“The Golden Compass” was better than I expected
January 23, 2008The latest fantasy-epic-turned-movie finally arrived at the cheap theater so I went this past weekend to see “The Golden Compass”. I thought it was a lot better than I had expected from the reviews and buzz I’d heard beforehand. Nicole Kidman in particular was awesome — she’s a terrific villain in this movie, conflicted, demanding, and more than a little psychotic.
You could tell they spent a ton of money on the production, the sets and special effects were first class. Apparently others felt the same because it’s been nominated for a couple technical Academy Awards. I especially thought the ice bears (essentially talking polar bears) were particularly good. Better than Aslan, the talking lion from Chronicles of Narnia. More realistic looking I thought.
The movie did a lot better overseas than it did here in the US. But not enough to be a blockbuster — with a $180 million production budget the thing would have needed to gross around $360 million to be a profitable hit.
The bad part about that is there won’t be a sequel, even though the movie ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that clearly sets up the sequel. I suppose if the movie does extraordinarily well in DVD they might consider a sequel. That’s what happened to the Austin Powers movies — the first was only a modest success in the theaters but blew up in the rental market. Enough to convince the studio to fund a sequel. I can only hope the same happens for Golden Compass.
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The best fiction of the last 30 years is the “His Dark Materials” series. The first book is the weakest, and the movie made from it even more so… the cast was great, the acting was great, the special effects were great, but I thought the screenplay sucked, compared to what it could have been. They will never make the sequels given the lack of money made on the first movie and the inescapable anti-God, and anti-institutionalized religion themes of The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The fact that the first movie ever got made just blows me away. It is truly great stuff, though, and everyone should read it. It reflects a true respect for, and understanding of religious traditions, while criticizing them. It also is the first clear articulation of a philosophy of life that I’ve held since I was in college and have never heard so clearly expressed by anyone else. You’ve got to read the books. They are great, and have many references to great literature of the past (particularly John Milton’s Paradise Lost). Long live the mulefa! Don’t wait for heaven… build on earth.
Thanks, it’s definitely on my reading list. Just haven’t gotten around to it yet but I’m hoping to in the next couple months. Especially after seeing the movie, which I did like.
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