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| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 23 Apr 2008 Golden Compass, The
| |  I remember there was a great deal of controversy about this movie when it came out. Christian groups, most noticeably that crazy-ass Catholic League were offended at what they perceived to be a message of atheism embedded within this film. After all, the author is a famed agnostic. The movie soon skirted that controversy and disappointed at the box office for another reason entirely. Its really not that good.
Young Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Richards) lives among the scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College in jolly old England (but fantasy crazy England). Lyra hears about an extraordinary particle. Microscopic in size, the magical dust- found only in the vast Artic expanse of the North -is rumored to possess profound properties that could unite whole universes. Its called Dust. Then she goes and does something in this weird fantasy world.
The first hour is quite boring, with a bunch of setup for paper thin characters we care nothing about. Lord Asriel(Daniel Craig) is Lyra's only relative. Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) is some kind of magical maiden sending Lyra on a mission for the ice bears. (or something, I'd zoned out at this point).
The last 45 minutes has some action in it, including a freaky bear fight. This may rouse you out of the inevitable deep sleep you'll be in by this point, but it may not. Its cool to see how hard they worked on the special effects, I suppose- but its still bullshit that this damn movie beat out Transformers for best special effects.
Overall, some may enjoy this movie- but not me. Maybe its because I've never really been any sort of a fan of fantasy. Who knows? My cynicism really knows no bounds.
On the plus side, this may be the most visually impressive Blu-ray disc on the market. Its difficult to tell usually, especially since the really great ones all look and sound similarly great. The Golden Compass is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen and encoded at 1080p. The first thing I noticed was the overall detail on the frame. Every speck and blemish on Nicole Kidman's face is noticeable. And the cgi is also incredibly detailed, even allowing you to see so much detail and individual hairs on the fur of the polar bears. There is no grain or noise to speak of. The color palette is rich when the film requires, and subdued when necessary. Blacks are incredibly detailed.
Audio is DTS HD Lossless Master 5.1 surround, and is awesome. Bass is deep throughout, and the surrounds truly kick ass. That last 45 minutes is quite loud, and may be a bit upsetting if you're in that deep sleep I was talking about. Dialogue is crisp and clear, and the music sounds excellent. |
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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