Directed by Chris Weitz

Although there were engaging moments in The Golden Compass, overall I found it disappointing. In fact, it sort of struck me as a 1970’s television show with a huge budget – formulaic, and largely a set up for shows (movies) to follow.

For me, it had three parts: 1) a somewhat tedious opening, 2) a lengthy and enjoyable middle, 3) a predictable and annoying end.

I can’t say there was anything terribly wrong with the opening other than that it suffers from having to present so much exposition in order to get the movie’s story going. It’s executed fairly well but, despite this, I was a bit bored.

When the movie finally does get going, about when Lyra realizes Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) is not a nice lady and the young girl flees, the movie really becomes a lot of fun. I think this is due to the actors and the characters they play. Dakota Blue Richards is great as Lyra, daughter of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). And the variety of characters she meets, all pretty much archetypes, recognizable character templates, all contribute to what can only be described as engaging fun.

Unfortunately, it all has to lead to the usual battle scene. This is where the comparison to a 1970’s TV show comes in. The obligatory battle is like the obligatory car chase. It signals that we’re near the end and we’re about to wrap things up. And it happens every week at the same time. Or, the case of movies like this, it happens with every one of these adventure movies, always at the same time.

But what’s annoying about the ending is that it’s really no end at all. In fact, I found the appearance of rolling credits came as a bit of a surprise. The movie ends rather abruptly because the adventure Lyra is on is in midstream and there is no sense of a resolution. Yes, it’s a trilogy but still, even the separate parts of a trilogy need resolutions, even though only one is the big, final resolution.

Here, it’s like a conversation where one of the conversationalists suddenly looks at his or her watch and says, “Oh! Look at the time. Gotta go!”

Ultimately, I found this a frustrating film because, although there were excellent elements and it seemed to have all the bits for a great, fun film, it winds up just feeling very unsatisfying.

As for the controversy about the movie being anti-religious and so on, that seems to have been inherited because of the books it is based on. I haven’t read the books; I know nothing about them and therefore can’t say whether they are anti-religion or anti-Christian. But I can say that religion doesn’t even peak its head out for a look in the movie. How anyone can say there is an anti-religious element here is beyond me.

2½ stars out of 4.