The Golden Compass

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Eva Green, Ian McKellen, Sam Elliott
Directed by: Chris Weitz
Review: Dave Burbidge
Release date: 28th April 2008

Lyra Belacqua (Richards) a young orphan girl who lives in a world in which a person's soul lives in the form of an animal called a dæmon. The land is controlled by the Magisterium, a sinister organisation which seems unaccountable to the population. Lyra and the locals are worried about the disappearance of several local children. When her uncle Lord Asriel (Craig) is nearly assassinated in the college where she is a ward, Lyra is worried enough to accept an offer to join her aunt Mrs Coulter (Kidman) in the north. All is not as it seems, and soon Lyra is on the run from Mrs Coulter because she has a prized artifact, the golden compass. With the help of the new king of the fierce warrior polar bears she is able to track down the missing children and starts a plan to effect their escape.

Based on Philip Pullman’s novel this has plenty going on what with witches, the code of the warrior bears, gypsies and the intersting forms that the various daemons take according to the persons character. The time is vaguely Victorian, with some subtle differences, not least the flying machines and a weird cowboy bounty hunter.

Most of the plot is taken up with various chase scenes, but we are given glimpses of the inner sanctums of the Magisterium and their grand plan, though much more will be revealed in future films. This raises the question as to whether this stands on its own two feet, as say 'Fellowship of the ring'. It does, and this is due to the quirky characters, not least Sam Elliott's droll cowboy and Jim Carter's lord of the Gypsies routine. Nicole Kidman as the icy villainess relishes her role, though Craig is conveniently shipped off to the icy wastes after a few scenes.

The special effects bring us some great polar bears, and the sub plot of the deposed king and his redemption adds a new dimension and hints at some fine adventures to come. Dakota Blue Richards has a lot riding on her young shoulders, but as the central character she seems a natural, and we are drawn into her world with ease.