The Golden Compass (Theaters)

The Golden Compass fell short of being epic as New Line Cinema had billed it to be. I have not read any of the books yet, but from the reviews I’ve read so far, not many fans of the literary work were happy with its production and screenplay.

I did however enjoy the movie despite several of its setbacks. What saved this film from a harsher review was the cinematography and special effects. The polar bears were amazing and looked ready for war with their battle armor and bold chivalrous stature. The other CGI creatures also looked very realistic and they moved seamlessly throughout the film with their human counterparts.

The two areas that hurt this film were its storyline and score. The storyline seemed broken and full of holes. Some of the critics who read the book mentioned the film was rushed and left out many important parts. Based on those statements, I can see why I felt this movie lacked so much. The score was also terrible. Epic films always have incredible music to go along with it, but this film had a lackluster one, I can’t say that I remember any of the songs performed during the course of the movie.

Since this film was based on several books, I figure that the story will continue on as a trilogy. The filmmakers definitely need to take a good look at the reviews and work on improving the next two movies. The concept is very promising and I expect to follow this to the end. Lets hope this trilogy lives up to its expectations.