Review of The Golden Compass (2007) by Aarons. — 29 Dec 2007

I really enjoyed this film, which was a fairly faithful adaptation of the book (except for the ending). Having read the books and enjoyed them, I found the movie built on my visualizations of Pullman's original creation.

The armoured bears and witches were stunning, and I found Mrs Coulter and Lyra to be engaging characters in the film adaptation. I recall thinking after seeing the changed ending of Jackson's Fellowship of the Rings from the books and being shocked, but later after seeing the context of the 3 movies, I appreciated the deviation from the source material.

Similarly, having the ideology of the book presented more subtly in the film probably kept it from feeling too "preachy". All in all, I hope to see a sequel. (Finally, how can people give this film a zero? Even if you found it lacking, it wasn't Daredevil or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).