Current mood:

angry

Hollywood Destroys "The Golden Compass"
I saw The Golden Compass last night.

I have read the book.... my daughter and wife have not. They both liked it. I was appalled.

It is easily the most horrific bastardization of a Book since any film based on Stephen King. They utterly destroyed it. Here are just a few spoiler-free ways in which they ruined the film.

01 - As is to be expected, large portions of the book are absent. This in itself isn't so bad, but...

02 - Portions that remain are either drastically altered or are reordered out of sequence for no apparent reason.

03 - Some characters names are changed, and in some cases, two separate characters are combined into one.

04 - THERE IS NO ENDING!! Literally, the entire closing scene of the book is simply removed. This is despite the fact that the original book ending also leave you on cliffhanger and is more satisfying than what is presented in the film.

05 - All weight is removed. Many occurrences in the book are of a more serious, emotional, or distressing nature. In nearly all cases where such scenes appear in the film, they are softened substantially and to the point where their inclusion is unnecessary.....

06 - There is one exception. During the most famous "fight scene" of the book, there is a particularly goring piece of imagery. This is the sole scene that made me hesitate to take my daughter. This scene is instead replaced with a quicker, yet equally gory action.

07 - The actress portraying Lyra simply does not have the charisma to pull off the role.

08 - Considering it is the titular object of the movie, the Golden Compass itself maintains none of the mystique of the book's counterpart.

09 - The book has a fair bit of philosophical and metaphysical commentary that is relevant to the story. What remains in the film is so delicately spoon-fed to the audience as to almost be insulting.

I was excited about this film for several reasons. And it has failed from nearly every angle. The Catholic League has nothing to fear from this. The book was hardly the atheist manifesto the church and media are trying to make it out to be and the film has even less bite if that's possible. It's highly unlikely that this film will get people thinking at all, yet alone along the lines that the church fears it might.

Now the good. For the most part, the casting is quite sound. Although many of the characters I was excited to see have barely any screen time. The effects are equally pleasing in most of the film. The demons are all quite convincing and well acted by the VO artists. The sets and locales, while not quite what I had in mind serve well.

In closing, if you've read the book it's worth going to see the film just to see your favorite characters on the big screen. The movie can best server as a sort of "field guide" for your imagination. And in some ways the film is very successful in that regard. But if you're looking for a movie based on the Pullman book, this, decidedly, is NOT it.