A handsome but weirdly turgid fantasy, The Golden Compass is everything you expect it to be and less. What we get here is a disappointingly transparent patchwork of Lord of the Rings meets Narnia in Harry Potter Land, packed to the gills with magical creatures, talking animals and airborne witches but without much feel for building an involving story or characters worth caring about.
Based on the first book in Philip Pullman's popular His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass takes place in a parallel universe where people's souls exist on the outside of their respective bodies in the form of animal companions called daemons. This alternate world is also populated by groups of uneasily co-existing groups with names like Gyptians and Magisterium (the totalitarian villains of the piece), and the convoluted rivalries and competing objectives of the various sects are presented with all the bloodless efficiency of a CPA reading an annual report. Into this pointlessly frenetic fray comes Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), a 12-year-old orphan who finds herself at the center of a quest to save the world.
The movie's production values are high; its special effects beyond reproach and a few of its actors appealing (Nicole Kidman is gloriously monstrous here, and Eva Green makes a fine, sexy witch), but The Golden Compass still winds up feeling confused, aloof and more often than not dull. It all culminates in a Narnia–Rings epic battle between good and evil (despite Pullman's much ballyhooed distaste for such concepts) and still more gibberish about alethiometers and cosmic dust. The ending is no ending at all, since director Chris Weitz shamelessly forgoes any sort of resolution and simply sets us up for the inevitable next chapter.
The Golden Compass (PG-13) Stars Nicole Kidman, Eva Green, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott and Dakota Blue Richards. Opens Dec. 7 at local theaters. 2.5 stars
This article appears in Dec 5-11, 2007.