The Golden Compass
“The Golden Compass” guides you to a land of confusion and frustration. This elliptical, expository fantasy adventure can’t get out of its own way. It tells, rather than shows, the intricate details of its invented world, often in such a rush that you’ll fail to grasp the crucial knowledge. Parallel universes, talking bears and souls that live outside people’s bodies as animals are some of the key elements of “The Golden Compass,” adapted from the opening volume of author Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. I’m not sure how it plays in the book, but on the screen, having a man’s soul hop alongside him in the form of a cute little bunny is borderline twee. The bears at least provide a jolt of energy. Ian McKellen brings gravitas and pathos to the voice of Iorek Byrnison, an exiled warrior bear. The movie’s visual and emotional high point is a brutal grudge match between Iorek and his nemesis. But director Chris Weitz, who also wrote the screenplay, strains to connect his set pieces to the master narrative – which, broadly, is about defying authority in ways that make the Catholic Church nervous. Weitz climaxes with a battle sequence, as the genre demands, but the outcome decides little. The interesting stuff is going on at the margins, still largely unexplained. “The Golden Compass” concludes deflatingly, with a brazen pitch for a sequel. The young hero ticks off all the adventures in her future – places yet to go, people yet to see, questions yet to be answered. Sounds like a good movie – one that may never be made.
LISTEN: The Golden Compass