The Golden Compass: Fantasy at Its Finest

If we lined up the first installment of the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the recent Chronicles of Narnia, I would say Golden Compass' starting is, in my opinion, the best. This child's fantasy over adult quasi-philosophical issues of religion and authority spark symbolism and adventure in a visually surprising picture.

Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards proves herself as lesser known Dakota Fanning in her role as Lyra. Entrusted with a golden compass which reveals secrets (called "the truth"), she travels with the mysterious Miss Coulter (Nicole Kidman of Eyes Wide Shut) to the cities. Soon enough, she realizes Miss Coulter has something to do with the Gobblers that kidnap children and flees to keep Coulter from having the compass. She heads North to meet up with Lord Azrial (Daniel Craig from Casino Royale) a scholar from the college she formerly resided at, in hopes of freeing children from the Gobblers and saving Azrial from equally dark villians.

Along for the adventure, in separate stories that intertwine and but don't interrupt Lyra's adventure, are a talking armored bear, sailing Egyptians, Sam Elliott as an airship pilot, and witches (led by the beautiful Eva Green, also from Casino Royale)to help save the day.

I should also note each character has a spiritual entity in the form of an animal, called deamons, which is audible and follows them. This makes for good symbolism. Lyra's daemon shapeshifts from various small, weak animals that act brave. Coulter has a monkey with impulse control problems. Gobblers have wolves, bad guys bugs, and Sam Elliott, to match his general cowboy/outback look, has a jackrabbit.

The movie propells itself on three things, each of which are well done and continues through the film from start to finish.

First, it is dark. The PG-13 should be the first sign this is not the kind-hearted start like Harry Potter or daylight-filled Narnia, but instead a darker film where adults and kids alike will feel chills wondering what dark deeds are being done by the Gobblers with the kidnapped children. A fight between armored bears and violence between witches and humans leave a more realistic, harsher violence than Narnia. This adds to the effect of horror in the thought of harming children and makes us more concerned for them, which made me care even more about what happened next.

Second, it is not simple. Unlike the straight-up black-and-white (minus one gray Draco Malfoy/Smegal/Edward), this poses some questions about authority. Simply put, they are fighting for the ability to be children at heart and have free will from authority. In a deeper argument, they are fighting to protect religion (the magical "dust") and their souls (the daemons) from a man-made God (the ultimate authority and truth created by the Magistirium). Unlike the simplified versions of the ring corrupting Frodo, Lyra must determine what she wants to do on her own, and be brave without encouragement behind her. It is she, not others, that decide to go into the dark night. It stands out more in that it can't be described in simple terms. And while what the movie is about is up for debate, the bottom line is clear.

Third, the adventure is actually an adventure! Unlike the long walks of Ring, we do notice the travel and the travel does not take the center of the story, but instead the characters along the way. I couldn't help but feel when the story turns to follow the life of the armored bear that is Lyra's companion, Lyra is as much of his story and he is her's. They are not added in as side events to a greater epic, but kept as part of the epic itself. Neither destracts from the other and each new character is as interesting as the last. My only regret is there is not enough time put in to give all characters as much depth and backstory as Lyra's and the bear's.

The visual look is worth special note. Although the plot and dialogue doesn't give away much about the good and bad guys at first, we know off the bat which are which by their daemons in clever use of symbolism. The CGI is nothing to be amazed at, but from the dark cold to the look of hydrogen balloons and weird engines on carriages, it is modern and underworldly. There is no familiarity of another animal-like world or medieval period. Instead, it has created something semi-modern and still its own. Although we've all see epic battles play out from Legolas and wizards, there's something about the fierceness of a gaint, armored bear and witches flying overhead like angels. There's a scene where an armored bear deflects a spear and a witch knocks a gun up as it's fired. The thing about both of these are they are last split second and cover the whole screen, to where we almost believe the object will hit the girl before the near-startling creature/witch saves her. It is entertaining and reflects great craft in film.

Is it entertaining? Yes. The story does not bore, and anyone willing to watch adventure or fantasy will enjoy it.

Is it for everyone? Yes. It surprisingly covers the child/adult gap in a way I believe will appeal to both sides of the age spectrum. It has horror, adventure, action, and the philosophical.

Is it memorable? Yes. Be it the armored bear, nice girl, or dark undertones, there is something that will make this movie a token for them. There are more things to choose what will make it a favorite and is therefore more appealing.

My suggestion? If you liked the other fantasy/adventures, this will be different, but will in its own way more than carry its own weight. Go ahead and see it. If it isn't for you, there's plenty out this Christmas.

Also, wait and look here for the link to rant, where I will soon add my two cents on the religion debate over this movie.