The Golden Compass (warning: rant ahead)
Went to see The Golden Compass the other night. Already pre-warned by the mixed reviews and Empire having hailed it as "Christmas's biggest disappointment" (2 stars), I went in with low expectations. Luckily, I ended up quite enjoying it; it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be, but then it wasn't great either.
For a start, I think it's a mistake to invite comparisons to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy if you're going to fall short, which I think this film really does. Yes they're both New Line Cinema/epic fantasy ventures but LOTR stands up much better, both as an adaptation of a well-loved classic and, more importantly, as films in their own right.
TGC is weighed down by lots of exposition and clunky 'look it's a golden compass' dialogue, and whilst bits of the novel are there intact, it feels more like a picture-book companion than a coherent film. And I agree with Nish saying that it's probably a mistake to try and turn Pullman's books into films anyway because a lot of the subtlety will inevitably be lost (which it is).
For me though, most disappointing of all was the complete lack of any score. I mean, there was music, but it was so uninspired and score-by-numbers-esque (oh look they're on a ship *cue brass and strings*) that it may as well have been non-existent. There were no themes, no memorable or epic passages, nothing. That, to me, is criminal. I mean, come on! If you're going to take on these books the very least you could do is get the music right. An epic story deserves an epic score. And then at the end there was the Kate Bush song which had a lyric which sounded very much like she was saying: "Lyra.... Lyra and your face." Wtf??
Now, as if that wasn't rage-inducing enough, we have this: despite having a running time just shy of two hours, the film stops short of the end of the book. It's not like they couldn't spare the time, so why they didn't just finish it I have no idea. I'm assuming it was to preserve the sense of a hopeful Hollywood ending, but in doing that it completely denied the power of the novel's tragic/shocking denouement. Moreover, it's going to ruin the disorientatingly awesome opening of the next book and take away from the introduction of Will. Artistic integrity anyone? Argh.
Oh dear, I sound like I hated it, don't I. I didn't, and there were things I liked. Nicole Kidman, for example, and Sam Elliot, who were perfect in their roles. I also loved the witches, they were floaty and badass. And Daniel Craig made a cool Asriel but he was hardly in it. I also liked the girl who played Lyra which was lucky because the whole thing would've been a much more painful experience otherwise.
Ultimately though I'm quite sad to say that, much unlike the books, TGC is immediately forgettable. Or if it isn't it's for all the wrong reasons, as my gradually-more-enraged ramble demonstrates. So, for that reason, I can really see where Empire is coming from.
For a start, I think it's a mistake to invite comparisons to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy if you're going to fall short, which I think this film really does. Yes they're both New Line Cinema/epic fantasy ventures but LOTR stands up much better, both as an adaptation of a well-loved classic and, more importantly, as films in their own right.
TGC is weighed down by lots of exposition and clunky 'look it's a golden compass' dialogue, and whilst bits of the novel are there intact, it feels more like a picture-book companion than a coherent film. And I agree with Nish saying that it's probably a mistake to try and turn Pullman's books into films anyway because a lot of the subtlety will inevitably be lost (which it is).
For me though, most disappointing of all was the complete lack of any score. I mean, there was music, but it was so uninspired and score-by-numbers-esque (oh look they're on a ship *cue brass and strings*) that it may as well have been non-existent. There were no themes, no memorable or epic passages, nothing. That, to me, is criminal. I mean, come on! If you're going to take on these books the very least you could do is get the music right. An epic story deserves an epic score. And then at the end there was the Kate Bush song which had a lyric which sounded very much like she was saying: "Lyra.... Lyra and your face." Wtf??
Now, as if that wasn't rage-inducing enough, we have this: despite having a running time just shy of two hours, the film stops short of the end of the book. It's not like they couldn't spare the time, so why they didn't just finish it I have no idea. I'm assuming it was to preserve the sense of a hopeful Hollywood ending, but in doing that it completely denied the power of the novel's tragic/shocking denouement. Moreover, it's going to ruin the disorientatingly awesome opening of the next book and take away from the introduction of Will. Artistic integrity anyone? Argh.
Oh dear, I sound like I hated it, don't I. I didn't, and there were things I liked. Nicole Kidman, for example, and Sam Elliot, who were perfect in their roles. I also loved the witches, they were floaty and badass. And Daniel Craig made a cool Asriel but he was hardly in it. I also liked the girl who played Lyra which was lucky because the whole thing would've been a much more painful experience otherwise.
Ultimately though I'm quite sad to say that, much unlike the books, TGC is immediately forgettable. Or if it isn't it's for all the wrong reasons, as my gradually-more-enraged ramble demonstrates. So, for that reason, I can really see where Empire is coming from.