more than we'd expected, less than we'd hoped

[ravenclaw42]

Spoilers.

I have mixed feelings about the Golden Compass movie. It was good. Solid. I hope it does make kids want to read the books.

Comments

[ravenclaw42]

I don't really see how the ending of Golden Compass (the book) is any different from the ending of the first LotR movie. You could transpose Sam & Frodo's dialogue onto Lyra and Pan as they walk onto the bridge of light, and almost have the exact same ending. And it's not as if the Rings movies did poorly. Granted, I know that because the Compass people aren't filming all three at once, it's different... the next one depends on if this one succeeds or not, etc etc. But I just think they aren't trusting their audience enough. And since it's a big epic that I'm emotionally attached to in the first place... I find it hard to like the movie if I feel like the people who made it didn't trust me.

And besides, it's just such a good ending! It's an awful shame to not tell the story as it was meant to be told.

Agreed on everything else. I thought they handled the reduction of the story for time purposes very well, especially considering all the between-the-lines politicking going on in the book. And it's too bad they couldn't have foreseen the boycott and just left the religious bits in, because I do think they would have added something to the story. (Mrs. Coulter's speech about Eden being replaced with some crock about "our ancestors..." grated me a bit.) The theater I was in was disappointingly empty (on opening night), so unfortunately the boycott seems to be working.

Still, a good effort. I'll see the next one, if it gets made.