The Golden Compass is a fantasy film based upon Northern Lights (titled The Golden Compass in the US), the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. The Golden Compass was released on December 5, 2007 by New Line Cinema, the same company that brought The Lord of the Rings to the big screen.
SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.
In The Golden Compass, everyone has a daemon, a physical representation of their soul in animal form unlike our world in which our soul is inside our physical self. Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is a young girl living at Jordan College. While she is playing and intruding the forbidden area of the college, she hears footsteps of people coming into the room she’s in and she quickly hides inside a wardrobe. She then overhears conversations between Fra Pavel and the Master of Jordan College (Jack Shepherd). After the Master has left, she sees Fra Pavel adds a packet of poison into a bottle of whiskey. When Lyra’s uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) pours the whiskey and tries to drink it, Lyra dashes out from the wardrobe and pushes the glass of whiskey to save her uncle. As from her uncle’s instruction, Lyra then hurriedly continues to hide in the wardrobe and overhears the strange meeting between her uncle and the scholars at Jordan college about other worlds and some substance called dust.
As time passes, Lyra’s friend Roger (Ben Walker) is taken by the Gobblers, she and her daemon Pantalaimon (Freddie Highmore’s voice) set off on an epic journey to find him. Unanticipatedly, the Master calls Lyra urgently into his office and gives her a strange instrument called an Alethiometer. He tells her that it is capable of telling the truth but not everyone can read it and pleads her to keep the Alethiometer to herself. Later on, the Master of Jordan College introduces Lyra to the beautiful Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) and Lyra is immediately taken by Mrs. Coulter and goes to stay with her as Mrs. Coulter promises to take Lyra to the north, the place where she wants to go.
After some time, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is the head of the Gobblers and she flees from Mrs. Coulter. In the outside world, she is attacked by the Gobblers but is saved by a Gyptian woman Ma Costa (Clare Higgins) who happens to be Billy’s mom. Lyra travels with the Gyptians and becomes acquainted with John Faa (Jim Carter), Lord of the Gyptians and his advisor Farder Cordam (Tom Courtenay). The Gyptians are planning to send the best of their people north to Bolvangar, the rumored headquarters of the General Oblation Board, to rescue the captured children. Lyra insists on accompanying the Gyptians on their journey North in hopes of finding Roger and her father.
Iorek Byrnison offers to serve Lyra
As they make their way North they encounter the Witch Queen Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green) and the great Armoured Bear, Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellen’s voice) who has been exiled from his kingdom and offers them his services. They are also joined by the Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliot) who is also willing to help them in battle. With their new allies, the Gyptians continue their journey to find the stolen children.
Lyra stops by the land of Svalbard, the kingdom of the bears and tricks Ragnar Sturlusson (Ian McShane’s voice), the king of the bears into battling with Iorek Byrnison in a single combat. Iorek battles the bear king and regains his rightful place as king of the bears after a short but fierce battle.
Later on, Lyra is captured by traders and taken to Bolvangar where the children are being held. In Bolvangar, she finds Roger and learns the terrible truth of why they are all there. The Gobblers intends to separate the children from their daemons, severing the lifelong connection between the two to prevent the children from encountering the dust substance that Lyra had heard about earlier. In an ugly encounter with the Gobblers, Mrs. Coulter manages to save Lyra from being separated from her daemon. Thereafter, Mrs. Coulter tells Lyra the truth about Lord Asriel is Lyra’s father and her mother is none other than Mrs. Coulter. Even so, Lyra pretends to take Mrs. Coulter as her mom and gives her a box which Mrs. Coulter thinks it contains the Alethiometer but instead it has a spy bug which straightaway hits Mrs. Coulter and causes her to faint as she opens it.
Lyra then escapes and attempts to help all of the children to escape. With the help of the Gyptians, the Witches, Iorek and Mr. Scoresby, the children are able to escape. After winning a huge battle against the Gobblers, Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Serafina and Scoresby travel to find Lyra’s dad, Lord Asriel.
The movie abruptly ends here. Let’s anticipate for the sequel of the movie, The Subtle Knife, hopefully, by 2009 with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass to follow. However, New Line president Toby Emmerich stresses that production of the second and third films is dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass.
Though the film receives mixed reviews from most critics, I think the film deserves a thumb up for its solid storyline, great special effects and stunts, viable characters and good acting, and most of all, for its originality and great humors.
My rating: 7.5 out of 10.
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1 comment so far ↓
Nicole Kidman’s role as the villain looks pretty good in the trailer… can’t wait to go see it!
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