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Mood:
- StylizedSuspenseful
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Plot:
- Young HeroesChild in DangerHeroic MissionParallel WorldDangerEscapadesHeroesImaginary more...
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Genres:
- AdventureFantasyHollywood ToneFamily
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Audience:
- Family OutingKids
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Praise:
- Award WinnerBlockbusterOscar WinnerPrestigious Awards
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Style:
- EpicStrong Female Role
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Based on:
- Based on Book
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Attitudes:
- SeriousFantastic
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Look:
- Special Effects
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Flag:
- Mild Violent Content
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The Golden Compass, 2007
English, Icelandic, Russian, French
USA, UK
Profile of The Golden Compass
The mood of The Golden Compass is stylized and suspenseful. The plot centers around a parallel world, a child in danger, and young heroes. It is an adventure, fantasy, and family movie. Stylistically, The Golden Compass has a Hollywood tone, is epic, and stars a strong female character. In approach, it is fantastical and serious. Visually, it involves special effects. The Golden Compass is based on a book. The movie is known for being a blockbuster and an Oscar winner. It is especially suggested for kids and a family outing. Note that The Golden Compass includes mild violent content.
Summary of The Golden Compass
The Golden Compass is an adaptation of the first book in the beloved but controversial fantasy series by Phillip Pullman. The story opens with Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) an orphan girl who lives in an alternate world that is similar to earth, but where people's souls exist outside of their bodies in animal form. The people are ruled by a shadowy and oppressive council known as the Magisterium, which is doing it's best to keep everyone from getting information about what is called "Dust." Lyra's Uncle Asriel (Daniel Craig) has been researching Dust, and he has seen to it that Lyra is given safe shelter at Jordan College. But when the visiting Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) arrives, she asks Lyra to accompany her on a trip to the North to meet the Panserbjorne, a race of armored bears. Before Lyra leaves, the Headmaster gives her a golden compass, a device which only she can read, and from which she can intuit the truth. Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter, but when she learns that her friends have been kidnapped by "Gobblers," she heads out to find them, and soon joins forces with the nomadic Gyptians, some witches, and an armored bear called Iorek Byrnison (voice by Ian McKellen). Lyra finds her friends, and so discovers the evil plans the Magisterium has cooked up for the world's children. By the film's end, she has vowed to track down her Uncle Asriel, and to discover the true power of Dust.
Hollywood had a tricky time of taming this tale, as Pullman's books portray religion - the Catholic Church in particular - in a less than flattering light. The film version carefully steers clear of these themes, and instead puts its enormous budget into creating visually stunning effects. While fans of the books may find fault with this streamlined version, children are sure to revel in the many talking animals and whimsical airships.
Details
| Language: | English, Icelandic, Russian, French |
| Country: | USA, UK |
| Release date: | 7 December 2007 |
| Runtime: | 113 min |
| Awards: | Academy Awards |
Awards
Cast and Crew
as Mrs. Coulter
as Lyra
Photos
Clips
Critics Reviews
The Hollywood Reporter
A "soft" epic, a film touching on childhood fantasies with sturdy, unwavering characters driven to evil or good. More "Harry Potter," in other words, than "Beowulf."
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- by: Kirk Honeycutt
Philadelphia Inquirer
If Weitz's Golden Compass feels, at times, too crammed with exposition and big set pieces, the film nonetheless works far more successfully than the first Potter pic - the leaden "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - did translating its source...
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- by: Steven Rea
Users Reviews
For intelligent children, and adults who like to read out loud to them, this covers some of the same fantasy ground as "The Lion, The Witch, etc," but in a much more secular, vaguely scientistic (cum metaphysical) and adventurous way. The first...
- 29.March.2010
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- by: Democritus
- Democritus rated this movie
0/10
Excellent story. Great special effects. A lot of violence. Not a great movie for sensitive young teens, but my 16 year old nephew and I loved it.
- 19.February.2010
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- by: Lynn
- Lynn rated this movie0/10
