk of the second disc.

The Novel (20 minutes) is an interview with/biographical piece on author Philip Pullman, who discusses the inspiration for the trilogy but only fleetingly touches on its themes.

The Adaptation (16 minutes) is an interview with Weitz, who talks about the challenges of bringing the book to the screen.

Oxford (8 minutes) covers the location work for the movie’s opening Oxford College sequence.

Finding Lyra Belacqua (15 minutes) looks at the extensive auditions conducted to find the movie’s young heroine. (They definitely made the right choice; Richards’s performance is easily the strongest part of the movie.)

Costumes (12 minutes) covers the work of costume designer Ruth Myers and her team.

Music (12 minutes) is an interview with score composer Alexander Desplat and music producer Paul Broucek.

Production Design (26 minutes) covers the work of production designer Dennis Gassner and crew, providing a look at the design and creation of the props, weapons, vehicles, etc.

The Launch (8 minutes) looks at the movie’s premiere, release, and promotion.

Armoured Bears (18 minutes) breaks down the creation of the third-act bear fight. The process is shown from pre-visualization on through the final CG work and the recording of the characters’ voices. 

The Alethiometer (15 minutes) looks at the design and fabrication of the title object.

Dæmons (20 minutes) covers the creation of the characters’ soul companions, from initial concept on through CG, animatronics and voice work.

Also included are still galleries that include production photos, concept art, and promotional materials.

Closing out the extras are three theatrical trailers.

FINAL THOUGHTS