It’s been a long time coming, but today BridgeToTheStars.net was amongst the world’s press to view the finished article – The Golden Compass, in its entirety. Many years and hundreds of millions of dollars in the making, click here to see what we have to think about the film you’re either eagerly looking forward to, or dreading.
The review mostly avoids glaring spoilers, but again, if you want to go into the film more fresh (and it’s not long to wait), consider not reading it. If you have any additional questions about the film (and of course don’t mind being spoiled), ask away here and I’ll get back to them.
Now, I’m sad. Though you mentioned many great things, your overall conclusion seems to be that the movie is missing the book’s spirit. Is it too confusing for the audience that haven’t read the books?
so it seems it satisfies not-super-high and very skeptical expectations. i’m glad for good execution of scenes and performances though. i’ll be interested in reviews from those who haven’t read the books though, to see how it holds up as a film independently.
Well, I don’t know what to think. For ones I’m really exited for some quotes and for another I’m disappointed.
Can you tell us if there is a scene with Coulter with the childs that she gives chocolate and throw the letters?
Thanks!
Also another question, do you think that if they have kept the ending this film would have been really great??
scenes of lyra crossing the bridge to roger’s death were pretty awesome in the original trailers.
melliu – There’s a scene where the children in Bolvangar are writing letters to their parents, but strangely, we don’t get the pay-off scene afterwards (which seemed to be where it was going) where the letters are burned. Presumably that scene was later cut out.
Haha, melliu; you’re always obsessed with that scene!! π
Also, I would imagine that the film might not necessarily have been better had they kept the end in, but at least it would have meant not having had to mess the rest of the story around for it to make sense. I was told that changes were made to other aspects in order for the ending to make sense.
It’s just such a shame that this is simply average when it could have been great. Let’s just hope it earns enough back to make the sequels, which they can do with more care and love (and trust in Weitz).
Will, I’m obviously speculating, as I haven’t seen it.
Did you get the impression that the film had a hint of studio meddling?
Jamie – I didn’t detect as much as I thought I would. What I very much like about the film is that there’s no patronising (to children) in it or out of place ‘popular’ inclusions. The main meddling we already know about – the inclusion of McKellen, the chopping of the last three chapters.
I suspect Weitz may have been told to keep the film under 2 hours, however. I know he’s said he personally feels that’s about the right length, but I can’t see why unless for commercial pressures.
Do you feel it will be a commercial success?
Did you like the Lyra sound better in the movie, btw?
advo – I’m still not really sure about its commercial prospects. I felt a lot of concepts and characters were introduced very very quickly – someone not familiar with the book may struggle. The film seems very accessible though – it’s genuinely good natured and the tight dialogue can be enjoyed by all.
What I most fear is that audiences will enjoy it, then walk out of the theatre and largely forget about it. I’m not sure there’s much of a draw to come back for more – the ending is just so lacksadasical.
edit: Lyra sound?
I mean song, of course
I don’t really have any feelings about the Kate Bush song. It’s just so.. bland. It never takes off.
-What about the bear fight? Honestly it seemed a bit ridiculous to me in the clips. :/
-A thing that does baffle me… do you think New Line meddled just as much in the production of LOTR? Was its success because it had a better director?
I seriously hope we get an extended version like Weitz suggested, but then what’s the use when audiences are already unimpressed..
Thank you Will for sharing your thoughts on the film with us!
So the film is sufficiently enjoyable but nothing exceptional. That was about what I was expecting. As long as it’s not a disaster like Eragon, I’m content.
I did like the bear fight. The bears are perhaps portrayed a bit more nimble than most people imagined, but you’ll really like the end of the fight.. trust me.
Iorek’s really a menance throughout the film; he doesn’t even bother to hit people most of the time.
am i allowed to swear? because if im not, im just gonna say im swearing my heart out here at home reading this.
they’ve messed it up.
they’ve removed the religion, ignored Dust, and RUSHED it.i know since its a movie they have to, but i have to say, i hate this.
i was so looking forward to the movie a year ago, but as time progressed, i became more and more dissapointed.
im still unsure about Dakota but i think im liking her a little better. hmm…i think thats all i have to say…i’ll still go see the movie since this was my favourite book. i bet i sounded like a total anti-positive person but im pretty pissed-off right now.
Exactly how long is the run time on the movie? I was actually quite shocked when I read that it was LESS than two hours long! No wonder it was rushed…
My main question, though, is did they do a good job in getting across the idea of just how sacred and deep the relationship between human and dΓΖΓβΓβΓΒ¦mon actually goes? Like as in, the taboo of someone else touching your dΓΖΓβΓβΓΒ¦mon? Do you think people who didn’t read the book really felt that intense fear during the scene where Pan and Lyra are going to be severed? (I’m assuming that they left that scene in the movie that is)
Thanks, and thank you for the review as well!
Am I reading the same review as the rest of you guys? π I think Will had a rather positive impression, which surprised me, as well as him, apparently.
The few negative points that he brings up are the ones that we always (always meaning like two weeks) knew would be coming: The Magisterium is sanitized and the original ending has been cut.
The choppy editing is the only major disappointment, in terms of being unexpected, and it is a sad disappointment. It seems that if the movie had better narrative flow, it could have done justice to the many very good good individual scenes.
Chevalier – Yahoo list it as 1hr 54mins long, which seems about right to me (I didn’t time it).
The human-daemon relationship is given plenty of time on screen. “show, don’t tell” is a maxim for all stories and the film manages to remember this. The information about daemons – how they feel what their human does (and vice versa), shouldn’t be touched by anyone else, etc – is delivered throughout the film without clumsy exposition.
so this man that is the last minute meddler… do you think he could have the last 3 scenes put back on? I mean I’m sure the film has not been shipped out yet to theaters… but if there is as much dissatisfaction among the press could it be added back in because I’m sure it’s finished…
It sounds like if they ever make that directors cut dvd Weitz briefly mentioned then scenes can be added back in and prehaps make the story a bit less frantic perhaps…
Great review though! Thanks Will π
Here’s a question:
Is there anything after the credits to look out for? i.e, brief trailer for The Subtle Knife?
And what abaout Christopher Lee?? And the cocktail party?
i know that this will not sound ,as I intend it.But Will,I ‘ve got one question for you,just this one.Is there blood in the film?I am not a violence lover,on the contrary,I detest it.However the existence of blood in a film,hints how the studio wanted the film to be perceived and the kind of audience it was aimed for.In the Chronicles of Narnia to show blood was forbidden,in order to aquire a PG rating.Here we have a PG13 rating…because of the violence of the bear fight?or because of the guns and the controversial themes?(which were not there I presume.)
Great job on the review by the way.It is quite thourough!!I am now looking forward to the Rotten-Tomatoes reviews…
As pulman said,the book is still there guys,on your shelf!
herpo – Don’t worry, it’s not a strange question. There’s no blood in the film at all, but it’s not really necessary. The only time it seems a little odd is after the bear fight, when Iorek really should have some on him. I should think the (fairly) high rating comes from the way you see arrows thudding in to people and clear deaths on scene – with their daemons evaporating.
Jamie – I stayed quite a while during the credits, but they go on forever these days! Didn’t quite make it to the end.
melliu – Christopher Lee’s part is very small. All the shots of him are of him along – it’s quite obvious he was added in late, if you know to look out for evidence of it. He’s good as ever of course (and has a spooky owl daemon), but there’s not much point him being in the film. I guess he’ll be returning in the sequels with more to do.
So, there is no blood in the bear fight?? How strange right?? When Iorek trows the jaw, there’s no blood at all??
Thanks for all Will!!
Also, sorry if I ask too much, what was the overall reaction from the people from the cinema, and how was the Bolvangar scenes, when is the first time we see Coulter in that scenes??
Thanks!! Sorry for all those questions!!
Seems a fair review, CW has already talked about the possibility of creating an extended directors cut (LotR style). Which by the sounds of things would probably fix a lot of the issues. Just a matter of getting New Line to cough up! lol. you think that would get things smoother Will?
Oh! Is kaisa in the movie?
Hey Will. Just a few fast questions. I was wondering how you felt of the gyptian presince and if they were handeld good, exspicaly Ma Costa? Also was the scene with Lyra on the London docks being chased by the men with nets kept in? could you also talk more about the visual style, like the camera work on the film? Thanks, seems like it’s going to be a fine movie.
melliu – Nope, no blood at all. I will clarify.. Iorek punches Ragnar’s jaw clean off. It’s not shyed away from, so your obvious blood-thirsty tendacies will be sated.
I couldn’t really judge the audience reaction too much, but people did chuckle at the right points. It’s worth saying it again: the film’s humour is a very strong point. Ragnar’s jaw moment got the gasp it deserved too.
Kaisa isn’t in the film, no. He’s mentioned – Serafina explains how witches’ daemons can travel far away from them – but never seen. His main scene, where he helps Lyra free the severed daemons from Bolvangar, isn’t in the film.
I liked the Gyptians. I was worried they’d feel a bit of a joke – the National Theatre’s portrayal of them was awful; they shouldn’t be made into comedy pirates. Lord Faa is a menacing sort of chap on screen. Ma Costa is good, but talking about her draws me onto that larger point about the film again – everything seems too rushed. Ma Costa’s attachment to Lyra comes too quickly.
I fear for those who haven’t the read the books, characters’ devotion to Lyra will seem too swift and for no real reason.
The net scene is indeed included.
I’ll get back to camera work later; will need more throught..
Hey, and what about the cocktail party? If they don’t have it, it will be hard to introduce Lord Boreal on the second film, even though maybe there’s a chance that they cut him!? )=O
The cocktail party is gone; there’s a similar sort of scene where Mrs Coulter takes Lyra to a restaurant, but it’s very short.
What do you think of Bolvangar, it’s one of my favourites parts of the book. How is the first appearance of Mr. Coulter in the Bolvanger part??
Also, does we see Coulter with more new costumes that we haven’t seen, that she appear with that fur great coat of the ending?
Where there any flashbacks to Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter? Was Daniel Craig only in the scenes in the beginning and in the added scenes?
*Were
So is it as good as the harry potters, which are far better than eragon but not as good as LotR? Does the switching of the bear fight and the bolvanger scenes work? Is it clear that sequels are coming? THanks
Do you think this has the personality to begin a franshise?
Also, like advo said, is ther any scene between Asriel and Coulter?
When Lyra helps the kids escape from Bolvangar, does she set fire to the kitchens and make the whole building come down like in the books? That was a cool scene. And does she escape from Mrs. Coulter by having the spy fly hit the golden monkey in the face? Again, cool scene.
Sorry if it’s a silly question, but do we see Coulter in the snow? And in the end credits, is the Kate Bush song playing at the begining or does Desplat sound a little bit in the end credits, this is for the “epilogue” title of the soundtrack.
And what is the London scenes in the movie, I have read in a spanish magazine that London have the pesonality of another caracther on the film.
Well, we’ll always have the books. If this thing flops commercially, hopefully someone will have the foresight to by the rights off New Line Cinema and make honour to the 2 remaining chapters. By the way as of Nov 25th., ‘His Dark Materials’ is in the Top 20 of the Amazon.com Bestsellers list…
melliu, you’re full of questions! I’ll do these in a couple of goes.
advo – There are flashbacks, flashforwards, even flash-sideways, when Lyra uses the alethiometer. We don’t however, to my recollection, get to see any of NK and DC together, even during those sequences.
Towards the end of the film, Mrs Coulter talks about Lord Asriel’s imprisonment in the North and we see him living (and experimenting) in the rather luxurious prison he made for himself. And Craig shaves off his beard!
Silvertongue – Instead of the flour/explosion thing, Lyra goes into the main experimental room and turns on every switch she can find, before chucking an instrument into the silver guillotine and exploding everything.
The scene with Mrs Coulter and the spyfly is still there. It’s very well done – a classic piece of dramatic irony.
Thanks! I will wait! π
Hi Will,
Thank you so much for the detailed review… As your words have confirmed, some of my fears for the movie will unfortunately be met. But I guess nothing is ever perfect. I was hoping the sequencing in the movie would make more coherent sense. I still wish New Line wouldn’t have interfered with the truncation of the last three chapters. It really would’ve called for a more grandeur and suspenseful ending.
It seems as though you’ve been interrogated thoroughly about the film after this review hahaha. I’m sorry to add yet another question to your collection. May I inquire what you thought about the script in general? I guess I still don’t have a lot of faith in a screenwriter who is best known for scripting American Pie…
The script, as I mentioned in the review, is very good. The dialogue is wonderful – you can’t tell the difference between Weitz’s own parts and Pullman’s originals, which is testament to great work.
Sounds like the film could’ve used an extra half-hour and the last 3 chapters. Makes no sense to have the movie less than 150 minutes. The first in a trilogy always needs extra time to establish the “world ” the movie takes place in, whereas the second and third are just continuing a plot already in motion. Moving the last 3 chapters to the next film makes even less sense when you consider it’s going to be time taken away from scenes that could’ve been used solely for what happens in the second book.