The Golden Compass  (2007)

The movie is a let down on all the levels. Excruciatingly boring, I was fighting desire to sleep, very slow and the plot doesn't make any sense. And the worst of it, noone ever tells you that the movie is not completed, so that you would have to come again to pay again to see the end of this nonsense. After 2 hours of boredom they don't even tell you what the 'dust' is. What a joke! Movie makers don't have any respect for audience any more. Anything would do to get money.

this mvoie is allrihtg

I got into Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' book trilogy in my 30s, and absolutely loved them. They are page-turners in the best tradition of Harry Potter, with as much imaginative depth, but far more adult themes to enjoy. In Pullman's fantasy world(s?), there are parallel universes containing hitherto unknown Oxford colleges, bears who make their own armour, and a fresh take on the millennia-old religious conflicts that have bedevilled Western societies. Golden Compass is the film of (most of) the first book of the trilogy. At first glance, there are obvious similarities to Potter. The key character, Lyra (Dakota Richards), is an orphan, being raised amidst the dreamy spires of Oxford (shot beautifully). There are witches aplenty, who appear to be 'good' so far as we can tell. But Potter doesn't have the religious overtones, which while a bit muted in contrast with the book (or even Elizabeth: Golden Age) are still effective here, with strong supporting roles for Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee. Fans of the books will find much to enjoy. Film and CGI are made for the daemons, the animals which accompany all people as the projection of their soul and which are an integral part of Golden Compasses' plot. The airships, lifting off from Oxford and landing in a parallel universe London, are terrific. The Magisterium's set was jaw-dropping. And Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) and Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) are both utterly faithful to their leadership roles in the books. The problem for this film will be the inevitable comparisons to Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia and to the epic Lord of the Rings. I felt the film held up well against Potter; Dakota Richard's Lyra is effective and the richness of the imagination of the book comes out strongly, with a rip-roaring pace that echoes the page-turning additiveness of the book. But with more for adults. I also enjoyed this more than Narnia, which I had felt was fine for kids and reasonably faithful to the books but left a bit to be desired for adults who probably last read the books 30+ years ago. But where the comparison will pale is with Lord of the Rings (LOTR). LOTR's execution was so flawless that Golden Compass looks a bit rickety and gimmicky in comparison. The bears didn't quite work for me, especially when running. The dramatic battle scenes served only to remind me how wonderful LOTR's climactic battles were. The Gyptians and Witches are no match for the Orcs and Goblins or Ents. While I know many (particularly women like my wife, who loved Golden Compass) will disagree, I felt that LOTR's position at the top of podium is safe for many years yet. But Golden Compass has done very well to even be compared in the same paragraph and the prospect of the (not yet confirmed) sequel and trequel is making my mouth water already.

Anyone missing their Potter fix, or after a little magic in the festive season would do well to give 'The Golden Compass' a go. Despite the naysayers the film is full to the brim with excitement, action and best of all Magic.

If you haven't read the book make sure you pay attention in the first 5 minutes as a lot of scene setting is made, with basic explanations of the terms you're going to hear a lot of in the next 1 hour 50 minutes. Dust, a strange substance that seems to surround humans, is feared by the Magisterium, an organisation that is determined to control everything. They will do anything to destroy Dust, and the evil influence they believe it has on humanity. Central to all this is a young 12-year-old girl called Lyra, though she has no idea or awareness of her importance. She's more than happy running around the streets of her alternative world's Oxford, with the Gyptian children and her friend Roger.

But there is danger on the streets - 'Gobblers' are rumoured to be taking children, and Lyra swears to roger that she will come after him if he's ever taken. You can guess what happens next!

In the ensuing journey, Lyra meets a host of characters, from Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby (perfectly played by Sam Elliott), the witch Serafina Pekkala, to the giant talking polar bear Iorek Byrnison. With these new found friends she sets out to save Roger and in the process discovers a dark terrifying experiment being carried out in the cold of the Arctic...

As can be seen there is a lot to squeeze into this film, and it's in fact suprising how much the makers have managed to get on the screen from the book. But it is at a price. The pace at times is so fast it will be bewildering to anyone not already familiar with Lyra and her world. And for those who have read the book you will feel that there is a lot missing from the many scenes that have obviously been cut to make room for everything else. Here's hoping a director's cut will make it to DVD!

The casting is near perfect and despite a slight high school play feeling at times, Dakota Blue Richards makes for a very convincing Lyra (and is in fact far less arrogant than she seems in the books at times). The disturbing Mrs Coulter is perfectly embodied, with Nicole Kidman on top form, and Daniel Craig is suitably gruff as Lord Asriel. But the real winners here are the Deamons, physical representations of the soul that take the shape of animals. Though at times they (and particularly the bears) look a little too CGI'd for the most part the characters seem to have literally stepped off the page and onto the screen.

'The Golden Compass' isn't the best film ever made nor the best adaptation of a book to film - but it's still a rip-roaring journey through a fantastical world you just wish you could go to. And if they ever make the following two books into sequels you might just get that chance...

Having read the books and thoroughly enjoyed them I was looking forward to watching the Golden Compass. However I was extremely disappointed. The film never really develops any of the central themes of the trilogy (notably the central theme of religion), it does not develop any of the characters to a sufficient level, and it does not capture the beauty of the relationship between a human and its daemon. Instead from the start the film races through the different events in the book, and in doing so loses all of its magic. This film may be enjoyed by young children because of the visual effects... but for older viewers it is a disappointment all round. To sum up the book has been converted into nothing more than a poor fantasy film!

This is stylish and well-shot and the cast is good. BUT I do not get how any sane parent would allow their kids to watch something that thinks demons are good and to be encouraged and sought out by their kids - unless they are satanists?

A crushing disappointment for fans and a scuppered opportunity for a cinematic event. That the first book has been so mishandled doesn’t bode well for the (already greenlit) more complicated ones to come.

Ah, what a shame - a film that could have been spectacular if it had been a mere 30 minutes longer and allowed for a bit of character development. It looks astonishing, capturing the visual spirit of Pullman's book perfectly, but it lacks the heart of the book. The actors all do their level best but the story whips by at such a rate that one is left feeling unconcerned by all their interactions and the rationale. It does not help that certain key scenes have been swapped around or chopped entirely - unlike Lord of the Rings, which could stand some heavy chopping, Northern Lights is too subtle to cope with it. All that is left, after the meat has been cut from the book, is a pretty-looking action film with some fine acting, and a script that leaves ever such a lot to be desired...

My goodness, I went to see this one full of anticipation......how dissapointed was I!? I mean, it had Nicole Kidman in it, and she's usually pretty good, but I found her to be a let down to be honest. I found the storyline to be dull, unexciting, and a real let down to the hyped up advertising. Sorry folks.

The film of the first novel in Pullmans Dark Materials trilogy, and I have to admit it was a compass that lost it's way a bit, as the effects are excellent but just about everything else in parts let it down, from the slightly uninspired and predictable storyline to some fairly average performances from (some of) the cast that don't add to the novels very weirdly and inaptly named characters and places. It is good, but it just is never magical and mesmerising as say Narnia is, and it is noticeable. I would not miss seeing it, as it is definately worth a watch, it just has a slight lack of gloss that others in this genre have in spades.

This isnt a bad film - just a bad adaptation of a brilliant book. Its very unevenly paced, with many important scenes whizzed through at the expense of a lot of non-important ones which are very laboured. Its glossy on the surface, but ultimately quite shallow. Of course, this being a Hollywood film, the religious aspect of Dust (and all its implications) are completely ignored - but of course, they can't offend the great Christian Movie-Going American Public now, can they? What intrigues me is how the film makers will get round this in the remaining parts when the Battle in Heaven, Free Will and the search for the Ultimate Authority have to be tackled. I suspect they will just be cut out and the holes tied together with gloop. There are holes in 'The Golden Compass' (whats wrong with 'Northern Lights' for goodness sakes? Are filmgoers really that ignorant about the wonders of the natural world?) that you could drive a truck through, and I had to supress a laugh when Ma Coulter hugged her son and said 'We'll get your Daemon back somehow' even though nobody appeared to have told her this and she quite obviously hadnt asked about it. When the Gyptians arrive at the final battle, there seem to be hundreds of them, even though only one of their ships has made the expedition to the North. At least one major character (Serafina Pekkala) is reduced to a mere cypher, as is Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig basically being Daniel Craig with a beard). Nicole Kidman seemed to be playing Mrs. Coulter as some kind of superannuated Bond Girl, and doesnt come anywhere close to the fantastic portrayal by Patricia Hodge on the London stage a few years back. Dakota Richards, however, is fantastic as Lyra (although not nearly as uncouth and generally grubby as the character is portrayed in the books). Christopher Lee gets 3rd place in the end credits, even though he''s on screen in one scene which lasts less than 2 minutes. Its an easy cop out to have the Daemons talk (and as a result it all feels rather like a cutesy pie Disney film)- but I noticed that Mrs. Coulter's Daemon somehow doesnt seem to have acquired this skill. None of Lyra's struggles to learn how to read the Alethiometer are shown - she simply seems to have just picked up this skill out of thin air. And the constant intrusion of the inner workings of the Alethiometer just get irritating by the end. Its all glitz with no real reason behind it. I can't see how this is being pitched as a children's film - most of the kids I know would be downright bored with it by the end - as was I. And there's still two more episodes to come. As I said, read the books instead.

This was not my 1st choice of film to see on the big screen when it was released but I am oh so glad I saw it. If you have the ability to suspend belief only slightly this will pin you to your seat. The CGI is the best I have seen so far; a mix of real people and their 'daemon' companions in an alternative reality, cityscapes that are faultless, wilderness that makes you shiver in your seat, it is all there. This, combined with a plot line that is reasonably easy to follow makes this a film for older children and child-minded grown-ups like me. The acting is for the most part excellent with a large number of well known British actors playing minor parts superbly - don't expect to see them in long scenes though as there is so much going on. Nicole Kidman occupies most of the adult slots with a creepiness that is admirable. Anyone into the Harry Potter series will absolutely love this.

Well what could be better for Robert Pullman fans than a adaption of his books. Well I was over the moon, being an avid reader of his. The film starts out in the second book of the trilogy, the subtle knife. But it is clear upon watching the film just how much detail is left out. They try and cram too much too soon into this wonderful to watch adaption. Leaving out much of the story line has left it flat, and to one that hasnt read the books, then it leaves much to try and get to grips with and savour. I know I certainly would have been disapointed with the movie if I hadnt read them either. But if its cgi your a fan of, then this movie is cgi porn !, the effects are amazing and wonderfully set out. Defdfinatly up there with lord of the rings. But overall I say its a flop, lack of story, lack of description and all crammed in way too soon. They really should have made it longer. Yes there will be a sequal, but if you didnt read the books then you would be confused if there was going to be one. The whole point of the story and its ending just seems plain. But for the kids.... well they will love this all over. Lets hope the next one will be better

'Harry Potter' meets 'Lord of the Rings'. I don't know anything about the books (being the first of three, I believe) this is based on, but I bet they were written after Potter's success. Like Potter, a shed-load of top British screen talent jump on the bandwagon, joining the 'human stick' that is Kidman. Like 'Rings', the settings and backdrops are often on a massive scale. As fans of my reviews will know, I'm a Bond anorak and currently contractually obliged to watch anything with Craig in it. Thankfully, he isn't, much. I can only hope that he's not already committed to the sequels. This smacks of being aimed at the knowing adult who ironically reads childrens fiction in the misguided belief that it's trendy or reliving their childhood. I can't see any child under the age of about twelve 'getting' this story. Tries far too hard. I won't be bothering with the next two (despite my contractual obligation).

I don’t read children’s books though I am more than prepared to watch children’s films. One of my favourite films of 2007 is “Bridge To Terebithia” which I believe qualifies as a children’s film .The point is I haven’t read the books that The Golden Compass” is based upon because they are children’s books. For once , though I wish I had because even though this is a children’s story ( Though like many children’s stories it has allegorical adult themes ) and I am an adult(Allegedly) I hadn’t the foggiest idea what was going on half the time. Director Chris Weitz has adapted the film from the books by Philip Pullman but seems to have left great chunks of the narrative out in order I assume to achieve a reasonable running time -it clocks in at 113 minutes. This means the film often makes little sense and as it is , presumably the first in a franchise , the fact that things may make more sense in later films is scant consolation as you sit , muddle headed, watching this one. The plot in so much as I understood it and without going into relentless tedious detail has orphan Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) existing in a world parallel to ours where humans soul don’t dwell inside them but in the form of animals-”Daemons”- that accompany them everywhere. Why this is so is never explained , it just is what it is and this being a fantasy film we except it without too much debate. These Daemons do not take a permanent form until adulthood is reached so Lyra,s switches between a cat , bird ferret etc. Her uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig along with tiger daemon) has found something out about “Dust” that allows people to pass between worlds or something but this is not liked by the ruling “Magesterium” who don’t want talk of dust to become common knowledge for some reason and so they want to stop him. Also children have been disappearing including her fiends Billy and Roger -taken by the rumoured” Gobblers”. Lyra is charmed by the icy but stylish Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman with accompanying orange monkey…make your own joke there but bear in mind this is a kids film) who whisks her away but proves to be a bit of a cow( That’s not her daemon by the way , the monkey is) but that is maybe because she is secretly working for the Magisterium .Oh …and before she was taken away she was given the golden compass of the title (Or “Althiometer” as they call it) which can provide answers and truth to those who know how to use it. Lyra has the gift but after being saved by “Gyptians” (Pirate gypsy types but on the side of good) heads north to “Norroway “where the children are being held .Here she enlists the help of a warrior polar bear Lorek Byrnison( Voiced by Ian Mckellen) and Aeronaut Mr Scoresby (Sam Elliott).A witch called Serefina Pekkala(Eva Green) pops up for reasons that seem to be that they needed something to spice the voyage up a bit. What follows is the usual good versus evil stuff with a big battle at the end and issues unresolved that presumably will be in the next instalment. It must be said that the film looks absolutely magnificent .The city scapes and aero-ships and all the little details are truly stunning to look at. The CGI work , with the armoured polar bears and the daemons is top-notch too which makes the sloppy script even more of a shame. Great swathes of the story just go missing. Lyra we are led to believe stays with Mrs Coulter for some time but we never see any of this , just that she’s fed up with being there , not being allowed out and why isn’t she allowed in “that room” while we are at it? There is a truly abysmal clichéd plot development later on that if it was in the book should have jettisoned and if it wasn’t then the author should sue. Plus there isn’t a decent villain in the entire film. Nicole Kidman isn’t a terrifying baddie by any means and I’ve seen her in some terrible films. The various Magesterium members including Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee are more austere than anything , only the creepy and slimy Simon McBurney as Fra Pavel cuts the mustard but even he is not spicy enough. The acting is good , though the universal and lavish praise heaped on Dakota Blue Richards is mystifying to me . She’s fine ,don’t get me wrong , but I was expecting a performance with far more depth and nuance judging by what I had heard. Sam Elliott is the best thing in it by some distance. Overall this is sumptuous visually but ultimately paltry fantasy fare. If a follow up is to be made , which is by no means certain from what I have read(Depends how much money this one makes for the studio fat-cats apparently) then far more attention needs paying to the screenplay and script. And if there is a “Lord Of The Rings” style extended directors cut that explains things better that would be great too. Otherwise the compass of the title will be needed more by the audience to work out what connects who to who and for that matter what and where the hell it’s all going.

Not being particularly fond of Pullman's books (finding them rather pompous) I was watching The Golden Compass not as a fan hoping to be blown away, but as a cynic hoping that the film version might have translated Pullman's leaden story into a more compact and accessible experience. My scepticism was well founded, however. The film is awful, disorganised, dull, rushed and confusing. The much-vaunted special effects do not justify their hype, being unconvincing and cartoon-like. The neat concept of each person having his own animal daemon is fatally undermined by the fact that the daemons are always poorly computer generated and never played by real animals, even for the bits when they are doing something uncomplicated like sitting still. The animation is OK at best but still looks like it would be more at home in a BBC saturday night drama like Doctor Who than a high budget film. Sadly the daemons represent the best of the effects on offer here, with the horribly unconvincing city vistas and airship travel rendered in such a poor way as to be totally embarassing, and shattering any possible chance of creating that magical lifelike illusion that effects must deliver to justify their inclusion. A great plot, characters and drama might have gone some way to making up for all of this, but in these departments too the film is also sorely lacking, the characters never getting enough screen time to justify their presence, and the actual plot being almost impossible to find at all. While many of the fans of the book will probably be let down, I carried no expectations and still found this film to be nothing more than a succession of disconnected scenes and dialogue with no compelling reason whatsoever to keep me watching to the end - I turned it off three quarters of the way through rather than waste more of my life watching it.

As a huge fan of the His Dark Materials trilogy, I have eagerly awaited this film since I heard of its release, searching the net for trailers, pictures, anything to whet my appetite for what I was sure looked like an incredible film. I was aware some of the more 'subversive' anti religion messages I liked so much would be removed for the film, and in fact, I don't think that was where the film failed so miserably to be entertaining. The story was told in a rush, with no effort to conceal later plot and therefore have suspense, and major events in the story line (Bolvanger and Svalbard) were randomly switched around to no real effect. The missing last three chapters meant that the film fell flat and had no real ending, especially since they've obviously filmed the ending - as the footage was in the trailer. The CG of the daemons was fantastic, but the voice acting was poor, and I never warmed to the children cast in the main roles. Nicole Kidman puts in a fantastic performance surrounded my medioricrity and helps to drag some of the film back up. There were moments when I saw the story I love shining through, and they were amazing. But as a whole I left the cinema thinking, 'Now I should have just saved my money and gone to see Enchanted.' Even my 9 year old son agreed.

a very strange film hard to understand the story a total failure

Thought film was too long, took too long to get into the film. Very disappointing ending as well. I actually fell asleep during film.

Quite disappointed with this. Have read all three books and they are much better. The film cuts out huge chunks of the book which makes it disjointed and hard to really get into.

After being an avid fan of the Dark Materials Trilogy - i've read it 3 times over the years. I was so excited that eventually a film could surpass Harry Potter- the potential for this film had be jumping with anticipation. I saw this movie intially in the cinema and thought id give it another chance. So disappointed - If you hadnt read the books you'd struggle to keep up with this plot - The First book contained so much detail and information which seemed to be over-looked. Read the books first then have a gander at the film. Oh yeah and the young actress - mis-cast - wanted to strangle her before the film was out!

I found the film enjoyable and could see this as a great kids film. It has a great concept and story behind BUT this films relies heavily on a sequel being made, and due to it doing so bad in the states it's not going to happen, so I really wouldn't advise watching it if your going to get involved in the story line but just watch it for the action and the idea of the 'demons'

This is part one of 3.
It has the depth and sub plots of Harry Portter plus Lord of the Rings.
More adult that Harry Portter and a lot more darker.
Then add a bit of SiFi in there (Stargate maybe).
This will be a trillogy that you will have to see.

Not sure its a good movie for kids just before bedtime!
Now I must get the rest of the books to read now.

Upscales well to 1080p

this film is excellent, if you liked harry potter , you will love this ,great effects and acting hope there will be more.

Having read the book and then seeing the film, I really enjoyed it. I think Nicole Kidman did a wonderful job playing the villian Mrs Coulter. I was bit disappointed with the ending but apart from that I really enjoyed it.

I was impressed with the special effects in this and if you've read the book its a definate way to bring the fantasy to life, but I must say the girl who played Lyra was a little annoying!! Should have picked a different lead, but Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman were excellent! A worth while watch!!

Normally I would write a review of how good the acting was or how well written the script was but in this case I am going to get straight to the point. This film is Average Thats all i can say. I can't gloss over the fact that its neither bad or good. I felt a bit underwhelmed by the journey and I certainly CAN wait for the inevatable sequel. Read the books instead.

this was a great film really enjoyed this one

The only things which keep this film above 1 star are the excellent animals and the brief inclusion of Christopher Lee. The story is delivered terribly, with every character spelling things out for the audience for no good reason.

This is really enjoyable just sit back and enjoy. I hope they do a sequel.

I have recently read the trilogy and was looking forward to this film, tho' had been worried by some poor reviews. I have to say the film is rather good - about as good as you could hope for. The book is richer and more nuanced, but this film was a more than decent offering.

Despite an all star cast and a presumably impressive budget this movie is a real let down. Jumping on the band wagon of Harry Potter and The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe this is the latest childrens fantasy adapted to the big screen. The problem is that it never really decides who it is aimed at. The plot is too complicated and too dark for most children. Where as adult viewers will find the story a little too immature, drawing as it does from many similar fantasy stories. I could see why it offended the Christian church as the story uses a similar church to be the masters of a totalitarian society. The heroine on the other hand has to master the old magic to defeat them with the help of her 'demon' ( an animal familiar that everyone has in this parallel world ). Some of the visual effects are extremely impressive, blending the real world with the world described in the novels. However the film is overly long, with little sense of pace. By the time you reach the end you have heard so much cliched fantasy dialogue and plot exposition that you wish they would just get on with it. A big dissapointment, this movie had potential but fails to live up to the hype.

Oh deary me.I have sat through one of the most dreadful movies of all time,and believe me i've seen some stinkers.Where to begin.......well the editing leaves a lot to be desired,the young girl(who is the main character,but who's name escapes me..yes she's bad)keeps changing from a mockney accent to cut glass english to somewhere in between and the cgi,well they shouldn't have bothered.Also how many characters does one film need? The more the merrier in this case! It really is just a truly awful film,give me Stardust any day of the week,even the david essex 'Stardust'is better then this baloney.

However, it has a great cast, great production, and the story is engaging enough with a lot of original ideas in it. It is a good kids film, but my kids have not engaged with it at all, as they did not with Narnia, though they love HP - this is definitely more Narnia than HP. I get the strong feeling that the makers will shy away from any hint of criticism of Christianity in the future films, as they did with this one, and I think that that will weaken the power of the story, which let's face it is an unrelenting attack on the Christian myth and everything that it is represented by.

The Golden Compass Well despite my age I still love fantasy movies and was really looking forward to this one. But I have to say I was very disappointed with it. I already knew that it ended half way through the story paving the way for a sequel but unfortunately I will not be in a hurry to watch it when it comes out. The story just did not grab my attention enough to want to see any more. It certainly wasn’t Narnia or Lord of the Rings. Perhaps I should not compare and take the story on its own merit but even so I found it quite boring and the story confusing. I suppose if I had read the books I might feel a bit different about it. Or maybe I just do not have the same imagination as I used to have.

..and try and imerse yourself in an alternate world. Or go and do something less boring instead like reading the books, er.. no actually that just takes longer and is equally infuriating, paint the house or even somebody elses that way you get some satisfaction. plotless, dull, overhyped, more confusing that the book and that's going some. I daresay younger children will probably enjoy the scenary, air ships, cuddly and not so cuddly talking animals. The CGI fight sequence between two armoured polar bears was the high point for me (no plot to lose, no dialogue to confuse)

This could have been excellent, but when it came down to it, it just didn't cut the moutard. I'd heard good things about the books and when the film started, I was ready to place myself in this fantasy land for a couple of hours...I was even taken in by the demons...but it just didn't go anywhere from there really. The story drags and there is an underlying tone of cheese to many of the lines and/or crucial parts of the plot - I found myself willing the film to improve and actually wanting to be good, but it just didn't deliver. Its not a ' bad' film by any stretch of the imagination, but it just wasn't a good film either....perhaps younger generations will find it of more interest?

I put this on for my 8 year old daughter and 7 year old niece who were veryexcited about watching it ,after only 10 mins my niece had got up and was messing around! my daughter lasted a further 15 mins before saying it was really really boring and she would rather tidy her bedroom!!!! I also tried to watch it later and did last for 1 hr 20mns but only because i fell asleep after about 20 mins!!! not worth watching certainly not worth the hype it recieved.

WOW! What a great start to the trilogy. I'm already itching to see the next one. It was truly brilliant, the polar bear fight scene was my favourite scene. If you love Lord Of The Rings or Chronicles Of Narnia, Harry Potter etc, then it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll love this. Lots of fun and great imagination from start to finish, suitable for all the family. And the music is stunning too, as always with the big blockbusters. Brilliant!

We watched this film having not read the book. Thought this was very very good. Will watch the next films when they come along. Dont miss this?

A good film for children - maybe not so much for adults although I did enjoy the special effects - and the storyline was good

It is probably easier to write great screenplays from mediocre books - Psycho and The Lord of the Rings spring to mind, but this is a screenplay that rips the soul out of the book and discards it [I hope that is not a spoiler]. Nicole Kidman can't help but be a villainess from the start - that is the lines and the blue eye effect. Daniel Craig is given nothing to work with. Dakota Blue Richards' accent is the weirdest since Dick van Dyke. She sounds like Dan Richie presenting the prizes at his prep school speech day. I know Ian McKellen is a great actor - I saw him as McBeth and thought his James Whale (in 'Gods and Monsters') was wonderful, but here it was just 'Rent-a-Gandalf' in a polar bear suit. It woud have been much more interesting to cast Stephen Berkoff or Kenneth Cranham. I did think that Ian McShane's v/o was pretty good, but for me the star of the entire thing was Sam Elliott, who nailed a great performance with a green screen behind him and dull child actors in front of him.

The entire 'Daemon' thing is badly introduced and inconsistent throughout. It is the major plot device: that is a real script / editing error.

I must admit to not having read 'His Dark Materials', but from what I hear this film is absolutely nothing like the opening book of the trilogy. Having seen the film, I hope that it isn't!! Sold as a rival to Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'The Golden Compass' is little more than an embarrassing fart to Jackson's thunderously majestic opus. Excrutiatingly bad acting, especially from Dakota Blue Richards and Nicole Kidman (no surprise there) and lame CGI work add to the incomprehensible storyline and duff script (I'm sorry, but any script that refers to being 'caught by the gobblers' and is not a comedy ranks low in my book). There's no sense of adventure or menace and the controvertial religious overtones are about as racy as My First Bible. Avoid!

Obviously the makers of this were hoping that the franchise takes off and they can continue making a series of films based on Pullman's books... The only flaw in the plan is that to get people interested, you need to start with a gripping, thrilling and exciting film.. and this movie is non of those things. I cannot and would not recommend this to anyone, and won't be following up with another installment.

Pullman's books are leaden, and so is the movie. I can't imagine any child wanting to read this deadly stuff. We may be agnostic in this family, but Pullman gives atheists a bad name. We couldn't care about the characters, no real nobility or excitement... ho hum. We didn't finish watching it, and we won't bother to watch the other two when they show up.

Oh, who cares if it doesn't follow the book! I'm not bothered about the book! Please don't let these 'Ooh, I've read the book and know more than you' critics put you off this film. I watched it with children and they thought it was fantastic. The ending is NOT disappointing, contrary to several people's opinion. The storyline is not confusing nor is it fast paced. I found it an easy-to-watch, enjoyable film and one that I'd recomment to anyone wishing to share some 'film' time with their children. I enjoyed watching Nicole play a baddy for a change :) A good family film.

A film every member of the family will love i saw it in the cinema first as the film i wanted to see was booked and i loved it my wife wasnt as impressed as much as me, I am looking forward to the second film to come out as there are 3 books it total.

This really is down to personal preference. I just don't like the characters so I'm not really interested in what happens to them. Also I felt many of the characters were poorly developed and the story bitty, over complicated, under developed and eventually just dull.

I didnt really enjoy this film I found it old fashioned and not very amusing unless you are under the age of 15 (then it might be interesting) - I thought it was more a childrens flick. But Robert DeNero was very funny in it espcially with his pink tutu I laughed at that.

WOW I HAVE TO SAY THIS FILM WAS CAPTIVATING FROM START TO FINISH, I TOOK MY 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO THOUGHLY ENJOYED IT TOO, EVEN IF IT DID MAKE HER JUMP ONCE OR TWICE BUT THEN I JUMPED ALSO, WHEN DESCRIBING THIS FILM BEFORE I SAW IT, I BASED IT ALONG THE LINES OF CHRONICLES OF NARNIA BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT IS MUCH BETTER AND I CAN`T WAIT FOR THE NEXT FILM IN THE SERIES WHICH I NOW IS SURE TO COME ALONG

I am a huge fan of the books and when I heard it was being made into a film I was looking forward to seeing it. I was not disappointed. Nicole Kidman was fantastic as Mrs Coulter and portrayed her perfectly. Many people make the mistake of comparing books and films. They can't be compared they are very different mediums. Yes the book is better than the film but they always are. I would highly recommend anyone to go and see it, if you have read the book try to think of them as different, they were as accurate as they could have been for such a short time. Oh just one more coment for a reviewer - redxi from Thornton-Cleveleys his name is Philip Pullman not Robert Pullman - avid reader? hmmmm

I've read the book, and it is wonderful. Now, I know that it is rare to be able to get close to the book when bringing to the screen, but this is pretty dire ! The worst part is much of the dialogue written in to ensure that the audience knows what is happening, it is so obvious, there's just no subtlety at all.... The animation is good, and some of the props are spot-on. I wouldn't recommend this, better idea would be to read the book... much better.

Long film, but good entertainment. Kids watched 4 times !

Convoluted bunkum of the worst kind. Its starts off puzzelling the viewers by choosing to call the cute little animals 'demons' when they are supposed to be the soul of the person.....!!! And the ending!!! Well it sort of just stopped abruptly!!! Even if Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman were stark naked in the sequel, which, unfortunately there will be...I wont watch it!!!

Good book, good cast, lots of CGI and the result: an emotionally flat movie. I was left with no feelings for any of the characters, or even the story. I would sooner have used my time to go to sleep.

Visually stunning, interesting plot but flawed by choppy editing and poor acting.

A really good cast, a very good story, an accomplished director and a average movie. The problem is mainly down to the pace at which the drama is moved on. You barely get time to digest the significance of the preceding scene before the next one plays out. The makes the film feel hurried and sketchy and so ultmately unsatisfying.

Decent movie with a decent cast, Nicole Kidman is terrific as the villian and Sir Ian Mckellen is good chipping in with voice of the armoured bear. I wonder when the 2nd part of this is coming out as the ending dosent really match the rest of the movie Overall a good watch for the family

Personally i really liked this even after being afriad of being dissapointed, as i have been waiting for this to be finished since the rumours started years ago. I read the book years ago and this has been a really good refresher for me, but for my friend who saw it with me i could see alot of questions were whiring through his mind as we watched because he, unlike me, had not read the book first. So maybe it was not as exciting for him as it was for me and this is obviously not a good thing to have to explain things. So to summarise, if you have read the book then do not miss this as it sticks to the original storyline really well and i cannot wait to see the rest of the trilogy. But for those who have not had the pleasure of reading the book, then i would advise to do so before seeing it as it makes it much better to watch.

...the fact that the next two installments have been put on hold because of the financial downturn - or so they say. This strikes me as a load of old rubbish.

Sadly the film didn't go down well in middle america because it offends christian sensibilities. It's a shame they have to decide everything for us nowadays, but hey, it's redneck money that counts.

I loved the film. YES, it does miss parts of the book, but what film based on such a rich novel has ever been able to satisfy those who read the book first? None.

This film is a good attempt at bringing a true masterpiece to the silver screen. It's got a dazzling cast and is well acted. 5 out of 5 for me.

I went to see this, dreading that it would ruin the books (which are incredible-you have to read them before watching this film) for me. It was actually better than I thought it would be, although it felt like it tried to fit in too much action into too short a space of time, whilst missing out a lot of the less exciting stuff - including important plot devices, development of some of the characters, etc - completely. Many scenes from the book were cut (notably a key final scene), others moved around and, in some cases, completely changed - Iorek Byrnison's reason for being exiled and his rival being randomly renamed for the film, for example. My main gripe was Sir Ian McGandalf as Iorek - the voice just didn't go with the character at all - it was like he was doing his 'you shall not pass' voice all the way through, which was too overstated for my liking. That said, Nicole Kidman was fantastic, Daniel Craig was pretty good, and Dakota Blue thingie was really, really good - I was prepared to be groaning in pain throughout the film at more Harry Potter-style kiddie am-dram acting, but she was really convincing and made a great, likeable Lyra. The animation was mostly great and the inclusion of the daemons was handled really well. All in all, the film was cobbled together pretty nicely. If I'd not read the books first, I probably would have had a lot fewer holes to pick in it.

From what I can gather this movie is fantastic for those who haven't read the book, but that is usually the case for all book conversions to film :). I really enjoyed this movie... and no haven't read the books :). I found the weave of the story well held together to carry one along on a great jouryney. It appeals to the child within who really did wish his/her pet dog/cat could speak. I might even go and see it again.

they loved it so if you have kids or grand kids and they did't see it at the pics get it for them im sure it will keep them quiet for a couple of hours

A superb movie -- full of a magic (and good special effects) that the first book had. Look forward to seeing the further two books if they are ever made.

the worst book-to-film adaptation i have EVER seen. what a shame. the books are amazing, this film is absolutely terrible. it's confusing, if i hadn't read the book i wouldn't have a clue what was happening. the special effects are poorly done. lyra seems to be reading her lines and doesn't know what she's meant to be doing. the relationships between the characters are non-existent and nobody seems to know who anybody else is... there's too much packed into not enough time...did they run out of money? were the actors working on other things at the same time so they forgot who/where they were supposed to be? the bears are the one saving grace but still i hate this film and am sooooo disappointed. i won't be watching the others. AND BY THE WAY, MR FILM MAKER, IT'S NOT A COMPASS!!!!

This is the first time I've written a review on here but I just had to vent the frustration I felt after watching this last night. I'm a big fan of the books, they contain such subtle characters, imaginative ideas and challenging subtext that they will always be regarded as classics. That's what makes this film so offensive; that the author of the books did such a publicity tour before the film's release spouting how good it was. Lies! Lies I tell you! The film is made like a checklist of all the fan's favourite moments from the book, with nothing to tie them together. You'll have a couple of lines of dialogue uttered before another one of Pullman's inventions is spewed at you using (often) dodgy CGI. Thank God I'd read the book otherwise I have no idea how someone would have kept up! I really wasn't expecting anything too much from this film as I knew the complexity of Pullman's novels was too much to be contained in a two hour film. But the blatant disregard of the basic elements of storytelling (character development, exposition, pacing etc.) makes it guilty of crimes against novels and films. All this being said, I have still rated it 2 stars as there is so much creativity on show here that it may keep a child entertained on a rainy afternoon. It's a shame that the rest of us, with a fully formed sense of taste, are so short-changed. Prepare for disappointment and go and read the books.

Excellent film with amazing story line and graffics

Sadly, these fantasy movies are all becoming a bit tiresome now. If you like movies with a poor (confusing) screenplay, awful script, an unlikable and wooden lead-actress (sorry Dakota) with an annoying on/off cockney accent and a movie with no sense of charm, warmth or humour....then please go ahead and waste 2 hours of your life... It's a shame because with such a terrific ensemble cast and some (mostly) excellent special effects it could have been SO much better......

I really enjoyed this movie. I can not wait until the next movie comes out.

Accordinging to my daughter this is faithful to the book.

WHY ON EARTH THESE FILMS GET BACKING I DONT KNOW? WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD SCRIPT WRITERS GONE?? THIS IS JUST PLAIN SILLY!NOT ..FUNNY..JUST SILLY!! GIVE IT A MISS..WATCH ANDY PANDY INSTEAD!

I got this DVD with my 8 year old daughter in mind and we watched it together. At several points she was on my lap or hiding behind a cushion. This is a film of layers, so it is easy for adults to watch and enjoy on a level different to that of children. The use of CGI is excellent, with great voice overs. The main storyline is really quite dark and unsettling. So for you grown ups out there too embarassed to watch a kids film without a child present, you can argue that this film centres on the age old desire of some to crush individuality, smother inspiration and control knowledge - it's a philosophical debate.

I have read the book but did not enjoy it as much as my partner did. I thought the cinematography of this film and the special effects were very good. I am not sure how purists would feel it compares to the book but for me it was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. I thought Nicole Kidman was good, although it is perturbing how little she moves her face. This is obviously the first in three and so the ending is unresolved, leading the way for the next installment. Not just a kiddies film, this was a good yarn.

This is obviously an involved story that has not translated well from book to screen. There are not only gaping holes in the plot, but this film is clearly the first of an intended series and consequently feels unfinished. A very long and dull watch.

I thought it was excellent! Hope the sequel comes out soon.....

I would highly recommend this film. A great family film which has all the elements that every member of the family can enjoy.

Visually it is stunning but I just felt that it never got started, seemed to race through lots of events, its been a while since I read the books, which I would recommend, so I cant remember when things happened but some of the scenes in the book were at times quite frightening and disturbing whilst here I didnt feel any emotion other than whens it going to get going. Wont be rushing to see the other two films think I'll just reread the books again.

The film was visually stunning, but what annoyed me was that the end is not the end of a story but seemingly the beginning of a franchise of movies.Quite presumptuous seeing as the audience should be the ones to decide whether the first was good enough to want to see a no.2 etc... It's a good watch, but certainly lacks anything outstanding about it.

As you walk into the cinema to take your seat (or settle yourself on the sofa when this is released to DVD), prepare to feast your eyes on the CGI, but set aside any expectations of a good story. Full disclosure: I did not read the books before seeing the film.

Some reviewers on this site called for 30 additional minutes to allow for character development. I'm pretty sure I would have disturbed their extra time with my snoring as I was fading fast towards the end of this film. Not that it was boring, mind you. Simply put, I had a difficult time following the clipped pace of the film and segments of plot that never seemed to spend enough time on the screen to meaningfully advance the story (what's with the Witches, anyway?) - nevermind the character development.

I watched this with the whole family, 7-year old daughter on my lap as she couldn't see over the seats in front of her :-) Turns out this had an unexpected security benefit as she needed to bury her face in my shoulder during a few scary parts. Upon leaving the cinema, neither my wife nor I cared for the film, but both kids claimed - seemingly with a certain lack of enthusiasm, but that may just have been me - to have enjoyed it.

All said, I don't expect to be badgered by either child for the Golden Compass DVD as a birthday present, as I was for Narnia.

I was totally dissapointed in the film. It had the potential to be so good, especially considering the stars in it. I've read the book 'Northern Lights' by Phillip Pullman, which it is supposed to be based on, and thought it was excellent. However, the filmmakers seem to have glanced over the book and then made up their own story. They have taken the plot and twisted it so much. Nothing happens in the same order as the book. I can understand that they cannot include everything but it is too different. I went with my boyfriend who has read the book and his brother. His brother said it was really hard to follow and we had to explain things to him when we came out of the cinema. I would be interested to hear other peoples points of view on this, especially those who are fans of Phillip Pullman.

Almost well done movie but a bit too documentary and too much info for one movie. Very good animation especially with the demons. You can watch it once and the kids will enjoy it but does need some refocusing attention once in a while.

I'll start this by saying, no, I haven't read the books. I feel people who have read the books of films can't seem to judge this film as a film in it's own right. It's very difficult to put a book on the screen and be faithful unless you make it a very long film (which studios try to avoid as a rule) I really enjoyed it. It didn't seem dumbed down too much as i was expecting for a 'kids film', and it flowed really nicely. There were some plot holes, sure, but all films have plot holes really. My family all enjoyed it, and it has made us want to read the books.

various parts quite dark managed to scare my 6 and 10 year old would suggest this is more a 12 or 12A my children do not scare easily and have watched many films jurrasic park, pirates of the carribean, ghostbusters and had not problems but this really shocked them just beware worth parents watching before the children polar bear fight quite graphic quite a good film though for older age group ending sets up perfectly for next film

Total waste of adult time, a great performance from the main wee girl character being the reason for my 1 star.

Another great special effects film which I love. The polar bears were awesome and the battle scene between the two king bears was cleverly done. I was disappointed that the film did'nt really have an ending but will look forward to the sequel with great anticipation.

I was very disapointed with this film after loving the books. I'm not one of those who automatically writes off a movie based on a film, i know it will never live up to the book but i find that teh movie can add to my vision of books. This fell flat, the cast was good, scenery wonderful but the movie itself just didn't have any heart. The main problem for me was the relationship between people and their daemons was never played on enough, their bond of complete love between them did not come across so therefore the horror of them being seperated was not felt by the viewer. Also as this love was not felt the film lacked the magic of the books and as i said before felt flat. This could have been an amzing film but instead felt rushed and disjointed.

i really enjoyed this film, it was better than i expected. roll on the sequel!

Books rarely translate onto the screen for me ......then came Harry Potter .....now this. Well cast, brilliantly done .....the trouble with trilogies, of course, is that you have to wait another year for the next one! Damn it.

I was so disappointed by this movie - the trailers and reviews looked promising but dear oh dear - its just so boring and incredibly tedious. Yes the CGI effects are pretty good, tho not exceptional, and yes theres a star studded cast but the whole thing feels laboured and frankly uninteresting - with the likes of Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman simply going through teh numbers. Boring. Sorry but it's a a big fat turkey.

I was worried that Golden Compass wouldn't translate to the screen very well. I was wrong! It's a stunning and imaginative interpretation of the book. Nicole Kidman plays a fantastic villain, if indeed that is what she is. And that's the beauty of this movie; she keeps you guessing with her portrayal of her Marisa. The special effects are a sight for sore eyes after some of the latest trash that has hit our screens. Hire it, sit back and you will definitely enjoy.

I was advised to read the book before watching the film and have to say that the book is much, much better. There are some differences in the film version from the book which I found disconcerting. Overall disappointed in the film - especially as there are so many big stars involved.

golden compass is a brill film watch it

This film has a rich sorce material, big name actors and good special effects. However in trying to transform the book to film they have missed out alot of what made the books so good. The continuity of the story telling is gone therefore very little happens where and when it should do, this means that the story and real reasons the characters make the choices they do is often daft. Therefore the characters weak and storyline hard to follow, I wasnt expecing much but was still dissaponted. In my opion instead of this you should rent Stardust which is a very good family fantasy film and read the books this film is based on (His Dark Materials) which I enjoyed more than harry potter.

Good film worth while seeing recommended

This film was a very good aventure however a poor ending i thought it needed to go on.

Another good trilogy pending, easy to get absorbed into the characters and events. Could watch again and again and find something new!

Very disappointing! Seem to have gone for big names but hardly used them. (DC not sighted again after first 15 mins) Tried hard to be a Narnia but low budget special effects & storyline woeful by comparison. Last 10 mins the most blatant trailer you could ever see for a sequel that is undoubtedly to follow & which will be needed to give the story some closure! Boo hoo want my money back!!

good start but doesnt end. Good to watch with your kids but i would wait till all episodes/chapters are out and then get them and watch them all at once. This just wets the appeteite !!!

A slow start; a bit laborious and over complicated for kids. Not as good as the hype suggests.

Not a patch on the book. Picked up a bit at the end. Hope the others are better, but still worth a watch.

i am a massive fan and lover of sci fi movies and with this film it reminds me y i love it. people may overlooked this film as a kids film and another book film but fundamentally it was a great film.i loved the way each person had demons and how could you not like the polar bears.this film is great imaginative film with great effects and i hope the next is wait fir it legen dary!!!!

I haven't read the book but I thought this was a cool film. The effects are good as well as the actors. Can't wait for the next in the series.

Loved this film, also watched it at the cinema when it was first released, well woth a second look.

I know this film has had mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it. I haven't read the books so maybe that helped. Can't wait for the next instalment!!

I have read so much about this film and expected alot when i saw it that I was pleased it lived up to it's hype.A cracking story and and the CGI are excellent.The story keeps the pace well and this looks like another francise in the making.I have a problem with Nicole Kidman who I think just cannot act and again goes around looking lost and not knowing what she's doing,but hey that's just me.

a rather intriuging film, but a bad ending, which makes you think , surely this is supposed to carry on a bit longer, which makes me wonder if we will be asked to view a sequel like the jaws1-6. there was so much more that could have been done with this film, more scenes added. but the polar bear loren was very amusing and a good character. most appealing to a younger audience .

What could have been a great, dark, complex, beautiful film is reduced to incoherent simplistic mush. Looks good though. Our children deserve better than this.

Not worthy of all the hype. As often the case, the book is better. Big name stars but acting rather wooden.

Like many, I had already read "Northern Lights" before watching "The Golden Compass" - but I found the story disjointed and rambling, despite its wonderful descriptiveness.

The film to a certain extent has faithfully followed the book, and it is inevitable that corners have to be cut to fit such a sizeable book into 109 minutes. Unfortunately, it is the descriptions that have been removed and the waffle left that spoils the whole film.

What I found rather incredible was that a decision was made to excise the final section of the book, where Roger is so callously killed to open the wormhole between universes. If the film makers found that unpalatable and felt that the film would not sell with it included, I don't quite see how they are going to produce the next two books in the trilogy, as they involve further death and even a trip to the underworld. These books are not for the very young, so why attempt to make them into films for them?

That said, the landscapes, scenery and CGI depictions of the daemons and icebears are incredible and extremely evocative.

this film does not deserve to be a blockbuster as it was so called, yes the special effect are great but the story the way it was told and acted was very wooden and no sense of emotion from the characters, especially the leading character lyra , her performance was so wooden and lacking passion , which might be due to the fact the dialogues and script was terrible. overall this film was boring in the end you didnt care about anyone.

Very disappointing.

We had been waiting a long time for this to come out on Amazon rental.

I had been hoping the film would offer something new, something worth veiwing.

I was hoping that i would be glued to my chair watching every minute waitng to see what happens next.

If the true was told, the film never did get going and was quite gald to see the end..

The kids 1 at a time walked out and played upstairs instead of watching the film. Even when I offered to



make the pop corn; they decided to not watch any more rubbish. After 60min the wife too

left the room. I am a massive film lover and have seen so many films so I stayed on



hoping something good would occur. At the end of the film, I removed the DVD and placed it back into the return envelope.

The film failed in every possible way with no or little imagination offered.. considering a great cast in this film.

I am sure hard core fans will be happy with the film, I will not be watching it again..

It is like Harry Potter meets the Snow Queen. You expect it to go on and get to an ending then it just ends.

It must be a 2 part film & this is the first part.

Not good enough to watch any part two they might make but kids would enjoy it.

An OK film but it did not really grab us and make us stay in our seats. Nice CGI shame about the story.

Lets get the good stuff out of the way first, and to be honest there is plenty of this. This has to be one of the best computer generated on screen experiences I have seen. The big shots in the Arctic; the fight of the bears; the animal movements: all these were first class. The cinimatography overall was very good. The acting was good, and some actors stood out, particularly in the so called minor, supporting roles. A delightful display which was easy to watch and engaging.

Now the other side. This is an adaptation of a book. What is more, this is adaptation of a lengthy book. The resultant screenplay trys to keep to the book whole story, and to be honest there is not enougth time to do this. The end result winds the books supporters up, in that it makes cuts with the story and jumps a little too quickly from one scene to another; for film fans, the story is disjointed, assumes that you have a good grasp of the plot before you watch, and understand the sub-plots and twists without having to go into them too deeply itself. The end result fails to please either camps, and I for one was more than a little disappointed with the end product. If this is to be the first of a trilogy, I might not be as eager to watch the next two episodes without a major change of screenplay writers and/or director.

Wait till it goes out on TV, preferably on a wet Sunday afternoon.

The script is just awful, inconsequent, unintelligible. I haven't read the book so the movie is totally inconsistent. You can watch the movie but don't ask what is about.

Golden Compass is the adaptation of one of my favorite books "Northern Lights" the 1st of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Much like the last series of book adaptations by the New Line studios (Lord of the Rings, another series in my favorite list) The Golden Compass is a very fast paced and much altered edition of a story that actually takes place over a very long period of time. Many characters are added or substituted (such as Billy Coster taking the place of Tony Makarious) and major character plot points are changed (such as the added Magisterium agent trying to poison Lord Azriel instead of the Master of the College). Many of the design features fall short of or are completely different to what is in the book.

Although this adaptation is not bad - it is significantly different to make it a bad attempt. Altering and even leaving out the interesting bits of a beautifully crafted narrative in the name of telling just the bare bones of a book's story does not make up for the inevitable butchering the story suffers.

If you are a purest and either loved the book or want to know the full story, stick to the books. But if you are a fan of the kind of adaptations New Line produces in the same vain as the LotR series then take a look - personally I'm not impressed at all.

Fantastic film, which unfortunately ends very abruptly making you think 'Oh is that it?'. However up until the end, it is a really good fantasy film. I love the idea of everyone having a demon and it prompted the discussion what would yours be? Never got into the whole Harry Potter thing, but think this is much more fun. Roll on the next one in the trilogy.

very different to anything I have seen before enjoyable ,veiwing good acting from the younger actors aswell as the older ones.

Whilst I would recommend this film, it would be more enjoyable if you had read the book before. I felt that several shortcuts were taken when probably not merited whilst other scenes could probably have been shorter.But overall very enjoyable with excellent performances, especially Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter.

After reading some reviews I expected the film would be worse than it was. I was pleasantly surprised, I actually thought the girl that plays Lyra was well cast. I have to say though that something of the magic of the book was missing in the film....I'm not sure why...I would look forward to the rest of the book series being made into films as they have more interesting story ideas than the first book.

THOUGHT THIS MOVIE WAS GREAT CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE

I found this film a little confusing. Seemed to jump from one thing to another. The special effects were very good.

This movie was intriging and exciting and I am looking forward to the next one

While not as good as the Harry Potter films, if your children like those they should like this. The story is imaganitive and the special effects good, well worth watching.

Brilliant sad when it finished

My boyfriend has read the books and so i was excited to see what he was going on about. I was somewhat disappointed and found the film had a weak story line, little action and less than brilliant acting. Daniel Craig is seen for only a few minutes and Nicole Kidmans character isnt well defined. My 7 year old neice loved it however and found the polar bears amazing.

Pullman's estimable novel proves to be essentially untranslatable to film, as his creative imagination has been represented by ho-hum special effects and the object of his onslaught against religious fanaticism has been turned into mere authoritarianism. The question becomes either so what, or who cares?

Well, I was truly disapointed. Yes, ok, some really good special effects but I did not understand half of it to start with, and there is no end!... ready for a 2nd of a saga... Another one of those hollywood blockbusters trying to get more money by getting you back in the cinema... not my thing.

I was so disappointed with this film, particularily with the casting of the kids. Dakota had no charisma or appeal at all. The central character should engage your emotions, but quite frankly I wish the warrior bears had had her for their lunch! I understand it's difficult to compress such a fascinating book into two hours of film, but it left me feeling cheated. Hopefully Part Two will be better, but only if they replace Dakota!!

i really loved this film, it had all the adventure of one of the lord of the rings films but wasn't quite so dark. my husband wasn't quite as keen but still thought it was pretty good!

As a reader of the trilogy I found the film to be a much watered-down version of the novels, making it more suitable for a younger audience than the books were ever written for. Baddies and sinister plots don't quite have the same effect on screen. As such, I wonder how the more complex concepts Pullman was trying to convey will unfold as the 2nd and 3rd films are made. As it is, it's an enjoyable film which, as a condensed version of the book - leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Great special effects and reasonable acting from most of the cast. Watch it ,then read the book to fill in the gaps...

I had high hopes for this film, thinking it may be in the league of Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, etc. The animation was fantastic, but the film plot just seemed weak and tried to make up for it by draging on for what seemed an eternity. The end is as abrupt as you can get - almost as if they ran out of film tape. I appreciate there will be another instalment but it all ends so suddenly we looked at each other and said 'was that the end?'

If you liked the book this is a great adaptation. Initially I was concerned they would loose a lot of the important things by having to cut it down to a couple of hours. Dont be concerned, its still a great story and is incredibly well filmed and cast. It stands out above the other films of its type. Cant wait for the next one.

Having (surprisingly) not read the books, I was eagerly awaiting the anti organised religion content to spice up my evening, but found the film too fast paced to be involved in the storyline. Being a humanist myself, I picked up on the atheist theme of the story, but everything rattled past so quick, it was hard to empathise with the characters. As usual, the world's best acting talent was queuing up for bit parts and voice-overs, but the pacing stopped me from seeing them...

I really wanted to like this movie because i loved the books, but it was a mess - they totally screwed up the plot! it was painful for me to watch. the story is complicated, so i can understand if they couldn't explain everything or had to take short cuts... but... they just did it badly!! if you're a fan of the books then you should stay away from this movie!

Took too long to get going so left me pretty bored.

Can't wait for the next installment, the whole family really enjoyed this film from start to finish. I found it a little confusing in parts, but that may just be me! Beautiful settings and a very interesting storyline with lots of twists and turns to keep you intrigued. Fabulous acting with great characters, I particularly loved the pirate played by Robert De Niro! Would highly recommend.

I waited a long time to see this film, but was a little dissapointed with it. Not sure why. I loved the bears, though. Will watch the sequal and hope all becomes a bit clearer.

having loved the Philip Pullman dark Materials series and absolutely loved them, the film spoils the whole story in the first 5 minutes, we returned the film after watching 10 mins. However we were trapped on a plane for 4 hours and felt compelled to watch it. If you like this type of action fantasy adventure and don't read books then this is for you, however the deeper more spiritual aspects of the books were completely lost, which will mean that if the other two books are made into films they'll be totally meaningless.

a good film but a terrible ending- hope they make the next one!!!

I consider Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy to be among my top favorite books so I was excited when I heard there was a movie of the first book. I am usually very understanding of movies that have been adapted from books when the writers have to leave some things out so the movie isn't too long or because something might not convey well on screen but I had to stop watching the DVD 30 minutes into it because there were too many unncessary changes right from the beginning. Also, I think the makers of the film were trying too hard to make sure they explained things to people who hadn't read the books, but in the process they watered down and nearly eliminated how the mystery unfolded through Lyra's eyes as it did the book.

I was expecting this film to be really good but it was pretty average really. The story was a bit of a mess and certainly nothing new or particularly interesting. Some of the concepts were pretty good (the demons, ice bears) etc but not really used to any effect. It all seemed more like a sunday afternoon series than a blockbuster film to me...

I have read the book Northern Lights by Philip Pullman and this film was very well screened. You would really have to read the book to understand the film. Really enjoyed it would watch it again and looking forward to the next one as the film leaves you without an ending.

I never understood the runaway accolades for Northern Lights, the book this film was based on. I'm partial to fantasy/adventure films and always find myself PULLing for them to succeed, but this one didn't really cut it. Hollow characters were not helped by a script too full of staccato, fast moving scenes that did not allow for any meaningful character development or attachment to build for the audience. The film is visually enjoyable and meets the grand scale one would expect. Production design was good and created a suitably believable alter world. The daemon concept was also well-executed.

OK, worth watching, but dissapointing, had higher expectations but would probably rent compass 2 if it comes out quite keen to know what happens.

Having not read the books, I suppose my review could be affected by a certain ignorance of the story, but then again, that was the case when I saw HP1. Like that, this film has made me (an adult!) want to read the whole series of books - as long as I am one step ahead, that will be fine for me from now on. It's a good story, with decent pace, and good performances. I'm sure that kids from about 6 upwards will like it, although there is one scene which younger kids might find a bit upsetting. Can't wait for part 2!

I had not read the books, and found the film very difficult to follow. A lot of it made no sense and was disjointed, though family members who had read the books were able to follow the plot more easily. They complained, though, about chunks of the story being removed so that the plot was not coherent.

really good film, somtimes confusing but i enjoyed it.

Great, watched Eragon and Golden Compass with the kids this weekend - both films are well made and have good stories ...but neither have an ending as they are made to have sequels, and neither made enough money to make a sequel.

Not up to the standard of the 'Rings' films but nevertheless a reasonably decent family film. The leading lady ( girl ) comes over as being a bit too cheeky and pushy for my own liking but the effects in the film soon had me forgetting about that. Left slightly deflated by the ending but still a fairly decent film.

Strictly for the little ones

I looked forward to this coming out and knew that it couldn't contain everything that the book had. When I saw it I very much enjoyed it but was left at the end feeling a bit like the story had been raced through a bit quicker than I'd have liked. I don't think it would have hurt to have made the film a bit longer to include some more detail in the story, such as more lead up to the bear fight. Sam Elliott as Lee Scorsby was cast perfectly in my opinion

An excellent film for all the family Supurb special effects, exciting, thrilling A must see Wish I had seen it in the cinema !

Philip Pullman wrote a trilogy damning organised religion and dogmatic rule. This has been carefully neutered so as not to offend the delicacies of the Church. As a result we have a vague mention of an 'Authority' and a ruling 'Magesterium', which could look vaguely religious, if we squint a little. In fact, the whole film is like that; believeable, but not from close up. To the actors I must give full credit; lines that Lyra has to say to her daemon - which must have been added later - sound a little cheesy as I watch her speak them to him, so I can imagine how ridiculous she must have felt. She still carries it off with style. Nicole is far more believable here as an evil ice-queen than she's ever been - did anybody really feel she'd fallen in love with Ewan in Moulin Rouge? Or did we all cheer a little when she (finally) kicked the bucket? The bears were, well, bears that spoke, although admittedly the jawbone that flew towards the camera was an example - and sadly, a rare one - of the book being in the film. Just to finish off - they killed off the ending, so as not to offend the sensibilities of our little children, or in fact their parents. So I'm going to say now that it would have been so powerful if they had. Spoilers ahead. Roger asks Lyra if they're going home, and Lyra promises that they are. Lyra's protected him all the way, and then she brings him to her father. Lord Asriel, you see, has found a way of getting to the new worlds, the worlds we glimpsed through the Northern Lights. But it needs energy, so much energy, to open the path. Like the energy released when a child is cut from its daemon. Lyra delivers to Lord Asriel what he wants. But it's not what she thinks. Billy and his daemon are split, and the shock kills him. Lord Asriel cares little, looking only towards the new world as Lyra cradles Roger in her arms. She protected him, only to bring him to the monster who would use his suffering to further his own cause. I think that would have been a fair more powerful ending, and a reminder that Pullman wrote these books for adults, and not children.

NOT AS GOOD AS I THOUGHT VERY SLOW I WASNT IN THE MOON FOR IT AND IT WAS DISAPOINTING

Absolutely loved the books so was bit disappoionted that they left a lot out in the film and tried to spell things out and dumbed down in the movie. Think they are best left as books. The animation though was pretty fantastic.

What a great film. Loved the demons - in fact I'm sure my cat is mine! Excellent & can't wait for the next part.

Although rented for my daughter thouroughly enjoyed, this film...

an ok film worth giving it a watch just a bit of a let down i think! at the end.

For a family film this was really hard to follow. Trying to compete with films like Harry Potter etc, the plot is hard to grasp, miss a bit or don't catch it can make you fail to understand the next bit. For young kids this could be hard. This seemed more of a family film aimed at adults(adults like those who read the adult cover versions of Harry Potter anyway). Perhaps more aimed for older kids, the cast seemed like this as well, with no humour usually seen in family film. It seemed serious all the way through. However as a film, it seemed more as one to build up the next one, rather than aim to be a stand alone film in its own right. So maybe the next one will be better.

Good film pity we have to wait for the next chapter.

I was realy looking forward to seeing this but was a bit disapointed. I could not follow it at the beginning neither could anyone else. Not a very strong storyline.

If you don't like old fashioned family films, then don't rent/buy this. It's for the kids, but adults can also enjoy it too. Some of the plot may be a bit far fetched but it's what cinema/escapism is all about. Just enjoy!

I was really looking forward to this film as it was hyped to be the next big trilogy like lord of the rings !! OH DEAR !! where do I start.....The story is terrible with no real plot to follow, the CGI animals look like cartoon characters and as for the acting.............forget it !! Hopefully they won't waste their money making anymore films in this series !! Don't bother renting this film, just watch Lord Of The Rings again !!!

Not a huge fan of this genre but I found this quite interesting. I would imagine it would be quite hard work for young children though. Just a bit ho-hum really...

Glad i had read the book before watching the film. Film dissappointing as the book had so much more background. Found the film rather shallow.

REALLY DISAPPOINTED I EXPECTED MORE. THE FILM HAD EXCITEMENT BUT NOT WHAT IT WAS HYPED UP TO BE. A BIT SCARY FOR THE KIDS TO!!!

I was put off the golden compass during its cinema release but decided to stay open minded and watched it on DVD with the kids. The story seemed somewhat formulated to me as though the author took a little piece from children stories over the past 10 years packaged it up into a small novel and sold it to Hollywood. Needless to say the film was completely predictable with no shred of originality to enjoy. There is no substance to the film despite the strong cast and obvious high budget. It was difficult to engage with the main characters as the story seems to progress at pace perhaps missing important elements of the novel out. I felt the film was finally getting somewhere only for the credits to start rolling. The kids will love the adventure in the film but will no doubt have forgotten about it's existence once the next blockbuster arrives from Hollywood.

it's a true film for all the family

i felt let down by all the hype, the film suddenly finished. are the film makers planning a sequel. you really have to conentrate to keep up with what is happening as it seems to jump from once scene to another.

What a disappointment. Unlike some of the other reviewers i am an enormous fan of the books and had high hopes but this really didnt deliver. The story moves along too quickly but somehow isnt engaging, quite an achievement. My kids (8 and 5) got down half way through and started playing Lego, they were confused and didnt care about any of the characters enough to see how it turned out. I knew how they felt and joined them.

Not as good as the book - film ended to short cutting some of book out. Obvisouly set up for next film very disappointed especially after all the hype.

Seem to jump around too much between different scene and lacks continuity. Still very enjoyable and beautiful but not one you will watch again and again

This film would suit those of the younger generation. Obviously, I am an adult and enjoy the occasional fantasy ie Stardust. However, The Golden Compass did not deliver as much as it could have. It seemed the story moved on too quick, leaving questions unaswered. The A-star actors were also underused, Ian McKellan, like always was on top form, so was Ian McShane but Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and Danial Craig were underused and could have made the film more substanstial. This film on it's own has a lot to answer for, but like most, it has been left open for further films.

Nice effects. Nicole Kidman makes a good 'baddy', but I couldn't really understand what it was all about.

I haven't read any of the books, but read articles about the film bing anti-Catholic/Christian, so was intrigued to know what all the fuss was about. The film is a good fantasy film; similar to Narnia, but a lot darker. I can understand why some people have said that they can see anit-Christian themes in the film (the author of the book is an athiest). I'm sure some sequels will be made soon!

I really thought this was slow and took ages to get going. I left the room in favour of emptying the dishwasher. However, my husband and kids thought it was good.

Fell asleep twice trying to watch this. Good graphics and special effects but disappointing story line - no satisfactory end.

my kids love it and we like it too

very good for kids (and adults)

Some 6 months ago I read the book and could not pu tit down. So with much anticipation I sat down to watch the film eventually....oh boy was I disappointed! Apart from Nicole Kidman I felt the cast were mostly saying their words but not acting out the depth of the characters they were cast to play. The actor chosen to play Lyra was immensely wooden I felt and often had no warmth at all. Some of the effects were realistic but others were so disappointing...and the ending was sudden...too sudden. I recommend you read the book...it is full of imagery that comes to life...but I would think twice about watching the film....sad to say.

The film was not what expected. Even I had to focus and listen hard to understand the initial story line. I would imagine a younger audience would find it confusing although it portrays a 101 Dalmations but ends abruptly.

This was a brilliant film for all the family to enjoy. Kept everyone enthralled and can't wait for the next installment. Great effects and fantasy figures.

Nice imaginative story exploring common themes in self development. 'The Matrix' for kids.

Enjoyed the film. Good graphics but the story was a bit hard to get into at the beginning.

I did not get into this movie at all. I was really looking forward to watching it as I enjoy the genre. It felt bitty and as if I had missed another movie to make this one one make sense. Best way to describe it is it lacked charm and some acting talent

This film exceeded my expectations, casting fantastic,effects awesome bring on the sequels!

awesome movie but not long enough.

It was okay. I thought it would be more fast paced and the ending was disappointing as it was obviously left ready for Golden Compass 2 to carry on the story. I'll definitely watch a follow on film if they do make one, but unfortunately for the first film I think they hyped it up too much and left you feeling a bit deflated. But, our little girl enjoyed it so it's definitely a good one for the kids!

Good watchable family film but I do not think I will bother to see any sequals.

I Watched this film with high expectations, but i was disapointed right from the word the golden compass. It lacked energy and the buzz of entertainment.you would have been better off watching paint dry for two hours or so. It was really boring i nearly fell asleep.

A bit disappointing if you have read the book. Not true to the script/flow of the tale. Of its type its OK though.

Firstly they changed the name, I can deal with that it happens all the time (although the origional name is a lot better). To rub salt into the wound they butchered the plot. The charecter portrail is one dimensional at best and they miss out the best bit of the book, the ending! This is time I will not get back and I would strongly suggest not watching it. A truly dissapointing film, which is a shame because I really, really wanted to like this movie.

Very Good film...visually engaging and enjoyable for the whole family and ages..... look forward to sequel(if there are plans for it)

Found the film quite boring. Didnt warm to any of the characters... wont be rushing to watch the sequel when it is out.

Being a lover of comic book content at the cinema and fantasy movies I decided not to go to the cinema to watch this one as I thought it looked childish. Along it came to Love Film and I grabed it for one of my list and am happy that I did. The movie does not rely of big names to sell it, it has good cast performances and good plot and some darkness and tension, which builds throughout the movie. I was surprised and enjoyed it.

Take the action from Narnia, delete the story, edit all the CGI so that it looks like a cartoon, add a couple of moppets from RADA doing dodgy cockney accents, add a story so huge complicated and deep that you need to delete 95% of it so that it becomes incomprehensible, bung in a coda which keeps banging on about how bad religion is, sprinkle with a frightening Botox ridden Nicole Kidman, and finally squeeze in 3 minutes of Daniel Craig trying hard to do some acting. You're left with the Mess which is the Golden Compass.

Ok and watchable, mainly suited for kids with an adult in tow at the cinema, but its okay on DVD.

. . . The Golden Compass was so disappointing. I don't know the books, but I imagined that this would involve a story that would be magical in the Narnia / Harry Potter sort of way. The story was quite confusing however and I imagine that most children would have probably wandered off to play, rather than follow along with this film, bored. The children's acting was not great and therefore quite cringe-worthy. I'm always quite surprised that normally good, actors and actresses (Craig / Kidman) agree to do these films, but then again, i guess it's a bit of pocket money for them! I hope the film company do not waste a load of money and time in making the sequel!

I have never read ‘His Dark Materials’, the trilogy of fantasy books written by the English novelist Philip Pullman that begins with ‘Northern Lights’ (retitled ‘The Golden Compass’ in the US), but the film feels like a very sketchy and inadequate interpretation of the novel. It has a running time in excess of 110 minutes (admittedly, about ten minutes of this is given over to the ludicrously long list of visual effects credits at the end), but it always feels rushed and paper-thin, rather as if it is a basic outline of the screenplay rather than the finished product. The ending, in particular, is a damp squib, although this is perhaps not the fault of the film since it is only one part of a much bigger story. I recall that British film critics were very taken with the twelve-year-old Dakota Blue Richards, making her film debut here, even if later on the Daily Telegraph published a news story describing her as a “yob” because she was allegedly one of a group of teenage girls responsible for destroying a snowman in Hove in East Sussex. I felt that Richards’ accent sometimes slipped into “Cor blimey, ‘enry ‘iggins!” territory, but she was very engaging and clearly has screen presence. The largely British cast is excellent and Nicole Kidman adds some star quality to the proceedings. She apparently turned down the role initially, before she was persuaded to take it on in a personal letter from Philip Pullman. In a real coup for the film, the theme song is written and sung by the mercurial Kate Bush. With a production budget of $180 million, the copious CGI effects would be expected to be state-of-the-art. They are that and they are undoubtedly impressive, but they never look like anything other than special effects. For all the money spent and the technical expertise utilised, they failed to impress. The film grossed a little over $70 million in the US, a very poor showing given the monumental budget. It grossed a much more satisfactory $302 million in the rest of the world. However, I suspect the comparatively low American gross must place a question mark over plans to film ‘The Subtle Knife’ and ‘The Amber Spyglass’, the other novels in the trilogy. Based primarily on John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and first published between 1995 and 2000, the novels have become best sellers and have also created a degree of controversy regarding the religious imagery and perceived criticism of organised Christian religions. The film version of ‘The Golden Compass’ dilutes this, the Magisterium no longer portrayed as a representation of the Catholic Church, largely in an attempt to make it palatable to American religious sensibilities, but it was still criticised, both by religious and secular groups.

I DIDNT LIKE THIS FILM BUT THE KIDS LIKED IT SO I HAD TO RATE IT FOR THEM BUT NOT MY CUP OF TEA I LOVE KIDDY FILMS BUT NOT THIS ONE

'Cant wait for The Golden Compass' 2

My family were so excited to watch this film. All the hype it has been getting, and the stars in it looked really good. We feel so let down. There was not as much action and adventure as we expected. the ending was stupid too.

It's entertaining and the storyline is good verses evil. It's part one of three. I found the Computer Generated Images (CGI) makes the movie more colourful to watch. I'm in my 30s and i really enjoyed it, but hey i am a big kid at heart.

We came to this film at both a disadvantage and an advantage. Clearly it has outraged those who have read the book so we were at an advantage not having read any of the series. Unfortunately, not having read the book can also be a disadvantage. Despite listening really hard, this film leaves too many unanswered questions - questions we guess are answered in the book. As a stand alone film it has some great scenes, some stunning special effects, but....but.....

With different style of film you expect a certain style of content and in this family action adventure movie all our expectations were met perfectly. The Golden Compass is a well executed, enchanting adventure movie that is suitable for kids and adults alike, a difficult contrast of audience to engage. The story, based on the first of Phillip Pullman’s well thought of trilogy of books, centres around a young girl (Lyra) who is played commendably by the promising Dakota Richards. Lyra must realise her true potential and, with the help of a misfit group that includes a giant polar bear and a mysterious witch, must save her friends from the powerful yet evil organisation who have kidnapped them. The story and magical world is set in, a parallel world to Earth, are of course already created by the books, however, I feel they were well captured in this movie and together with strong performances from the lead characters, a little humour and little action made for an excellent first instalment. A really entertaining conversion, suitable for all ages, we are looking forward to the next movie! 9/10. 5 Stars.

This was a really good night's entertainment. Good story, great effects, superb acting, I sat through it enthralled all the way to the end. Then the awful truth hit me. This was not the end! I'd been there for nearly two hours and the story was only half way through. I hate it when that happens, even with TV programmes. If I'd known this was only part one, I'd have waited 'til part two came out on DVD then rented them one after the other. I never saw that coming. Very disappointed. Be warned.

A film to suit most ages - if you like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter etc. Good and dark with some great characters (Eva Green - say no more!)

This is a film from a book that is really aimed at teenagers. On one level it might appeal to younger children because it's pretty easy going and the plot is fairly one paced, but (the books) deal with some deep questioning of religion. This is skirts over much of this and as usual with films from books a lot of the detail is missed or not shown in the required amount to make the story understood. Pretty flat really-you are waiting for something to happen and it just doesnt quite get there. If you think this is another LOTR then you will be sorely disappointed.

Brilliant I enjoyed this film a lot cant wait for the 2nd episode

Hope the 2nd and 3rd films ar more exciting but an ok build up....

Unfortunately I read the book before seeing the film and it did not live up to my expectations. so I recommend if you read the book do not see the film and also vice versa if you watch the film don't read the book.

An enjoyable film by both myself & the kids. Even the mother-in-law watched it !

loved this film!! Had listened to the story on tape over the years as it was a family favourite and so I was really looking forward to the film. Not in the least disappointed. The scenes were shot just as I imagined them to be. The only drawback in my opinion? If you don't know the story it might need several viewings before you can follow the plot. This will go on my wish list for a permanent place on the dvd shelf

Having played the game on Xbox 360 I was slightly disappointed with the movie. I'm not sure if the lead character was a british actor but the accent was irritating to say the least. The storyline seemed rushed, however, the CGI was impressive. I would say that this is aimed more at the younger audience.

Quite liked the CGI and special effects. Nicole Kidman was great as the bad girl.

ok little bit violent in parts for kids

Enjoyed this film, full of stars and a fair bit of action. Good plot and special effects and I would definitely recommend this to families (not for young children though). The only real let down is that the film suddenly ends with no conclusion - so you know you've got to wait for the sequel, which is a bit frustrating!

Having read and enjoyed the books I was determined to watch this and I wanted to like it. I was expecting it to be a bit of a let down, but sadly it was worse than I feared. Great cast and some good CGI but basically money and opportunity wasted. No real tension and the central characters were lacking in any particular appeal, although Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliott did their best. The overall effect was a rather facile and uninspiring treatment of a potentially good theme for a film. I doubt that I will bother to watch the next instalment (assuming it does actually get made).

on tv trailer it looked really good couldn t wait to see it . when i did i was disapointed it wasn t has good as i thought itwould be wouldn t watch it again

A waste of time and effort

A disappointing first of the trilogy - special effects galore but I felt like I was watching the polar express at times due to the snowy setting! I think you probably need to watch this film as part of the sequence as I personally don't think it is strong enough as a stand alone film.

Loved this film, the whole family enjoyed it. Shame the ending was so obviously left open for a follow-up but that would be my only criticsm. Fab cast and a good CGI.

very good film , kept my kids quite and the wife till the end. storyline very good. very entertaining.

If you are a so-called adult that has also got swept along in the Harry Potter hysteria then you'll like this film. If you are an actual adult, you may well find it to be just another children's fantasy film with nothing to distinguish it from all the other shelf-fillers out there.

Did not really live up to the hype. Dakota did a surprisingly good performance even though it was her first film

I rented this DVD thinking it would be OK for adults (old kids!), eg. I loved the Narnia & Harry Potter films. This is a fantastic film for children but the storyline is not interesting enough for adults. The cinematography is amazing. The actors in the film all play strong roles. A great DVD for kids & young teenagers.

The Golden Compass is the latest fantasy adventure to come our way. Like many of the fantasy films that have come out in recent years (Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia), The Golden Compass was originally a book. The Golden Compass (Northern Lights to many including myself) was the first book in Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy. However, I believe it can be said that The Golden Compass did not do justice to its original medium. The film at time felt rushed (although this is understandable due to time restraints) meaning that some of the less superficial aspects of the story may have been over looked. The setting for The Golden Compass is an alternate world from our own, Jordan in Oxford. It is a world where people have daemons in the form of animals that are similar to our own conscience and soul. The story revolves around a young girl named Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) who lives in Jordan College and is niece of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). The story is set in motion early on in the film when Lyra witnesses the Masters of the College attempt to poison Lord Asriel, a plan which Lyra foils. Whilst Lord Asriel goes in the North in investigation of the mysterious particles named 'dust', Lyra is invited on a journey with the mesmerising Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman). Before going, Lyra is give an alethiometer which is essentially a measurer of truth. Lyra's excitement about being with Mrs. Coulter is shatter when Lyra realises that she is head of an organisation run by the Magisterium responsible for the disappearances of many children including some of Lyra's friends. Lyra eventually ends up in the hands of the Gyptians and one their travels she meets a witch, Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green), the aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), and the armoured bear (voiced by Ian McEllen). (Dakota Blue Richards) There was great controversy surrounding the making of the Golden Compass due to the religious aspects of the story. It can be argued that Lyra's world is much like an Orwellian dystopian future due the an organisation known as the Magisterium which has many parallels with the Catholic Church. However, The Golden Compass is not the first film that has controversy surrounding it an in most case, even possibly this one, it can actually benefit the film. The Golden Compass has one of the marks of a good children's film, it has facets for more mature audiences. The storyline regarding the Magisterium and the Orwellian world are concepts that would go over the heads of most children. Therefore , these aspects give the adults something to ponder as the children accept the film at face value. The performances in the film are not performances that could be considered spectacular meaning that the acting is not the film saving grace. Naturally, The Golden Compass had its good moments, the arrival of Sam Elliott with his strong Texan accent reminds the viewer that they are watching an all star cast perform. I must sat that the Golden Compass is aesthetically pleasing; the visual effects within the film are highly impressive. Then again, they can be rather distracting at times. To conclude, The Golden Compass had the potential to be much better than it was but that is not to say that it was completely awful. There aspects of the storyline that are highly interesting and the visual effects are stunning. It's not the greatest fantasy film of the past few years but it is at least worth a watch.

Wonderful special effects but storyline hard to follow. Needed to have read the book to appreciate the film.

As far as I can remember, this was a faithful film of the book and I enjoyed it more than I expected.

most enjoyable film,a bit hard to follow for the younger kids but overall good film and story

I read Philip Pullman's books on holiday over christmas - we had two months in Australia and New Zealand.The books are fantastic, I enjoyed the film but if i'd not ready the books i think i would have found it quite confusing. The bears were fantastic and Lyra was well cast. I'm not a big Nicole Kidman fan but I actually thought she was great in the part - she is good at playing the villain. Overall it was enjoyable but my expectations were a bit high perhaps.

really disappointing. Read the book instead.

Was quite dissapointed, I felt that the movie was rushed and did not capture the book.

This story had great promise but was let down by rushed storytelling and generally poor execution.

A very poor adaptation of what I am told was a great book. Poor hammy acting and average special effects combine with an unengaging script and appalling editing to leave audiences cold. Even the kids will be bored in five minutes

Pretty faithful to the book - spoiled a bit by Lyra's character - sorry to criticise a youngster, but would hae expected Lyra to more of a tomboy type - and to maintian the cockney accent rather than lapse into it some of the time. Will be unlikely to watch the other parte of the trilogy.

I was really looking forward to this film, I had heard all sorts of rave reviews. I settled down to watch the film with a glass ofwine and some chocolates and waited for the brilliance to shine through. It never did. I was left feeling very disappointed in the whole film

Bo..........................ring. Thats all you need to know about this movie

very slow and boring however the ending was quite fast and ended abruptly.

I came to this without knowing anything about the book or movie... Lord, I wished I had. It was confusing and disjointed from the outset. The plot was nonsensical and refused to explain itself in any manner that would allow anyone not having read the book to understand what was going on! As a result I was constantly asking my girlfriend, who had read all the books, who was what and why. At the beginning of LOTR there was a five minute segment explaining the concept of the ring and the history of it's power. This put the whole movie in context for anyone not having read the book. That's exactly what's needed with the Golden Compass. The film maker's can't presume that everyone coming to the movie knows the story or characters beforehand. I consider myself an intelligent person and normally love movies dictated by plot and character (recently really enjoyed Jesse James and No Country For Old Men). But, this was just a unnecessary struggle. For example, how on earth we were supposed to comprehend the concept of the animal Daemons without some further explanation I've no idea! Or bringing in complete new sets of characters half way through the movie and just assuming the audience knows who they are is just plain confusing. However, in it's favour the acting was fairly good and the effects were pretty impressive. But that doesn't make a movie.

Wonderful. Casting, magic, photography, music. Excellent.
Hope they'll make the other 2 books into films soon! . Much better than Harry Potter tho I agree with another reviewer that tit doesn't quite have the magic of The Lord of The Rings - but then the books are not as majestic either. For anyone who enjoyed this film but hasn't read the books, go away and do so as soon as possible. It was good to see such a well made BRITISH film! There were times when it reminded us of Pirates of the Caribbean too.

This is an entertaining film for all the family

This was a good easy to watch film....more for the older child though. The only downfall is the ending!....there is obviously going to be a sequel to the movie but it was left at a point that just annoyed me!!!!

i didnt like it. I found its too cruel

For children only! Was a little tiresome and easily read...

Very much in the mould of the lion the witch and the wardrobe, good solid family fare with plenty of nice fantasy animals and a fairly simplistic storyline. It will be interesting to see if the stars sign up for a second film as this appears to be crying out for more movies to flesh out the story.

as so frequently, the movie was not as good as the book. on the other hand, seeing the interpretation of the story 'coming to life' was fun, and the effects were very good. strange that they never mention that it's part of a trilogy, and this is only the first part!

Read all the books so had to watch the film. Great animation. Worth watching. Can't wait for The Suptle Knife and the Amber Spyglass to be made if its possible.

This much promised film did not deliver, in my opinion. I was intrigued by the story and really got into the characters for it all to come to nothing...not even any clues after the credits as to the next, if any sequels. A waste of 1 1/2 hours...

Unlike Jack Sparrow's compass which works fine, this film went no where. My 10 year old, my 8 year old were bored beyond belief. The story line is very weak and the film just stops halfway through the story. Total waste of time which left you feeling angry that you've been left high and dry, and frustrated that you were stupid enough to sit through to the end. Don't waste your time viewing this film. The computer graphics were good but nothing could save this film from being utter tosh. If you're stressed out and want to relax I would suggest Prozac instead of this film.

The kids lost interest by the first half an hour.

Poor slow moving plot...finishes abruptly with no hook for the next film.......doesn't live up to the hipe..........

loved this film as much as the book!

The trailer made this look awesome but I was somewhat disappointed overall.

So I saw trailer, cast etc and thought this would be entertaining. Unfortunately after 35 minutes of watching I gave up. Story was quite slow and quite convuluted(bearing in mind is aimed at kids!) so not my cup of tea - ofcourse it is possible it picked up from there but I guess I will never know!!

Not keen on a childs film which is full of 'demons' - I don't recommend it for parents with small children.

its a really good film, but it ended as if it was half way through the film. not the best of endings

The book is better and the ending is somewhat abrupt but the film does justice to a brilliant novel. Bring on 2 and 3 now!

The bear, the backgrounds, the overall effects are simply breathtaking. A very heartwarming and adventurous journey of a child. Really enjoyed the movie.

I loved this film, and never having read the book found it extremely original......... However.........the ending was very poor Seems as if they were already planning the sequal.. But worth watching nevertheless...........good family entertainment.

I had not read the books upon which the film is based and therefore found the film's plot confusing. Special effects were ok but without the WOW factor. Maybe more of a film for kids. Turned it off after 45 minutes.

Nearly didn't watch because of negative comments in Press, but I thought it was a good film which deliberately ignored the deeper philosophies in the book, to make it a watchable and enjoyable film for a young audience. Read the books for a greater understanding---but watch the film for very clever fantasy.

This film is one of the best films I have even seen and that is said as an adult! Obviously teh kids loved it, but there was a deeper part to it which kept you so engrossed in it. The special effects were seamless. Can't rave about it enough, the cting brilliant and Nicole Kidman was breathtaking in it.

I must say i very much enjoyed this film. After hearing a mixed bunch of reviews about this i was a little worried when i got it that it would be boring as some people had said but it was not! The story i thought was great and the polar bears fantastic. I found myself dragged right into the story and cared what happened to the characters, the special effects were good also, definately one to watch with the family. I hope the second one is as good.

Somehow unaware of the fact that this film is based on a trilogy, my daughters and I had a pit stop 5 minutes before the end as the film had become a bit of an endurance test. Slipping accents (was that really cockerney?) the film to me was a hotch potch of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Eliza Doolittle, Lord of the Rings with a guest appearance from some Wyatt Erp character. Glad I hired it and didn't buy it as one viewing is plenty.

Very confused fliming and style. Only good thing is the animation

One of the best films I've seen in a while. Not exactly as the book but the major elements are there. Can't wait for the next episode

I haven't read the books, but this movie was extremely entertaining! This is a great adventure with suspense, thrills and happy moments. It's well directed, and you get drawn into the story from the word go. The actors are also all brilliant. I would recommend this movie to anyone.

I would suggest that reading the books first does help as it all becomes explained over the chapters. Having purchased the trilogy of books for my son, I soon got fed up of hearing all about the story and characters. Well, if you can't beat them join them! So I sat down and started reading. I found it hard to get my nose out of the books until I had finished! The film is brilliant and really follows the book, it brought the story to life and passed far too quickly. Can't wait for part two!!!

I was really looking forward to seeing this film, which is why i was slightly disapointed when nothing much happened! However, despite being quite slow and unexciting in places, it was a clever storyline which more or less stuck to the original book by Phillip Pullman.

Filming a book is always something that will never please all of the books readers. Given the size of the book and its scope in terms of characters and locations squeezing it into a film was always going to be a major uphill task. Overall this is a very creditable try with some very impressive effects - it is getting harder and harder to separate CGI from reality. And remember reality in this context is an alternate universe. It follows the story impressively closely at the expense of sometimes having a slightly disjointed feel. If you have not read the book then the pace may well cause some confusion. It has been compared - slightly unfairly with lord of the rings, which was not marketed as a childrens story. Filmed as an adult movie with more grit in the battle scenes and a running time to do it justice it would run it much closer.

A must see film magical!!!!!!!!!

If you like Sci-fi, magic, and mediveal your in for a treat with this one. Bears in armour, magicians, and a whole lot of wonderful CGI...great stuff.

Ok for a while in cuddly fashion although story a bit odd in parts unless you have read the book. Probably ok too if you have some youngsters under 10 to entertain and it's raining. But Harry Potter its is not and when you get to the end and it isn't, well frustrating is the feeling. But some nice battles, well only one really and its more warm feeling than wow excited. Don't ask Jonathan Ross he thought it was five stars.

This was a good film but I didn't think it was as good as I expected from seeing the trailers. The story was a lot slower moving than they lead you to believe and is slightly boring in parts as it takes a while to get going, still a good film though.

this film we all was intreaged , good story line , good acting ...worth watching

Love, romance, death and funny

Disappointingly childish. I thought the effects were excellent but the book this is based on is very long and they had to condense the plot and ideas into a watchable film The film suffered because of this. I didn't like the girl playing Lyra, too mannered and stage school ; the only good thing about it not taking off is that the toys are being sold off cheaply.

RUBBISH turned it off after 20 mins

This is a great film for everyone, very cleverly done. The main child actress needs a little more experience I think but overall a film worth watching and I look forward to a sequel.

I really enjoyed this film and think that it was very well realised from the book(s); however, I do think that for somone who does not know Philip Pullman's work, and the theme of Northern Lights, might find some diffiiculty in following the twists and turns of the plot. For the rest of us, it is great! And for those of the older generation out there, I am nearer 90 than 80, so age is no barrier.

Saw this at the movies. Half the audience walked out while the rest were asleep! Too many bad points to mention and others have hit on them anyway. Suffice to say, avoid like the plague (apologies to the plague for comparing it to something this dire)!

I expected a lot more of this movie, didn't think it was good at all. Could have been lots better.

The compass is broken, I thought this was dull. Trying to be 'Narnia' etc & failing miserably

good film for the kids but the disc i had jumped half way though so could not realy rate this film any better please do let this put you it is worth watching at least once you may enjoy it more than i did

Was quite interested to watch the film with all the hype surrounding it but what a disappointment. The plot was very thin and made no sense or was unbelievable in places. The film tried too hard to emulate Harry Potter & The Chronicles of Narnia but failed. And then to end it all with the blatant prompt to see the sequel, when nothing was resolved in this film. At least the Narnia film gave me some enjoyment and I will watch its sequel. With the Golden Compass, I won't even bother.

A great film...but if you really want to know the full (and on the whole) much more intricate and amazing story you must read the book. seriously. Like any adaptation it just doesn't quite cut it and sooooo many plot lines and nuances are omitted.

I have read Phillip Pulman's trilogy, of which this film is based on the majority of the first book. Unfortunately the book is very compelling, but has many levels and lots of understanding of the world that Lyra lives in is provided without you really realising, however it is much harder to do this on film. Although the film is enjoyable and has some memorable scenes, it did not hold my undivided attention. I also felt that for people who had not read the book, would be well and truly lost. I think the fact they explain what 'dust' is in the film takes away a lot of magic of the books and I also think they finished the book at an odd point. The book finished an a good cliff hanger, where as the film is kind of fades out. Worth watching for Nicole Kidman's performance but not worth paying to see at the cinema and read the book before you see it!

While with other films I sometimes think they go on too long, I felt this one was too short. There was nowhere near enough character development of those Lyra met on her journey, and I felt it would have benefitted by getting to know the characters a little better. However, Nicole Kidman was great as Mrs. Coulter. The CGI was at times good, at times patchy - all in all, a good way of spending a rainy Sunday afternoon, as I did, but not one I will be rushing to see again.

After the book no comparison. became cumbersome and tiresome middle of film.OK npothing special the Narnia series somehow have transferred better to film.

Not having read the book I wasn't sure what to expect, having only seen the trailers. Will definately read the books! Good for those who like a bit of magic and are prepared to suspend belief. Look forward to the sequels

This was a really enjoyable family film, Harry Potter meets Narnia style. The usual elements were there, witches, magic, talking animals, unanswered mysterious questions, etc, the special effects were amazing and the animal spirits or demons as they were called really made the film. Definitely looking forward to the next instalment in the series.

Fairly good graphics if a little inconsistent.

This was excellent and followed the 1st book which is rare sometimes! The ending leaves it open for the next book so bring it on!!

I really like the film but what lets it down is that it ends right in the middle and you are left waiting for the next film which will take forever to be made and released but I was left feeling like i only got half a film and I hate that I like to know ive not only got half way through. but other than that what i did see was good

I read all 3 books before seeing the film and as most people would say the film is never as good as the book, but this was....It was FANTASTIC...I loved every character and the actors chosen to play them were spot on, especially Lyra... Can't wait for the next one. Had to see it on the big screen and gald i did...Real family movie that keeps you enthralled and enchanted right to the very end.....LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT

The Goldern Compass was good but not as good as the Books - the Books were far better and thrilling, Its worth a watch but would recommend that if people want to watch it to read the books first as everything is all explained better.

I thought this was going to be a kids film, but thought some of the scene were a little scary. Having said that I did enjoy it and thought that it was well done.

Very enjoyable family film with some wonderful special effects. Loved the polar bears!

The film is nowhere near the actual quality of the books. It is a watered down version of what actually happens. Many issues were taken out off the film because of political correctness. it is a cowardly and light version of what the books can offer. Acting is also wooden and sometimes non-existent. The special effect monkey deserves an Oscar for putting up with wodden Hollywood A celebs. Don't waste your money on it and go and buy the books instead.

The special effects were great but the story was slow. The kids loved it, a bit violent in places though!!

My son seemed to enjoy this but kept asking questions and I was struggling to understand the plot. I have been told that this is out of sequence with the books.

I dared not think a film could do the book justice, but it does. We all loved it and can't wait for the next part.

I felt this was an adventurous and eye catching film. recommend that you watch it.

The film was good but the ending was a bit of a let down but if they do a second one it would make it worth while lol.

bit to much for my liking.....thought it was very deep for a kids film

Have been waiting for this to be delivered from my rental list for some time. But when it arrived it wasnt what i expected and was a little disappointing. I thought the plot was not clearly explained you there were times when you would think 'what is that about'?!! Not sure how many kids could truly follow this. They may enjoy the magical animal element but not be able to really understand what is happening. Could have been better but still watchable.

This film is boring from start to finish Dont Waste Your Valuable Life On This Film

Very stylish but for those that had not read the book I would think hard going. It did not have the depth of the book and the ending was wide open. Lord of the Rings showed that you can follow a book its a shame other producers have not taken note. Lets see (if they happen) what the rest of the trilogy will be like.

This was a brillent movie to watch with my girlfriend but some bit did not follow together. however I can't to see the next flime

What a difficult act to follow - the book captured the imagination in such a delightful way. Nervous about an over-reliance on cheap animation, I was surprised by the skilful blending of fantasy and 'reality'. The casting of Lyra was brilliant and the success of the film was dependant on this for me. Give it a go -

Apart from the casting of Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter I was very happy with this adaptation. Nicole Kidman was no where near sinister enough - she appeared to be nothing but a coat hanger for the costume deigner.

What can I say. Brilliant, brilliant brilliant - more please. Harry Potter who?

Looking forward to the golden compass with my bottle of wine and box of chocs......wot on earth are people thinking about when they review films these days...totally n utterly boaring...skipped through thought it would pick up..skipped...right to the end which was the best part!!

I was really looking forward to this film as I have read and re read the Philip Pullman books and adored them. The film it's self is very well put together, great effects and filming. However.. The story isn't anything close to the book and spoils a beautiful story. Important points are missed and the whole focus of the story is ignored. Whilst Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are fantastic most of the cast lacked believability How they intend to make the other two I don't know especially considering the film finished half way through the first book? I was looking forward to a beautiful and slightly controversial film and what I got was lots of special effects and a lukewarm plot. If you want a 'good' film then watch it. If you want to appreciate the wonder that is Phillip Pullman don't bother.

Excellant - a must hire. Great story great effects and all round good acting producing ete

I did not know much about this film before viewing it, but I remember seeing the posters for it last year. So when I got this on DVD I was interested in seeing it and whether it was any good or not. To be honest, I found it a bit hard to follow at first, but eventually it got easier as I got more into the story. The actress who plays the little girl was marvellous and did a great job, I expect her to be a famous actress one day. You really need to watch this film twice, as the first time round, a lot of things in the early part went by so quick that it was hard to appreciate what they meant. I did enjoy the film, but shortly before the end it was obvious that the story was to be continued in a sequel, which I would like to see. I would put this film into the same category as Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia, but not quite as good as those. I recommend it, but only if you like fantasy stories and do not mind the story being unfinished in one film. I would also add that there were too many characters introduced, and it seemed that some of them were just in it too briefly to be really be of any value to the film. The special effects were great, and I am watching this film again before returning it.

My daughter didn't enjoy this film. Don't think it was their sort of thing. Said they found it confusing!

Unfortunatly, being the mere mortal that I am, I couldn't find it. Infact either could the missus or the kids! Aimed mainly at young girls with the liking for fairy tales. 2 stars for the amazing effects

Sorry but this was a little to 'Harry Potter' for me never really enjoyed it but if your a 'Harry Potter' fan then go for it.

This film had all the hallmarks of being a great, unfortunately is does not deliver. The main child character is such a poor actress it detracts from all the other great actors. Overall might be ok for kids but should have been so much better.

Sorry, but Golden, this compass ain't! True, it's aimed at kids, but take away the impressive effects and you are left with a movie that seems to have no story, no explanation and no purpose. Even kids will ask what it was all about. I've never seen a movie where I cared LESS about all the characters. Cardboard???? They weren't even paper! And WHY are the missing children being carted off to the Nort pole? They could just as easily be imprisoned in Potters Bar. And WHERE do they all run away to at the end? Surely they would just die of cold and exposure, wandering aimlessly at the top of the world, or perhaps we didn't see that they hopped on the number 32 to Cricklewood to be home in time for tea.... Most of the plot is ill-explained and there are so many glaring plot holes, you give up counting how often you say,'Where did that come from?' or. 'Why did that happen?'. Want fantasy adventure? Renting this rubbish is the biggest fantasy of all time. Very long, very boring. I had considered buying the books at one time, but this movie has put me off doing that. My 1 star is for the effects. Try elsewhere.

we were very disappointed - I hated the girl's accent, found the script unrealistic to say the least, and my daughter was aware the ending was left open for a next episode, unconvincingly. Very poor, I'm afraid!

Not as good as the book but still very enjoyable.

Having read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. I had high hopes for this film. It didn't dissapoint. I thought they portrayed the story quite well. If you haven't read the books, I think..for a first part of a trilogy it's done well enough to keep you interested. The whole concept of lots of worlds exisiting next to each other parallel is lovely, it's bene done before, but what makes it more interesting is the where this first part is set. It's set in Oxford...but in a different reality where humans carry their souls on the outside in the form of animals. Let me just say..there's a whole lot more in store! This was though, the best book of the 3 so..I hope the films get better!!!

My wife enjoyed this more than I did as she has read the book and therefore followed the story from the outset, there are some big names in it and given the huge publicity that went with the film when ti was released onto the big screen I had big hopes for this film but found it lacking in some areas. an enjoyable film overall but not the stunning blockbuster that I was expecting

this is rubbish after all the hipe glad i did not pay at the cinmer to watch it

was a little disappointed but still waiting for the next one to see what happens a film you have to concentrate on not one for younger kids to hard going my daughter got board

Really enjoyed it even though I only picked it as it had one of my fav actors into, it was much better than I thought it would be

I thought it was a shame that such a visually gorgeous movie managed to suck the life out of a really cool story. It was so pretty to look at, but each detail was introduced in a way that implied we should be oohing and aahing and thanking the filmmakers for being so clever, thus defeating the point of worldbuilding and also managing to quench any of the original story's fire which may have survived the clumsy scriptwriting and lackluster directing. I love film adaptations of books, but this one was just... unfortunate.

A film where you can do other things but still know what's going on. Children will like it I'm sure.

At the grand age of 33, sometimes I like to relive my youth and wtach a good old kids film, so I hired this in that hope. Well within 20 minutes I was utterly bemused and had no idea what was going on, who was good, who was bad and where the film was going. So I tried hard to concentrate and within a further 10 minutes, I switched it off. I was totally and utterly lost. Not worth it.

i first saw this movie at the cinema and was disapointed . i didnt realise that it was another drawn out trilogy which seem to take forever to get to the point however my husband wanted to watch it so we rented it. this is the sort of film that you have to watch twice to understand whats going on . i endured the film for a second time and still didnt get excited about it. its ok but dont exspect lord of the rings as its not a patch. if you enjoy narnia you will enjoy this film. the best bit is the polar bear who has the best part!

Under developed characters, decent effects, an obvious lead into the remaining films, age rating is really its target audience! Maybe fed into the hype to watch this but was left disapointed. Hope for more from remaining films in the sequence, dont read the books first, youll be even more disappointed!

The books are so excellent the film was always going to struggle. However a good attempt and worth watching.

A great film for all the family good special effects

A good family film with daniel craig and nicole kidman. the girl who played Lyra was very good too. Could have been 4 or 5 stars if the film was as good as the book. Unfortunately it didnt quite meet my imaginary expectation.

Slow start, good pick up, interesting concepts, but like lord of the rings, will leave you wanting the next part of the trilogy,

Good fim, I enjoyed it and so did my parents in their 70s so surely a film for all to watch. Great acting, good storyline, a little girl trying to save her friends and I really enjoyed the idea of your souls being in creatures next to you rather than in your body, very noval idea.

a bit slow in some places good story good for kids

did not hold my attention for very long,nor that of my kids who found it to complicated.

this film was great and nicole kidman played a stunning part, good film to settle with

To be honest I found this film, slow and boring. I didnt know what it was about. There appeared no motivation for the film wotsoever.

Nice story, gets better as it goes on. Lots of great stars in it.

I had read the books so it all made sense to me but it was a bit confusing for the kids. They still loved it though. The actress that plays Lyra is really good, and the animation is excellent. The ending was a bit abrupt, but obviously another film to follow on.

(3R - three word reviews)

three words: boring, boring, boring

Saw this film at the cinema first, it is a good film but you have to concentrate. The story is good if fast moving.

Kids loved it! Armour plated polar bears - say no more!

Firstly. not a kids film. unless the child has ADHD. The film moves at 100mph and the best part is when they explain the relationship between the humans and the demon's (pet ghosts i think). As soon as that little story is told be prepared for some serious pace where No character is explored and it all becomes a blur. The people who push the story along appear so randomly without much explination i began to feel a little insulted and my youngest got board. The polar bears do grab the attention of the little ones but its a quick fix to what can only be described as a poor knock off to such triumps as LOTR's or Narnia (or Willow for that matter...... how about a sequel to that film?) I think the book must have a lot, a lot, a lot more than this film, and the fact that there now going to try and pump out 2 more saddens me. good effects, they must of had the money from the book sales, and the sales of all the merchendice must surely be going back into the rest of teh films because if i was the producers i would take a hard long look at this film and try and fix the many mistakes before venturing out on another film. sorry for the negitive review, but i did still give it two star's. (my misses loved and and cryed at the end....... she had to explain the story to my kids after) I will now buy the book and have pleasure reading it to my kids over the next year, and won't miss out on all the story that wasnt' told in the film. mookstar*

Imaginative story and leaves you wanting to know what happens next. Hadn't read the books but this was above average family movie.

My son who is 8 really enjoyed this film.

Not as good as I expected but the beginning of a story so hopefully the next ones are better. Worth watching though.

good all rounder just wait to see what the second ones like

I loved the books for this film, because they appealed to both children, but could be taken to another level for adults and be explored in terms of the possibilities of there being other worlds out there. I do not think that this film showed that, it was good in terms of its production, but then cannot rival the narnia chronicles or harry potter for effects etc. however a good film to just sit and watch.

The cinamatography and CGI in this film are as you would expect these days, very good. The abridging of the book into a film was ok. But a lot was left unexpained and just watching the film on its own, without knowledge of the book meant it didn't make sense in places. Worth a look.

Disappointed with this film as was my daughter, mainly as we have read the book and the film doesn't stay true to it. The acting was also a little disappointing with the emotion of the characters from the books not being portrayed well by the actors. Not one i'd go out of my way to watch again

The Golden Compass was ok but not as good as expected.

It managed to bring the story to life and was faithful to book.

Stupid ending, got to wait for a sequel

Thoroughgly enjoyed the film, pretty true to the book and story line. Worth watching.

If you are a fan of the 'His Dark Materials' books, as I am, then don't even bother to watch this film. It is an epic dissapointment on every level and I was left stomping around my lounge in frustration at what a missed opportunity this was.

The problem was not so much the acting (which seemed quite forced at times), or the CGI (which wasn't as good as films years older), but more the complete and utter disregard for the original story. I do understand that not all parts of a book will translate well into a film, however, I think that the writers of the screenplay for this film have basically massacred a perfictly good story.

I wish that they had got a director like Peter Jackson to translate this into a decent film like Lord of the Rings, but unfortunately it has just ended up as a confusing, dumbed-down mess of a film and I am left seething and wanting to read the book again just to erase the memory of this farse from my mind.

no where near as good as the book. was disappointed by this.

I have read the Philip Pulman 'Dark Materials' series which I thoroughly enjoyed. As a result I was looking forward to this film and it turned out to be a huge let down. As I had read the books I understood what the film was about however my husband who had not read the books did not have a clue what was going on. The actress who played Lara is not particularly good and when you take into account the calibre of the other actors in the film it is a great disappointment. I would not bother watching this film, if you are interested you would better spend your time reading the books instead.

Disappointed - what was all the hype about?

we found this a good film but a little hard going for the kids at times

Excellent viewing for all the family

This film is so mind numbingly boring not to mention utterly confusing, that I implore you not to waste two hours of your life watching it as you will only then be forced to watch part two when it is released. Ignore all the reviews that praise this film, it really is that bad. The story just doesn't make any sense at all and the plot jumps from one bizarre scenario to the next without ever really explaning anything. I wish I could give examples but as I didn't understand it I would be struggling.

Very disappointed after hearing all the hype. Boring film with a story line that was unfinished just to set it up for a sequel. (I know that it is but it could have been done better). Special effects not that good. Generally disappointed.

Talk of Dust... hint of Narnia...talk of Dust... smacks of Lord of the Rings...Dust....Twist of Harry Potter...poor dialogue, more dust... RIPS OFF STAR WARS BIG TIME...ends with sequel in mind, however probably won't be made as was'nt that popular. I HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS SO I AM NOT BIASED- AS A FILM THIS IS DREARY- 2 STARS IS GENEROUS

This is a very good film but it would not be suitable for young childen as it is quite hard to follow. Very good film though and very well acted.

I wasnt looking forward to this at all because I was told it was a boring kids movie not unlike 'Narnia'. However I was pleasantly surprised at how well acted and how good the special effects were. Cant wait for the next installment.

Samuel L always a pleasure; also a big fan of Ed Harris. Mostly great, then the DVD clonked out so had to send it back and wait to see the end. Could have been outstanding film, but just sort of drifts to the end pretty quickly.

The movie is too violent for children and adults will find the story line dull. Its well acted and stylish looking but the story is just totally stupid. I expect teenagers will like it but I would not put money on it.

I had heard mixed reviews on this one, but I thought the adaptation from the book was fabulous helped by a great cast. I don't know how well I would be able to follow the story without having read the book, but I really enjoyed this film. I just hope that the sequels get made and it doesn't get pulled just because a few American christians object to an atheist writing a book.

You have to bear in mind that this movie doesn't really end as its part of a book series and we have to wait for the next installment. The basis is an alternative world were people walk through life side by side with thier souls know as 'demons' each soul takes on the form of an animal chacterised by the persona of it's owner, these demons can move freely on thier own, act on behalf of thier owner and genrally get in to trouble but they are intimately linked to thier owner, each suffered the others pain, and if one dies they both die. The story focuses on a little girl and her ability to save the children of this world by being the only one who can read a golden compass which can answer any question. It's not a great movie, it's not a bad one, other than the constantly and rather annoyingly changing accent of the lead child actress.

I haven't read Dark Materials, but after watching this I think I definitely will give them a try. I really loved the idea of the demons (have subsequently named my black cat Smokey my demon although she has not really put much effort in!). It thought it was a great family film packed with special effect, great characters, not boring for a second. Loved it, can't wait for the next one!

part one of a long bunch of films obviously. The ending made that obvious. It kept me watching but only just...

Liked the film, nice family entertainment!

The SFX were top notch!! But my wife fell asleep watching it.... Story itself may suit the more young at heart, and ppl who enjoy the mystical things in life.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FILMS EVER! IT IS DEFFINETLY WORTH RENTING!!!

Really good film this, much better than Potter or LOTR. The voices of the polar bears are a bit cliched, if its possible to have a cliche of a polar bear's voice, you'll know what i mean when you watch it. but kids will loveit all the more for that! definitelyahooker for the next two coming along..... And i want a demon!!

A truly great film which can be viewed by all age groups

Slow, boring, dull. Fell asleep watching this. Not read the book, but wish i had instead of watching this!

EXCELLENT LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THE NEXT 2

This was an okay film - some great effects (the ice bears were really impressive!). Wasn't always sure if the film was trying to be a children's movie or something for adults. In this respect it was not a patch on The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe.

Thouroghly enjoyed the film but not sure it would have made much sense had I not read the books first. Magical exploration into parralell universes based on Philip Pullmans Northern Lights trilogy, which I thought did the book justice. The makers had not dumbed down the content to give the film mass appeal and had stayed true to the theme of the book. So to enjoy the film I would recommend you read the book's first.

Well I managed to look at the screen for about 40 minutes then I gave up this film was absolute rubbish and the 2 friends watching it with me agreed........so I would give this film a wide berth...

A strange film. The effects are very good but the ending leaves you a bit in the air. I guess there will be a sequel!

Great graphics, story line is obviously at least a 2 part-er. Not for young kids. Looking forward to part 2. A slow start that builds up to a spectacular end.

really a 3.5 stars rather than a 4... sort of very good but sort of not... great effects, a fun adventure, and a great bear (pity it wasn't Kidman's ass..!)....

Excellent film for all the family.

trying to watch this film with my 2 children was hard because it was so slow to get going but when it did kick in was quite a decent movie. not in the same class though, as lord of the rings.

was ok, a bit crambed in or tryin to get to the end of the film a bit. jst ok

Ok film adaption but glad I had read book first as alot is packed into it. Need to have your wits about you when you watch it as does not really go into as much detail as it should. Tricky to follow if not aware of story and order changed from book which causes continuity to grate a little. Still wrangles that they used the American title as does not really fit with story.

A very disappointing let down. However I must be the only person on the planet who didn't like Lord of the Rings so perhaps it's me. I was snoring after 45 minutes.

After buying the books in order to read the stories before the film came out (as I did with Lord of the Rings) I couldn't have been more disappointed with the film version. I felt at times like I was watching a computer game - CGI everywhere. The story also felt far too rushed and therefore it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Obviously it can be difficult to translate a book to film completely accurately, but we've seen it with Lord of the Rings, and so there really is no excuse. The casting of Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra was a big mistake - her acting and accent were not convincing. That's not to say she's not a good actress, but she definitely was not right for this role. I didn't feel this film did justice to Philip Pullmans magical storytelling in the books. I'm very glad I didn't pay to see this at the cinema.

A stylish film with spectacular sequences that is both entertaining and satisfying.

maybe this film makes more sense when u have read the book but I found it a bit strange & I like my fantasy kids films. Love the Harry Potters. Nicole Kidman was good in it as was Daniel Craig. It has a frustrating ending obviously leaving it open for the sequel!!

Saw at the cinema and rented so we could watch again as a family. Not disappointed-magical film

brittail good film white bear hard work fab

Confusing and incomplete. If it is meant to be the first statement of something then it should leave you wanting for more, not thinking 'what was that about? and do I care?'

Feel good action movie for those days when you're feeling run down and need something to cheer you up. Acting a bit wooden but the excellent sets make you forget about it.

Long movie to set up another. As a stand alone film there is no real story that finishes, you are left hanging for everything that has had hooks laid, but isn't good enough to want to follow up.

Perhaps I'm too old but I am a real fan of the Dark Material books and was wondering how they would manage to put such an incredibly imaginitive set of novels onto the big screen. I'd heard all the criticism of the film but felt that it would have its faults but still be entertaining much in the same way that I thought the first Narnia film was unfortunately though I was very dissapointed! What a terrible film in almost every quarter this was, very muddled, confusing , dull, badlt acted and with a genuine sense that the director was in over his head. Chris Weitz was a terrible choice to make this film, why choose a director whose previous effort is as one half of the directing team that brought us the American Pie series?? You have to feel sorry for him because he is clearly lost with this film and totally out of his depth, in fact this could very well be career destroying for him. I don't even think kids would be fooled by this total rubbish its just so badly made on such a basic level! In the book you feel genuine dread for the children who go missing and the torture thatthey undergo, in the film you feel very little. Its as if the whole way through the film is saying 'we've got polar bears that fight! Wait for it....wait for it!' Its just not enough, yes theare done well but there is no depth to any of the characters which is a tragedy because in the books so much time is invested in telling letting you get to know all the main characters. You really have to feel sorry for the lead girl as well as she is clearly given no direction and pretty much left out to dry! Given to a director with more competence at this kind of scale and this series could really fly wether they will get a chance to try ain will have to be seen. So dissapointing (and I'm being generous with one star!!)

Loved the book and the film doesn't let it down. Some great effects and atmospheres.

had the kids glued to the tv screen from start to finish

loved this the first time when i saw it in the cinema, just had to see it all again. being caught up in the whole fantasy world of golden dust, daemons and giant polar bears was an extraordinary journey, and thoroughly enjoyable for all ages. the longer you watch it i find, the more caught up you get in the whole story. there was a genuine affection for the characters, as you often get with this type of thing. definately one for everybody to gather around and watch together. cant say that about many things these days.

Absolutely boring film...apparently will be a second one...cant wait...story is pointless, deadwood acting, one to avoid for sure...couldn't even stay awake through one attempt of watching this drivel...

Bit difficult to follow at the beginning but a great story once you began to understand what was going on. Very disappointing ending though - do not like 'to be continued' movies.

Watched about the first 20-30 mins, but just couldn't get into it, so gave up. Sorry.

Good example of a bad translation from book to film- feels overly cluttered and with no time to sit down and get to know any of the characters- it's all a bit rushed- trying to squeeze to much in. it's a shame as it could have been a good film. Has some good moments, especially with Kidman, but on the whole a waste of a monumnetal casts' talent. I t also felt a bit l;ike the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, in that it was just trying to be a big blockbuster in the style of Star Wars- a film which was a breath of frsh air at the time, but 30 years on trying to do that again feels so hackneyed.

One of the worst film I have seen for a long time. Good special effect, but I was expecting something a bit better with the actor's calibre. Most of the story did not make much sense. For once I agree with the professional reviewers...

Great for kids of all ages I suppose but not for me or my wife who prefer a more plausable plot

As intriguing and complex as the Pullman novels themselves - at times confusing and at other times delightful - especially the daemon characters.

Very poor, loads of hype, will not be looking forward to seeing the sequels

Excellent. Nearly as good as Harry Potter. Fantastic acting, can't wait for the next one.

This movie was great but I was a little disappointed with the ending. Then I found out it was one of a trilogy. Can't wait for the next one.

I was in the process of reading the first in the trilogy, Northern Lights when this film landed on my doormat. Having read the reviews I was not sure what to expect, some said it was confusing but I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It reminded me of The Chronicles of Narnia with its magic but with a slightly more sinister twist. I hope they are planning on making the other two books into films and if they are as enjoyable as this then you will be in for a treat.

The CGI was excellent and the most part the acting was watchable, but be warned, there be children in this film and they cannot act! Lyra cannot decide if she is a cockney sparra or a posh and schooled at Rodean. Either way, she spends the entire movie trying out both. Buy the book and use your own CGI imagination.

My seven year old daughter claimed to quite enjoy this film, but as an adult I found it boring and it was exceedingly difficult to keep up with the storyline. Perhaps because it made no sense at all and didn't follow any type of thread. Perhaps that's because it's the way kids minds work?

talking fighting polar bears,child slave camps at the north pole,weird shape shifting sprites as your alter egos and witches,whats not too love?!! more gin vicar

If i hadn't read the book like a million times as a kid, i probably wouldn't have a clue what was going on in the film cos they left so much out, but i probably would have enjoyed it more. i can't help feeling angry that they've left out the best parts of the book and changed the story line, i guess to make it more accessible for younger children. This is such a shame, because as the second and third books in the trilogy get darker, scarier and bring up more emphasis on religion i can imagine the producers of the next movies will re-write even more to be able to keep a young audience. I'm disappointed in the movie, because i loved the book so much as a child and re reading them as an adult! i would suggest if you have read the book, don't expect much of the film, however if you've seen the film and loved it, read the book 'Northern Lights' by Philip Pullman and i'm sure you will love the story more!

The film was Great. The special effects were great. The storyline was GReat. The ending Rubbish Cheerz

Inevitably, this film will be compared to 'Lord of the Rings' and I'm afraid it just can't hold a candle to it. There was just too much film trickery for me which just didn't work in the one scene in which it should have been outstanding - the fight between the two armoured bears. Also for anyone who hadn't read the books I think the references to dust would have been meaningless. On the plus side I think the daemons were well portrayed. Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Fanning were excellent but Daniel Craig was miscast.

although my friend recommended this and my daughter aged 11 enjoyed it, I found it missing something. i don't know what but felt let down by it. i found it a little confusing in places and wasn't really sure what was going on and then found the ending a little disappointing as if it had fallen short and they had cut the end off the tape. it didn't feel right finishing it where they did but my daughter informs me this is because there is going to be a golden compass two. whether thats true I don't know but i wouldn't rush to see the sequel.

Typical american film with great special effects and cast with no story line. Very disappointed

I personally was very bored during this movie, so much so that i did not even see the end. The montage was badly done, no real storyline... just boring. V dissapointed as there was a lot of fuss around it when it came out..

Oh dear. Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights is in my all-time top ten books so I was really keen to see the film as they seemed to have made an effort to stay true to the book - which I'd previously thought virtually unfilmable. Having now seen The Golden Compass I think there is a good film in the book somewhere but I don't think that this is it. I find it hard to judge how well the narrative stands up for those viewers who haven't read the book but I imagine that it's an irritating combination of being incomprehensible and patronising. In their efforts to stay true to the story, they spend what feels like half the film explaining the background, history, setting and content in a way that I found both an inadequate over-simplification and intrusively pedantic. Obviously the book is so densely packed with ideas, events and adventures that it would be impossible to contain them all in a film but I felt that they simultaneously tried to pack too many of them in, in a very shortened but literal way, and left out some really significant parts - and the reorganisation of the events as they occur at the end of the book seemed to add nothing - apart from facilitating ending the film earlier than the book - and made things even more frustratingly scrambled and dissatisfying. The book is also so rich in character, that although reasonably, if slightly over-glamorously, well-cast there is simply no time to develop any of the characters in a way that makes you care about any of them or even feel very interested in what happens to them - which is possibly the film's greatest failure and disappointment. Overall then, mostly very good-looking but really disappointing. READ THE BOOK!!

Sometimes a book tranfers beautifully to a film, LOTR for instance. However, a lot more could have been done with this and so much was left out, the story got lost OMO. The graphics were good but beyond that, I wouldnt bother.

a bit borring for adults

Great film but probably could have simplified the plot a little.

I thought the books were excellent but I couldn't see how they could be readily transferred to the big screen due to the depth of narrative in the novels. However, this first instalment is a faithful rendition which I don't think many could criticise for what it has to leave out (from the book) as otherwise the film would be far too long. Great design, enough information to keep up with the premise and plot, fantastic special effects and well paced. A very good and extremely enjoyable effort.

It is a brilliant film but I sudjest read the book first, now waiting for other two films to come out. They were prretty close to the book & managed to do some of the impossible

Highly entertaining. Loved every aspect of it. The storyline was slightly similar to Harry Potter cum Lord of the Rings with a bit of nostalgia reminiscent of Snow White with the evil step-motheresq All said, very worth watching, easy entertainment

...left cold by the film. A decent adaptation that had all the main storylines in, if in a different order, but manages to miss out the one important scene that tells the witches who Lyra really is. To use a culinary metaphor, we have a rich recipe of exotic spices and herbs that has been turned into a flavourless soup. The CGI realises the imagery well and that is why I give it 3 stars and it is worth watching for that. I do hope they make the second and third films because they have the potential to be something really special....

The movie is very boring, very slow and the story is very difficult to follow. Graphics are very good though!

Considering this film has a stellar cast it's very disappointing; too many characters, too many sub-plot themes which aren't fully explained and it doesn't reach a conclusion. My guess is you need to read all the books in the series to fully understand what's going on. Not terrible, just nothing special (which it should be given all the actors involved).

Brilliant, having not read any of the Philip Pullman books in this series I didn't know what to expect, but have enjoyed this film hugely and can't wait for the follow up.

I watched this film for about 30 minutes and quite liked the animal demon things and the fantastic special effects......but then I woke up and it had finished! I have never fell asleep during a film before....this was just so boring.

Nope...I saw this at the flicks with one of my brood, so rented it for the other. This travels better on the small screen in my opinion but is still incredibly dull. We have been spoiled by Lord of the rings adventure films, or even full bodied stories with satisfying effects such as Star Dust. This does not match up. I spend most of my time staring at Nicolle Kidman and wondering what possessed her to plump up her lips for this film - she would have been better out of Hollywood's cosmetic surgery clinic. How disappointing. I won't be looking forward to the sequel.

a bit slow in places with a disappointing end although the children enjoyed it

ok film. bit weird. great effects. some will love it ,or hate this one.

I know nothing of the book upon which this film is based so I watched it with no expectations. This is an entertaining fantasy film that has lots of familiar faces and voices. You see a lot of Daniel Craig on the trailers but he has very little screen time in the film. The film ends without an ending so I assume there will be at least one sequal for the story to continue and conclude. Certain parts of the film may be a bit scary for younger or more sensitive children.

Having heard a lot of negative comments and having enjoyed the book, albeit a long time ago, I was put off watching this & it sat at home for a while. When I did get round to it I was pleasantly suprised, it isn't bad. I can imagine if you have just read the book you may be disappointed as there is a lot of detail which is missed out but to condense the story into a film it had to be. If you haven't read the book you may not be entirely sure what is going on but if you enjoy fantasy films give it a go.

Good film although a little childish for me

not very interesting film

Really good family movie.

I wasn't sure that this would be my cup of tea, however I was pleasantly surprised. It is a cross between Harry Potter and Indiana Jones and keeps the viewer interested. Good performances all round and an obvious sequel to come. Different.

This was a total gripper and the characters were fabulous! if you have a winter night an open fire and a few hours definitely give this a go!

This is a good fantasy yarn with great effects & a sound story line that does draw you into this world of fantasy & wonder, although you get the feeling that there is more depth to the story which isn't depicted here. So I would expect to see subsequent films that will expand more on the themes & lines touched here. The characters are involving & you have an ensemble cast of some fine actors who are a pleasure to watch & here.

In a world where your soul is in the form of an animal. Children are disappearing and Lyra is determined to find her friend. Encountering many allies and enemys along the way. Excellent film, Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman excel at their characters. A fantastic family film. Cant wait for the next one in the series.

Boring, did not finish watching it and was not impressed by the story or the film as a whole.

The film gets better as you go along. The book is much better. Some of the characters are unlike the book - didnt like the acting from the Character of Lyra.

For me, this is the best fantasy movie, since Lord of the Rings (though not quite as good and I didn;t find myself comparing the two while watching Golden Compass; it does however push Stardust into third place in terms of recent fantasy films). I fail to understand why it didn't get more critical acclaim when first released. It comes from His Dark Materials trilogy of books which of course were incredibly successful and have had successful radio play and stage outings. This film, from my memory of the book 'Northern Lights', appears to tinker around with the chronology of events, simply the plot, speed it up, and invent scenes, which while running the risk of annoying obsessive fans, did actually work.

great animation, suprised how it ended, so set up for a sequel

Not what i expected, not as exciting or as family friendly. Bit disapointing.

It was really entertaining with a star studded cast. The ending was a bit odd but I'm assuming that's because there is a sequel??

great fantasy film for all the family, with a magical story line.

I was disappointed by this film having read the Pullman trilogy and been captivated by its wonderful storytelling and characterisation. I didn't relate to any of the characters in the film and found Lyra, as played by Dakota Blue Richards, very one dimensional. Nicole Kidman was convincing as Mrs. Coulter despite being in acting cruise control. I also found the film disjointed and apparently unwilling to explore characters, situations or allegories for fear of losing the attention of the CGI addicts. The animation was brilliantly done, though at the expense of the storytelling.

Not as bad as I was expecting from some of the reviews. I really rarher enjoyed it! A good story on it's own, but don't expect it to relate too much to the book

I had read and loved 'Northern lights' and had been warned about Golden Compass being disappointing but, due to the pretty trailer and excellent looking cast list, I watched it anyway. When, after the first half hour, my girlfriend huffed off bored, i perservered. When i kept seeing the plot bypassed, i persevered. When any pretense at keeping to the feel of the book went out of the window and instead shifted to a reliance on graphics, i persevered. Having watched to the end of the film, i am not quite sure as to why i bothered. Don't rent it. DON'T buy it. I'm not going to even look at the sequals for fear of the book butchery that they'll entail.

very enjoyable film for children and adults alike

I am a big fan of fantasy movies for children. I enjoyed it but was not in love with the film.

GREAT STORY LINE AND ANIMATION. THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE ADVENTURE. CANNOT WAIT FOR PART II.

It was the best of the books with such a lot going on but the film was a really pale comparison, Lyra is perhaps the worst casting ever not cos she cant act but because she just doesnt make a very good lyra

If you are a kid then you will love this movie, good family entertainment. I found it very colourful with some great scenics. The Demon element was different and no doubt we will get the follow up movies as per the books. A star studded cast with one of my favourites - Sam Elliott - brilliant. Anyway, if you want an evening in with the kids then give it a whirl.

This film strikes me as a cross between Lord of the Rings and The never ending Story. Wasn't overly impressed with Daniel Craig in it, but Nicole Kidman did a good job. I found this boring at times, and had to stop myself turning it off. Not a brilliant film at all. gave it 2 stars because some of the scenes were breathtaking!

having heard good things about the book and liking fantasy fiction I watched this with an open mind - well I just hope that the book is a whole lot better than this sorry attempt at entertainment - tolkien and JK Rowling have nothing to fear from this garbage - do yourself a favour and rent something else; anything else!

Animations are superb, story is quite good and there are some big stars in it - worth watching with the kids

Very disappointing, despite the fabulous animations. This felt like a money grabbing sequel starter with no real content. Maybe the books are better.

Very disappointed, we thought it would be on a level with Stardust, as all the trailers made this film look like it was a fast moving magical film. In reality this film was a drawn out, long winded epic, with a spattering special effects and good CGI animals in it. Would not recommed to anyone.

I HAD HEARD ALL SORTS OF RUMOURS THAT THIS FILM WAS DISSAPPOINTING: BUT I MUST SAY I REALLY ENJOYED IT, THE STORY WAS ORIGINAL AND THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WERE FANTASTIC, I HOPE THAT THEY DO A SEQUEL.

This is the most boring film i have watched this year. My daughter and i sat there waiting for something interesting to happen, then it ended! BORING!

Imaginative & enthralling. It was spellbinding from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had seen it advertised on the TV & I was not disappointed.

This one went straight over my head, apart from the fighting polar bear scene. But then, to be honest, I find anything with Nicole Kidman in a bit of bore.

this film was a great disappointment. It started well but slowly. As the plot became interesting the film ended suddenly. I think Stardust was a much better film than The Golden Compast. I would not bother watching a sequel to this film if it was ever made

The actors and animation in this film are all first-rate. However, if I had not first read the series of books, I should have been a bit confused. I am sure this film is meant for the people (probably children, if I am honest) who have actually read the book, so that will not be a problem. I was very impressed with how closely the film stuck to the first book, although they obviously had to cut a few bits to fit it all into a reasonable length film. Overall, I am keenly looking forward to the sequels, although I heard a rumour that the USA's bible-bashers are trying to prevent this, on the basis that this trilogy allegedly has a go at christianity. That's not very christian of them, is it?

This movie is one the whole family can sit down and enjoy. Of particular note is the amazing polar bear fight, just incredible animated scenes throughout the movie. The movie sets itself up well for a sequel and I for one can't wait.

Golden compass is based on something between Harry Potter, lion the witch & the wardrobe and lord of the rings. Very good start to the triology (rumours have it), left me wanting more and the next adventure which to me makes a good film.

An enchanting film and great family entertainment. A magical story and fantastic cast. Would recommend it.

was quite good ,trying to be like harry potter but not as good, and i didnt know the ending was a cliff hanger to be continued when they decide to make the sequel, so i was a bit dissapointed about that. but over all was opk, kids thought it was alright.

THE STORYLINE IS QUITE CLEVER, HOWEVER THE FILM LACKED REAL DEPTH AND ENDED WITHOUT ANY REAL IMPACT. BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS, SPECIAL EFFECTS. WORTH A VIEW? MAYBE IF ITS RAINING AND YOUVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

I've read the books a few times. The film does not do them justice at all. Purely intended for making money and not for the pleasure of the viewer.

Very good family movie.

very entertaining for the whole family. cant wait for the follow up.

Brill film, great acting, magic story and well worth the effort. I am assuming there is a Golden Compass 2, either that or there is no real ending. Still, the kids will love it!

a very good film, looking forward to the second part. All who act do not let you down.

I found this film very enjyable and light hearted. Definately one for the kids with an easy to follow storyline.

Full of big names,very good acting shame about storyline,however in saying that, the youngsters found it most enjoyable.

another film for my son to watch and he thoroughly enjoyed it. would like to watch it again.

I didn't like it! I really wanted to, but I absolutely love the book and was very disappointed with the film. I gave it one star as I think visually it is stunning. However, I thought the film was quite boring. It feels like a child telling a story, 'this happened, then this happened, then this happened, etc.' One of the things I love about the book is how the story unfolds and the way it makes you think. I think this is one of the reasons why the film lets the book down. Everything is explained in the film and even the things that are not revealed until the end are pretty obvious (I know, I have read the book so I knew what was going to happen, but I think I would have figured most of it without reading it). Also, I was disappointed that the strength of the relationships Lyra has with the other characters didn't come across in the film.

Great family entertainment!

i enjoyed this film very much

'The Golden Compass' is a good attempt at adapting Philip Pullman's novel. The acting is very good, especially from Dakota Richards who plays Lyra. Nicole Kidman is suitably seductive yet menacing as Mrs Coulter, and Sam Elliot as the Texan Lee Scoresby was exactly how I pictured him in the book. The computer graphics were excellent when reproducing the daemons - the 'visible soul' of humans in the parallel world in which the story is set. The action was pretty well paced, and there was a good deal of suspense. And the scenes in the parallel Oxford and London were exquisitely shot. Nevertheless, something was missing from the film. From what I'd heard before the release of the film, I was afraid that the interpretation of the struggle between good and evil, so nuanced and detailed in the book, would be severely handicapped by the lack of reference to organised religion. Sadly, this was part of the problem with the film. The film does involve a struggle between good and evil, but it felt as if this was wholly two-dimensional. The Magisterium were the 'bad guys', but in a cardboard cutout, cliched way. They were bad because they had a goal which involved harming children. The intricacies explained in the book of why they were harming children and what they hoped to achieve through their experimentations were entirely missing from the film. All this could still have been included without needing to refer to religion, although that would have helped give the argument more context for the benefit of the audience. Having said that, any 2 hour film would have a problem with this aspect of adapting the book. The other problems with this film were the difficulty following the story if you hadn't read the book, and the rushed feel of it. I feel that ultimately this film was let down by the script. I wanted better storytelling. Whether or not organised religion was left out, the story itself could have involved more three-dimensional characterisation. Although there are some characters who are truly bad, this story is less about good and bad people, as the film seemed to imply, than about people who do good things and bad things, as in the book. Nevertheless, as a film this is better than many others that are available, especially for older children.

Not as good as the book

Interesting character, good entertaining. Only downside, open ending.

great family movie....i was pleasently surprised by this one....some nice sfx

A very enjoyable film with great graphics. Very true to the book. IMHO

this was brilliant every roleplayers dream world if you liked narnia or stardust or eragon youll love this

Really enjoyed it and would definately recommend anyone to see it

My children didn't like it. They found the plot a bit boring and too complicated. When they like a movie they usually watch it twice before return it but, this time, they hardly could finish watching tThe golden Compass at least, once!

the ending was so so so so so so bad i felt like i had dental surgery the kids realy were not pleased with this choice n well lets just say i needed ice for my head after wifey had finished beating me for picking such a RUBBISH FILM!!!!!

Never having read the books I wasn't sure what to expect. Quite enjoyable, love the creatures but just when it seemed to get going, it finished so I hope there is a sequel.

I was really looking forward to seeing this, but what a waste of time. The whole film seemed to be formulaic and stiff. A shameless attempt to get a movie franchise off the ground. Worst of all were the mockney accents. Good Lord, don't even bother...

I know it gets irritating when people say 'the book was so much better' but in this case it is entirely true. The film feels rushed and disjointed and doesn't translate the sheer scale and magic of what is a fantastic read. I believe reported in-fighting on the production may have caused this problem so as a fan of the books, I hope this is sorted and we are treated to a second, better film in the trilogy. I imagine all those who love the books will have seen it already but if not, please don't get your hopes up. Having said that, kids will probably love it as it has all the elements needed and is a good one for whiling away the Christmas hols! I advise to read the books to adults and children alike. I'm sure fans of Tolkien and J K Rowling will get loads from them............

Firstly, I've read the 'His Dark Materials' books and together they are one of my favourite reads. So much more advanced and better-written that Harry Potter - though I like those books too - with a much more intricate storyline. I was therefore very excited at the prospect of this film, although before watching it I'd heard the mixed reviews from other fans of the books. However, it was even worse than I thought it would be, Nicole Kidman - annoying. Actress who played Lyra - made me angry because she was so far off the character of Lyra. Partly this is down to horrific scriptwriting which completely neglected so much characterisation of Lyra, but also because her acting really was quite bad. Her accent changed throughout the film and it really annoys me when an actor puts emphasis on the wrong word of a line, so the meaning of that sentence is completely lost. The bears were done badly too and none of the wonderful relationship between Lyra and Iorek was evident at all in the film. The only thing that kept me interested is because I love the books so much, I wanted to see how all of the best bits were brought to film. Imagine my horror then when so much of the quality of the book was lost in translation to screen - either missing or poorly executed. I honestly can't understand how someone who has not read the book could like this film. If I didn't know the story I would have never understood what was going on at all. Dust was hardly explained. The whole film felt like the scriptwriter was so desparate to cram things in to the film that nothing really made sense - before you could work out where the characters were and what they were doing, they were off somewhere else. Like I say, I only followed it because I know the books so well but even then I found myself a bit lost. Avoid at all costs - not least because there will probably (hopefully) not ever be a second or third film, so you're wasting your time if you want to see the whole story anyway.

This was not as good as I had hoped. There was something lacking. Maybe it is just that the books are so good.

Not as good as the media made out ok for the kids

I only watched the beginning and stopped it half way through- so did not enjoy this film

bad film. Too much going on. But Nicole Kidman was good.

Not what I was expecting. I didn't think the film flowed well. Not one to watch twice.

Great family film.

I`d looked forward to this but it didnt live up to my expectations,

What a waste of a story! Very badly edited despite an amazing visual content and special effects! The characters are very shallow and the story badly edited.. I will not watch the next one.

brill i loved every min and the kids did aswell

Beautiful to look at but the story left me puzzled. It was so obviously set to be the first of several films. I loved the fanatsy of it, even if I didn't quite understand what was going on.

Rainy Sunday? Go cook a roast while this is on, it's more entertaining. Ok for the kids but a bit drawn out for any less than 7 year olds. Not a classic.

Yawn.... fell asleep through this film, suppose nothing will compare to Lord of the Rings and this is just another kids fantasy trying to be up there with the big boys... it's only just worse than the Chronciles of Narnia films of late.... Yawn

Fantasy adventure - a mix between Never Ending Story and (in my view) Oliver Twist - Quite enjoyable but you may need to view it twice to understand the plot - It is left open for sequel(s) at the conclusion.

Having read the books, I found the film disappointing and I am not sure it would have made much sense to me had I not read the books. The special effects are excellent however.

Whilst no classic, this is still an entertaining enough adaptation. You have to wonder how many more fantasy adaptations the cinema can bear in the near future - we seem to have been overwhelmed with them in recent times. Nicole Kidman is effective, although Daniel Craig is completely wasted and the voice casting of Ian McKellen unnecessary. Too much attention has been paid to the stellar names, as is often the case with these sorts of franchises.

As adventure / fantasy films go, this was just about watchable, because there was just too many inconceivable and impractical ideas, which made it seem quite ridiculous at times. Passable for a sat afternoon with the kids film.

If you have read the books you will really enjoy the film.

This film is well worth watching but hasn't made the move from book to screen quite as well as Lord of the Rings. If you do watch it and enjoy, be sure to read all three books.

I really thought i was going to enjoy this movie and i was really looking forward to watching it however i was slightly disappointed.

I suppose it was only inevitable, given the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that Philip Pullman's rich fantasy would be lined up for a Hollywood makeover. All the usual tools have been brought to bear: a stellar multi-national cast, CGI by the server-full and all the marketing razzmatazz you like. However, somehow the end result is missing a crucial element. It hasn't got the scale of Jackson's Rings trilogy or the heart of Adamson's first Narnia film. What's there is entertaining enough, but it just doesn't keep you quite enough on the edge of your seat, even with the naif 'continued next week' style ending. A pity. Let's hope the next in the series does better.

I thought this film was a warm hearted discussion of gender issues, especially the work androle of the homemaker and society's lack of recognition of this. It was well acted. verged on the sentimental at times but the issues were powerfully portrayed.

My children really enjoyed this. Encouraged them to read the book. Hopefully a second film soon.

Loved this movie, stellar cast with great performances wrapped around a great story with brilliant special effects!!! One for the family as long as the kids are not to young. Excellent!!!

The film is ok but is not a patch on Narnia etc. My daughter enjoyed it but older viewers were bored and lost interest. The ending just leaves a large question mark over what you have watched and wonders if there will be a sequel as there are many unanswered questions.

Im confused, I had to watch it to see if at any stage the penny would drop and i'd understand what was happening. To this day I dont get it.

Quite a disappointing film. Seemed to follow the storyline to the book and left huge chunks out that would have been interestingly potrayed in a film!!

Enjoyed watching this and neighbours kids were enthralled by the action. Not a bad match for the book. Look forward to the next one.

A bit of a let down, very slow, and the ending left you wondering where you went from there. A good cast with a disappointing film.

Another reviewer quips that this movie and the books for that matter are as appealing as the Harry Potter series, which pretty much sums it up! If you are an empty headed 12 year old (unlike most 12 year olds), then you may enjoy this one. Otherwise, the plot is at once cliche and completely disjointed. It is maudlin, melodramatic, and predictable. I don't know why anyone would think the story is anything new, it's just bits and pieces of many very well worn plots patched together in a rather careless way. Above all, I would not let my children watch it because of the completely gratuitous dark nature of the film. I would also be worried that Nicole Kidman's 'off-the-shelf' acting job would be enough to turn them off of movie watching altogether and that would be the biggest shame of all. I will give it one star for the sets (all CGI to be sure) and costumes, that's it.

Great for a Sunday Family Viewing. May need to watch again?

Enjoyable fantasy. A pleasant little adventure for all the family

Very enjoyable family film that the kids will enjoy.......we did too !!!

Really disappointed, I havn't read the book but I hope its better than the film as this was dull and pointless. I understand this is only the first film, well I won't bother watching any of the others. There is very little to recommend in this, it just misses on some many levels.

a film you can loose yourself in and I long for the next part. Not a bad adaptation of what is a quite complex set of books.

Thought it was Brilliant!! Didn't know there were three books and two films to come, which explains the ending.... can't wait to see them!

I found alittle slow at the begining but it soon warmed up and i found i really enjoyed it.

Really good film. My children enjoyed it thoroughly. I like the idea that the ending has been left open for a sequel. Look forward to it!

Beautiful special effects, yet undramatic (possibly because the passionate atheism of the book is left out.) I wasn't happy that the story is left in the air.

Great but a lot better if you have already read the book as story is very fast moving

Words cannot describe how BORED I was watching this film! The childrens' acting is APPALLING and the grown ups are not much more inspiring. I couldn't even watch it all the way through. It was awful.

a fun movie on its own - but the books are much better so it is disappointing if you read those recommend for kids.

An enjoyable film without all the usual rubbish we have to put up with these days.

I was hooked on this film from the opening credits. It has lots of big names in it but also some excellent new comers...........When is the next one ? I cant wait !!!!

i was so looking forward to it, but i was dissapointed. didnt enjoy it. it was quite slow

Really enjoyed this! worth seeing even if it's just for the graphics, you have to enjoy it just for that alone. Kidman's acting seems rather stiff but overall a good film. There just has too be a follow-on film to this one!

My ten year old daughter said as the titles roled: 'Probably the worst film I have ever seen'

Lovely film, full of magic and mystery, love the whole demons idea and the special effects were spot on......but the award for best animal must go to the polar bear.

it is a good film but it was not as good as i was thinking it would be.

Most boring film ever and theres nothing exciting about it

What ??? I didn't get this film at all. If you were to read this from the book (I think there's a book or series of books) it would make very good reading, but they've crammed it into this film and I found it all rushed and quite bizarre

Entertaining a great movie

Despite having seen some poor reviews of this film, we rented it because we really liked the book and wanted to give it a chance. The special effects are quite good although not up there with the best, but the way the film is put together in some places is really bad. It's as if the film makers only had a day or two with some of the more famous actors, filmed what they could then hurriedly threw it together in the editing room, the overall effect is it doesn't 'gel' and you feel they didn't really try very hard. There's a lot of plot in this book and I don't think they focused on the right parts of it - I think we saw something similar with the early Potter movies, but they redeemed themselves very well, this film doesn't. And the dialogue is truly awful, *small spoiler* the scene where Lyra finds a child without his demon is bad enough, but when the child is returned to the parents, there's no 'oh, thank you for finding our son' or 'what's happened to you, are you OK, where have you been, we really missed you, where are the others...', no - the parents clap eyes on their missing child and they just say 'we'll find your demon, son'. And that's it. And if you re-read the book, you realise what a momentous mess they've made of the concept this scene is supposed to show. In short, its a good visual film for the kids and they'll lose the plot anyway, but its a poor film for us adults and those hoping for an intellingent adaptation of a great book.

I have read the first and second books of the series and thoroughly enjoyed them. They are wonderfully written. The film is absolutely atrocious. It attempts to cram absolutely everything in the book in the space of 2+ excrutiating hours, with the effect that the whole feel of the book is lost, characters are not properly created, important plot points and occurences are given hardly any time to be explained or to actually happen. One has the idea one has fallen asleep and missed something. All the time. its a mess from beginning to end. The only good points is that the girl playing Lyra is quite good (as child actors go) and the daemons are done effectively. If you haven't read the book this film will NOT explain it to you. But then again, if you HAVE read the book, don't waste your time with the film. Its a complete insult to Philip Pullman.

Great early teens film !. I loved it ! I thought Nicole Kidman did some great acting.

Wonderful visuals, sumptuous scenes, more serious Thesps than you could shake a stick at. And yet.... Really tried hard to like this film but ended up disappointed. And I'm open minded about adaptations of books I really like. The visualisation of alt.Oxford was great, the daemons superb. But I just lost interest, despite the promise of such great stars. They did nothing wrong but the story stayed on the page. Or rather, what Hollywood left of the story. Pullman's polemic against religion and God wasn't just muted, it was removed. Not that I agree with Pullman but as a writer, he deserves more respect. I guess that it looked even better on the silver screen but I can't say I'm sorry I missed it there.

An entertaining film for all the family.

We really enjoyed this film, sitting down together as a family on Sunday evening. Would recommend.

A highly entertaining childrens film based on a book, with lots of really good actors. Good humour and not too much violence children will enjoy but beware there is more to come!!

This was a magical story and even though it did not follow the book exactly the right choices were made to bring it alive on film. The plot, the characters and the effects were wonderful.

This was a weird adaptation of the first of the trilogy of Philip Pullman books (for the un-initiated two more follow that explain dust et al - well nearly). Having read all of his books in this series (twice), I struggled to understand the plot of the film, so for the newcomer it must have seemed impossible. I had to keep stopping the film to explain what and why things were happening and who was who to my family, who eventually gave up and wandered off to do better things with their time. I should have joined them !!

This is a great film, deep and moving as well as funny with twists and turns. the animation is brilliant and kids will love it. Bring on the sequel.

The Anti-Russian aspect has been blown to the maximum possible size while the social and religious aspects have been diminished considerably. Overall, its a pity. It could have been a great movie from which the children could learn a lot.

Well acted film, but the story plot chops and changes. Some parts of the story did not connect with the story telling. Enjoyable though for kids.

I loved the book and felt that this was a pretty good attempt to put it on the big screen. Of course it's greatly simplified, but the essential mystery and other-worldness of the book is there. The girl who played Lyra was great. Special effects including the daemon done with great panache. My daughter (aged 9) also loved it and now wants to read the book.

GOOD FILM BUT A SHAME HOW IT ENDS ! LEFT OPEN TO THE IDEA OF A SECOND FILM TO FINNISH THE JOB !

load of rubbish what r u doing james bond

After reading the original stories which led to the film I was waiting with baited breath and was not dissappointed. The story played out at an incredibly fast pace which meant that there was a lot of information in every scene - for me this was enjoyable but for those who are unaware of the storyline there could be a struggle. A great interpretation of the story, expensively made with a great cast. I could happily watch this again and soon.

I found the storyline really hard to follow as some points, getting really confused. The acting is brilliant along with the special effects. I really enjoyed the film.

i will never get that time back.

It was okay, not as good as was expecting

I rented this for the kids - and it wasn't really a kids movie because it was too slow to capture their imagination.

Awful , brilliant book but the film misses out so much and tells a poor story.I recommend you read the book and give the film a miss

excellent. Full of adventure, kept me captivated.

okay film, i would not recommend personally

Have to say I was a little bored by this but the quality of the animation is first rate.

not very good bit hard to follow, special effects good though. would not watch it again, daft ending

This was more suited to children than adults. Quite boring at times

Love this film havent read the books to compare it too although i wouldnt mind some more in depth seens about races etc but still brillient 5 stars

I'm in two minds about this film. Saw it in the cinema and was really disappointed, probably becasue I loved the books so much. On second viewing at home I was more forgiving but I did wonder how people who hadn't read the book would make any sense out of it. Maybe it was an impossible project. But saying that there was still a lot that was great - especially Lyra.

I enjoyed this film for what it was a nice peice of escapism

I must admit to being pleasantly surprised with this film. I hadn't read any of the source novels, so watched the movie version without any pre-conceived ideas. I agree with many of the reviews when it was released, it's a bit rushed and could have benefitted from a longer running time but it was definitely good fun. The special effects were impressive (especially the snow bear smackdown!) and the cast was equally impressive, particluarly the lead girl playing Lyra and vocal skills of Ian McKellen. It's no Harry Potter and definitely no Lord of the Rings but is well worth a watch Apparently, the jury is still out as to whether a follow-up film is to be made, despite the ending strongly hinting at it (and being a bit of a letdown!)

I found this to be a bit boring, a little too slow. Special effects were good but this didn't make up for the other bits.

If you like Narnia, you'll probably llike this.

Excellant fantasy film with great animation. Nicole Kidman makes a believable evil 'baddie'.

Daniel Craig is convincing enough to take your mind off 007.

I'm not into sci-fi but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Nicole Kidman is captivating and so are the children. Definitely worth watching even if you are not into sci-fi because this is a great theatrical interpretation of the human psyche.

Wow, what an amazingly fast pace with oodles of imagination

Harsh, maybe, but this film really doesn't live up to the Pullman novel(s). First time around, we tried to watch this in the company of teens who hadn't read the book, but they didn't really grasp it & got bored very quickly. Overall, this film seemed curiously quite hollow and emotionless at its core & I can't help feeling that there was a real and unresolved conflict between Hollywood's desire to latch onto another 'epic adventure' kids' story and Pullman's central atheistic message, which surely wasn't ever going to play well in the US. With respect to its theme, it's the anti-Narnia. The religious criticism element was certainly played down as much as possible (Nicole Kidman in particular seems to have tried to dissociate herself from it), to the detriment of the logic and the passion of the story. True, the special effects are spectacular and the acting is mostly decent if a bit disengaged in places. Lara's wandering accent in particular proved a bit of an irritation, but perhaps it's a bit much to pick on her for this, after all, she's a young girl taking on a weighty role in a fairly serious-minded film.

I was looking forward to this film and suspect that may be the problem. Its a nice family Christmas film without actually being the classic you'd like it to be. The cgi stuff is clever and well done, but I can't help thinking that Daniel Craig was under used.

I found this film so boring. I struggled to stay interested. The effects are good and the idea of having a demon was interesting, Nicole Kidman is great in this role, but i was disappointed that Daniel Craig didnt feature more. I was annoyed at the ending, as it didnt end!! I cant beleive that the film makers expect people to pay to see part 2. i for one wont be going to watch it. Very disappointing from beginning to end!

Great movie a bit too scary for my kids at 5 and 8.

This has to be one of the biggest disappointments of all time in terms of the quality of the film vs the quality of the book. I wouldn't recommend this dvd as a coffee mat.

Not as good as the book. Quite Dissapointed to be honest.

This was a good movie but in spite of it's top notch cast was a little disappointing. I haven't read the book but my Children had and they felt it was nowhere near as good as the book. I would recommend it as a good but not outstanding movie.

I hope that they will be making a second one to this as the film just ends! On the whole great fantasy film and well worth a watch - if your the Harry porrter type. But it ends far too suddenly and i havent seen anything about golden compass 2. who knows?

all round good film that kept me and my family entertained.

Good film overall, Bit tricky for little one's to understand.

Animation is good, actioned packed film - Daniel Craig looks sexy which is always a bonus!

Sort of a cross between lord of the rings and the chronicles of narnia. I think it might be a good film if you're a female between the ages of 6 and 11. Otherwise, it's nothing to write home about.

we found this very boring and i ended up doing the cleaning

excellent movie for the whole family

A very enjoyable film that manages the difficult task of making a film for children cross over into adult territory without the need for violence , swearing and the like! The special effects and imagery are up there with the best of its genre.

A good adventure flick with excellent animation

We had read this group in my reading group and I was disappointed after all the publicity. I think I would have enjoyed the book better if I had seen this film first as it told you about the demons and parallel world etc up front. My husband who hadn't read the book thought it was a good film. I did too.

We loved this film and having read the book it was awaited with trepidation. It did not disappoint, especially the fight scene between the Polar Bears. This was very well done although a suprise to my young son, just something to be aware of. Overall we loved it and watched twice more before returning it. A great family film.

If you like fantasy films, this one is great. It is part of a trilogy, which is as good as Harry Potter.

well the fx were good but they cut it for a childrens audience. No child deaths, no anti religious themes and finished before the end of the book. But the daemons were good.

Good childrens film but let down by poor ending.

Aimed at kids but still watchable. Definately leads onto sequel.

Rubbish, slow, boring,pointless

ZZZZZZZZ Cryptic, boring, but nice looking. I bet you they won't bother about the sequel.

Fun and a good childrens film. The ending was not to my liking... Waiting for the sequel.

i loved eva green in 007 casion royale. there wasn't enough of her. it was interesting to see nicole kidman playing a baddy for a change. worth watching although i never am a fan of children's fantasy books turned movie...

Gave up after an hour, quite disappointing

This is a really enjoyable film in its own rights, though the story has itself left a massive chance for the follow up to be an absolute Golden opportunity. The cinematography of the film is stunning. I also love the adaptation of a Victorian London where magic and invention are treated with equal revere and wonder. I really hope the sequel takes the achievements of The Golden Compass to even greater levels!

great film the kids loved it as did i

Great effects, but the story was boring couldn't watch it thorugh to the end

If you like fantasy films you will probably enjoy this film. The special effects are good, but the story jumps around a lot and it's not particularly well acted

I really enjoyed this film

A beautifully filmed movie and the locations added to that.This film had a good atmosphere and the performances were solid.I found the movie very easy to watch and I very much enjoyed it. I would reccomend this movie one for the family on a Sunday afternoon.

I thought I wouldn't get this film but it is really good and although it seems it is aimed at younger kids I think it appeals to adults/older kids to really grasp the storyline. Looking forward to the next part!

very good fantasy film, good story, great young actress, keeps you involved all the way through. sometimes with these types of films, young stars can be cheesy and under act, but main young character is great. scenes with Nicole Kidman are superb. if you enjoyed stardust, you would enjoy this. good for young and old alike.

Really enjoyed the film, but left wondering is there a sequence ??

A bit disappointed in this film really. It didn't keep me engrossed all the way through, although the special effects were very good. Maybe it would have been better at the cinema.

a good film with o.k speciel effects my son (9) love this film so a great movie for the family

Great film for all the family. Really enjoyable, no bad language.

Great film to watch as a family

this movie was just ok nothing special

This film was ok in parts especially for young children. It had a promising start..but it tried to incorporate far too many mystical things which bordered it on the ridiculous the further into the insubstantial plot it delved the more ridiculous the storyline became. It looked like the plot was just made up as the directors went along. After all the hype relating to this film when it was out at the cinema i was expecting a lot more. As advice to everyone else....i wouldnt bother renting this film its agreat disappointment!

I don't usually like fantasty films but enjoyed this, well acted & great special effects

wasn't very impressed with this,i thought it was quit hard to follow what it was all about.

watched this with my 8 year old granddaughter - she loved it all, but I enjoyed the begining the rest was more for a younger audience.

it is a brilliant movie, although i bet there will be a part two it was a bit hanging at the end..

liked the film but found it a little dark in places for children

This is a great movie to sit down with your kids and watch on a cold Sunday afternoon

I thought it was really good but thought the ending was weird. I thought there was more to come probably there is a part 2.

i think this film was brilliant, i was obviously in the mood for some fantasy film and certainly got it. great story great film.

Some storys are timeless. Most of the classics that have been adapted to film never quite work as well as reading the book. This film gives you the feeling that it has come from a classic story, except its not. This is a rare occasion where the movie itself allows your own imagination to run riot with all sorts of possibilitys. Its a highly imaginative piece that deserves more credit than just 'a good picture'. When I first saw the trailer I didn't know what to make of it. Liked the look, but from such a short extract, didn't quite understand. But from the start the concept is not too high brow or pretentuous and in fact just a bloody good idea. This is the first of a trilogy. I did find that it ended a little abruptly, but then I'm not sure if thats just because I wanted more!

Golden Compass is a film which promises much but doesn't deliver. It ticks all the boxes of a kid-friendly fantasy movie, but doesn't do more than that. There is ultimately nothing surprising here. The fact that it is left so open-ended leaves you with the feeling that the studio have taken a look at the success of books-to-movie such as the Lord of the Rings franchise and decided 'we'll have some of that.' That overly-commercial approach ends up compromising the integrity of what could otherwise be a very good film.

enjoyed the film, not a strong story, but the special effects were superb, and there were some great scenes, a good sunday afternoon film

This is like the emperor's new clothes I am afraid. I bought the books but found the story a little ridiculous and almost 'made up as it went along' and the film although lavish felt exactly the same. Looks good that's all, and Kidman is great!

Too ill to concentrate too much on this one, however, a lot of it reminded me of the Lord of the Rings - maybe because of the cast, other bits Narnia and others Harry Potter. Good to watch though.

Recommend you read the books before you see the film. If you enjoyed the books, as I did, then you should also enjoy this.

Not what I expected. story line took time to unfold and became predictable, not for me

Quite long winded, but special effects very good and parts of it entertaining. Not for young kids, they could get bored.

A poor attempt to get up there with the younger generation favourites Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia etc etc. Poor story line. Sound track is appalling with too much unnecessary noise but quite good special effects.

oh dear oh dear, apart from watching nicole kidman, this film is realy hard work to follow or enjoy, story line is non exsistant, effects are oveblown, quite a mess, not recomended

Didn't know what to expect from this film as I havent read Pullmans book, but sister recommened it glad she did, although it takes a few minurtes to get your head round the different worlds/universes. And for me that Demons where good things. I really loved how the film deveoped just as I was asking questions in my mind It was explained on screen so it kept me glued to the screen wanting to know more. I absolutly LOVED the Ice Bears. Its just a shame that it finshed and the 2nd part as far as I know haasnt been filmed ... Left wanting more

if you like the film Narnia then you will like this one. it was alright and a good waste of time to watch it but this isnt the usual type of film i would watch.

If you've read the book like me, you might find that the film just sails through the story far too quickly without giving the key concepts and sections of the story enough time or explanation. Things just jump around so quickly that I didn't buy into the story and didn't care for the characters like I would expect. The whole film therefore felt really flat, despite being full of action. Never mind.

The amazing backgrounds and cgi affects really speek for this move as the adventure unfoldes i hope that if they make the next movie it'l be as good as this one!!!!!!

Everyone in the family loved this one very good start to the sequel. A bit short. The movie has very good pace too it. It is not slow.

Not really my cup of tea.

great film kids loved it

don't bother, really dull compared to the books and audio cd.

I can not add comments about this DVD as the two delivered would not play

Beyond dull and ridiculous. The bear was a raging drunk one minute and then the next King of the Bears, he didn't even have to train for the extensive fighting. The young girl was really annoying and none of it made any sense, just random scenes that were supposed to be magical but failed.

Sorry folks but I fell asleep watching this film - it looked to be so good but just did not hit the mark.

both myself and 23yr old son enjoyed it. was surprised to find it follows the book real close which is really good. would recommend it to families forchildren to watch def.

I found this film really disappointing. Arguably because I enjoyed the book so much, it could just be that I disagreed with certain omissions or the casting of favourite characters. However, I enjoyed both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and all of the Harry Potter films despite certain frustrations about elements of the story which I felt had been missed. I think despite the spectacular effects and the 'no expense spared' nature of this film, I found the whole thing fairly slow moving. For an action packed film to border on tedious was very disappointing, and the trailers promised much while the movie delivered very little. There was definitely something magical missing from this film and the whole production seemed to be trying just a little bit too hard...

Based on (most of) the first book of the trilogy by Philip Pullman, it's a story of discovery from Lyra's point of view, a young girl who lives in a parallel universe where their souls are daemons. The casting I thought was excellent although the plot is nowhere near as deep as in the book. A film for the family although you may have to explain a few things to the younger kids. Even better, get them to read the book first.

This film was not as good as expected. It was a nice enough story for children, but for adults, all I can say is 'disappointing'.

Unfortunately this is definitely a film where it doesn't stand up to the acclaim of the book. Whilst it was a reasonably pleasant way to pass an evening i certainly wouldn't recomment it to my friends, or watch it again i'm afraid.

Don't bother - get something good out instead.

Don't bother - get something good out instead.

As Craig Revel-Horwood would say....D U L L! From the ever changing accents, to the stretched-out storyline, this is the first movie in a long time that neither my husband or I liked. As a parent, I would not let a child under 10 watch this. If they think it's OK to show that battlefield scene where the dead peoples daemons go 'poof' into a puff of dust, they are mistaken! Not enjoyable & won't be bothering with the second (if it ever comes out!) - yes, if you didn't realise, it won't be all solved in the one movie!

We all enjoyed this film can't wait for the next sequal

now really excited waiting for the next one.

I was so absorbed in this movie that I didn't realise my partner snoring next to me. He found the film too hard to follow.

Fortunately I read the book before watching this as it gave me a more complete picture of what Philip Pullman wanted to achieve when he wrote it. This film has skipped over the vast majority of the detail and 'Hollywoodised' the story. The book does not have a happy ending, so why put one on the film. Mr Pullman would be turning in his grave, if he were dead.

i thought this film was very entertaining and interesting the kids and myself enjoyed it it is a film you must sit and watch throughout or you will miss the plot it will probably have a second run up as well the way that it ended.

Firstly, I haven't read the book - so had no pre-conceptions... also, unfortunately, I had massive gaps in information needed to fully understand the entire film. I also like to make up my own mind and was aware of some not so positive reviews, so here's my take on it. I like fantasy films and have enjoyed things like the Narnia stories, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc, however, I was completely lost throught most of the film as it totally expected the viewer to know the story - there was a specific language and entire world that was alien to me and the film made no attempt to explain it. I could see that the book must be a wonderful story but it was like watching through a dirty window - what you couldn't see you had to fill in for yourself. An excellent cast and (I imagine) an exciting story gone to waste. On a positive note though, the animation and effects were fantastic and the cinematography hinted at a magical world, I just wasn't allowed in!

boring, boring, boring........had to leave it after 45 mins. let's put all the usual elements of a fantasy story into a bag, shake them up and write it down as they come out. hated it.

not as good as expected worthwhile renting once, glad didn't buy, could have been more graphics more intense.

If you watch this you'll never read the books which are in the same league as Harry Potter, but far more dark and politically charged

Nicole Kidman steals the show as Mrs Coulter, shades of Cruella DeVille in the old animated 101 Dalmations. Armoured bears very well realised. Criminally missing the climax of the book (which I guess is a spoiler?)

I've previously read the Pullman books and although I read right through to the end, they weren't quite my cup of tea. When we started to watch the film, I was pleasantly surprised. The casting, for a start, is pretty good. And I think the film adaptation has taken most of the actual good bits from the book and left out a lot of the chaff. My only qualm is the abruptness with which the film ends, but then it is the opening of a three part story (rather than a story with two sequels) and ends in the same manner as the book. If only there were more of the polar bears. They were pretty cool. I'd recommend this film to others.

Compared to the book this film did not capture for me the magic, mystery and innocence of this first story in the Phillp Pulman trilogy.

I thought this film was brilliant in the way of not only the acting,also the way the that the graphic side of the film really enhanched the story side.

Read the book first, very interesting film, a little different from the norm.

Enjoyed by all the family, can't wait for the next chapter

Strange at first to get into but kidman looks nice

A really beautiful and engaging journey into a mystical world, - though it is a bit confusing to begin with as you try to get the gist of the story. However, wonderful production, fabulous graphics, and a must see for all the family.

I love this film! I had seen this before at the cinema and for me was just as good second time round. The rest of the family hadn't seen it and they thoroughly enjoyed it. The acting was good, and I do hope that they do make the next in the trilogy, but i have heard that they may not make it because people complained etc because of religion or something......This is a film!!!!!!!!!!!!! and a great one, those people should just realise that and enjoy it. Its a good family film and they are reading far too much into it. All in all, i strongly recommend this film, if you like films like the chronicles of narnia etc, you'll love this!

This was an average entertaining film that had some excellent parts and some very boring parts. The acting was ok but found the film make beleive and that the story was hard to follow in some parts. Films like these have to have a storyline that is beleivable so that young children can follow and relate to......better luck next time

The film suffered by having too much to explain before it got going. If you watch the film pay particular attention to the introductory monologue as, without it, the film is a bit confusing. Having said that i did enjoy the film and there were a lot of interesting characters in it and the film did keep me involved

rented this for my daughters, but they seen it so started to watch myself, found it quite slow, and not my type of movie

Having read the Philip Pullman 'The Dark Materials' trilogy, and very much enjoyed their unique and compelling stories. I have be extremely disappointed with this film. In truth, I don't believe I ever thought it would live up to my expectations. The characters in all of the books are so very interesting, although they never get chance to be fully developed, as the film needs to be fast moving in order to cram so much into an hour and a half or so. Too many locations, characters and disjointed scenes!

I think I was expecting too much from this film after listening to all the good reviews. It was OK but just never really 'wowed' me?

couldn't really get into it didn't even finish watching it was told it was not a bad film so will have to take their word for it.

the golden compass is a very enjoyable family film,and my daughter said it should have 5 stars.

Expected something a little more exciting - probably spoiled by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe! Wanted to buy - but didn't.

IF YOU LOOK FORWARD TO A GOOD ENJOYABLE MOVIE..........THEN DONT RENT THIS. I HAVENT BEEN SO BORED IN A LONG TIME, IT WAS ON FOR ABOUT 1HR 40 MINS BUT NOTHING HAPPEND, THE STORY JUMPS AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE AND MAKES NO SENCE. MY ADVICE... STAY CLEAR.

I had high hopes for this as this genre of film really hits the spot with me. The Golden Compass turned out to be a mixture of something Harry Potterish and The Chronicles of Narnia. If youve got an active imagination then this will be a winner. For me at times the plot line wasnt very clear and left me feeling a tad confused, as it seemed to race towards setting it up for the sequel. I have to say Dakotas performance was award winning, along with many of the other child actors in it. There wasnt much seen of Craig but Nicoles performance was pretty capturing. Im looking forward to the sequel and hoping for great things!

Watched the film and then it did not finish and expected a sequel to follow..not good!

I enjoyed the story and effects, the acting was good and I especially liked the bears...but felt it needed a longer story with a better ending... would have watched for a few hours had it have run that long.

very very good best games have play in years

This is an awful adaptation of a brilliant Philip Pullman book. Ultimately I think the film needed to be longer to develop the characters and allow the narrative to unfold. As it is there are far too many voice-overs explaining gaps in the plot, the CGI is poor and the structure of the film is a complete mess. Although I think the adults in the film did the best with what they had, unfortunately the child actress playing 'Lyra' is seriously tedious, especially her cockney accent (saying 'ent it' occasionally). This could have been a fantastic film (I think it needed a Peter Jackson mind behind it) but instead it's - in my humble opinion - a wasted opportunity. You'll never get those two hours back!

Emjoyed the film an escapism and Nicole Kidman was excellent. Thank you.

Golden Compass is for 12 year olds only. Adults beware! The scenes and graphics are high quality. The story line is exciting adventure. The objective, philosophy, and morality, is a mess. Each character has an physical alter-ego, called a 'demon'. The adult knows immediately that the writer and director are mixed up. The characters of the pairing is poorly devised and unutilised. This device could have been the making of a parable. Instead it muddies a good children's adventure.

The film was a bit long and didn't have a good plot.

Its not very often that you find a real family film! This one ticked all the boxes both for my two girls, myself and the grandparents. We were all enthralled and can't wait for the sequel to be made!

good family film but drags on abit , daughter got up and left us adults watching it!!! whilst she watched something upstairs!

nice easy watching, nice family film

Loved this movie and hope there is a follow up made

Ok film, lets not get carried away, the book is better (that old cliche'd chestnut)...but it is worth a watch. It looks good and does make you feel about 10 again (apologies if you are 10). I enjoyed the magic-y feel of it. On the downside, the main actress (the girl) is quite wooden and I found her a bit annoying. Not too good a sign.

This was great - but then I love all these types of movies (narnia etc). Nicole Kidman was really good too.

.....but once you have accepted that then it is a fair go at telling the first book of the trilogy. I had read the books a few years ago too - which probably helped. I did enjoy it and await the second installment.

this film did not live up to expectations.

Film disjointed and the acting not to good

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The books weave a rich and bright tapestry. The film rushes through its scenes without developing any of the important themes. Anyone not having read the books must have been lost. I wanted to know and love the film and was very let down.

Not supprisngly nowhere as good as the book, but average family viewing

Interesting but a childrens film more so than adults.

My two kids watched this, they said it was good but wouldnt want to buy it, the ending was a bit wierd

Bit weird but enjoyable if you like fantasy adventures like Stardust /Chronicles of Narnia that sort of thing. Worth watching on a rainy sunday afternoon.

If you know the books you will most probably enjoy.I had no idea what to expect and at the end I'm still wondering.Visual effects are good.

Apart from the idea of demons which is portrayed very well in the film, the film was difficult to follow and a bit inaccessible, especially if you haven't read all the book.

This was an enchanting story, moving in parts, exciting in others, a complete feast for the eyes, (no matter what your views on CGI). It was a film with heart and soul and a very deep message, so you may want to watch it twice to gain more insight into the allegories and subtle messages!

Very good cgi, thoroughly enjoyable. Looking forward to the sequel, in someways prefer this to Harry Potter. It is somehow deeper, more serious and darker undertone. However it will be difficult to overcome the success of Harry Potter, it is a little too late.

I did not like this movie. frankly, i had to make a special effort to sit through it.

I was really looking forward to this as I loved the books. It was however, quite slow & no where near as in depth as the book & just no where near as good an adaptation as Lord of the Rings, which you can watch even if you`ve never heard of it. I think some previous knowledge would help with watching this film, but would also unfortunately raise your expectations too high. So read the book & watch the film but just don`t get your hopes up.

A very good family film

Quite a enjoyable film.

Really good film - in the Narnia mould - great for kids and adults

NO good story line try to be a bit like lord of ring but but misses by a million . kept waiting for somthing to come out but dident find it . lots colour .wont go down as one of my good films to watch again

Painfully slow, dull, and really a hard film to watch. Acting is fairly average, the story line could be a better done. Read the book, it's far more better. If you like sleeping or suffer from insomnia, this movie will help you too sleep.

typical fantasy film not really our cup of tea

Loved the film, my son throughly enjoyed it and was something we could all watch and enjoy together

I really enjoyed this film, I really enjoyed the animated charactors and thought they interacted very well with the actors.

I think this film was brilliant if you like fantasy this is the film for you!! Can't wait for the next installment

I absolutely LOVED reading the Dark Materials trilogy so was a little hard to win over with this one. But I was actually pleasantly suprised. The casting was excellent (the stars were Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter and Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby... exactly as I had imagined them whilst reading). The story licks on at a pair old pace, although inevitably some parts had to be taken out, some condensed and some changed to fit the format. And most importantly the special effects were excellent. I look forwadr to the director's take on The Subtle Knife!!!

Much better than thought it would be. Very enjoyable for a Saturday evening viewing with the family.

You definitely need to brace yourself before watching this film. If you haven't read the books (and I haven't as I am over 12) then the whole notion of this film is both confusing and pointless (in equal measure). No matter I thought, at least the stunning CGI effects and overall 'wow' factor of a production such as this, will win over and it will still seem vaguely watchable - WRONG! Sitting through a plot with twists and turns that seemed entirely contrived, I began to feel a numb sensation, rising up from my feet and gradually stopping at my head and then I realised I had fallen asleep. I couldn't tell you what happens at the end, even if I wanted to - there was no way I was going to sit through it all again. 2 and a half stars on the basis of the genius casting of Nicole Kidman who camped-up her entire performance. Only watch this if there's nothing else left on your rental list that you can possibly think of watching.

I was very disapointed with this film - my expectations were high given the adverts seen when it was on the big screen. acting was good, effects better than average but the plot was very week and a let down

Liked this film more than I was expecting to. The main girl actress was a treat to watch. My son aged 10 enjoyed the film too.

Not very good. Don't bother with this one.

Very good - the children enjoyed it so much they want to see it again

I have read all the books and was told that the film was not as good, so was expecting a dissapointment. However I really enjoyed this film, the CGI was outstanding and it kept very close to the orginal book.

Not bad easy viewing more of a childrens movie though

This film is highly imaginative in the positive sense, with wonderful visuals both natural and computer-generated, a well-chosen cast and faithfulness to the original book. Though films are rarely as good as books, this one should whet the appetites of those who haven't yet read Phillip Pullman's great trilogy. I am eager to see the remaining two books rendered on the screen! It is a fascinating story/idea suitable both for adults and children, incidentally

Good film wasn't brilliant BUT my 4 year old loved this film he was glued to the TV near enough the whole time. Deserves a thumbs up. Looks like they are going to bring another one out which I will defiantly hire and watch.

I was somewhat disserpointed, after all the information you hear and how brilliant it was supposed to be! It's ok but not as good as they maid out!

a really good movie get this for the kids.

This movie has a wonderfull storyline and is a really enjoyable watch for adults and kids of all ages - everyone can take something different from it - a must see!

This is one of the worst films i have seen. I never try to turn films off before they finish. But this seriously came close. Waste of two hours of my life.

Disappointing...having only recently read the books I had high hopes for the film. Unfortunately the film didn't live up to my expectations. I have to agree with some of the other reviews, the film was boring and parts of the story were lost in the translation. Wouldn't watch it again!

Quite good - not as good as the books, shame they didn't follow the books more. Well acted and enjoyable though.

Unfortunately I was disappointed in this film. Did not live up to its hype.

This film is basically about some excellent actors who need to have serious words with their agents. The film has absolutely no flow whatsoever, jumping from scene to scene without any link or explaination. The character of Lyra is constantly switching her accent between cockney and plum-english. The plot can easily be summarised as follows; Lyra gets into a scrape, Lyra gets out of a scrape, Lyra gets into a scrape, Lyra gets out of a scrape (repeat until closing credits). It has no suspense or drama at all as all problems are quickly and easily overcome, and all of her 'chance encounters' just happen to be only with extremely influential and key characters that want to bend over backwards and put their lives on the line to help this small child. If you're looking for a film of this genre, simply watch Harry Potter or Stardust again. These are a thousand times better written, adapted, directed and produced. The one star goes to Nicole Kidman who played a badly scripted role superbly, and blew away everyone else in any scene she appeared in. Overall; two hours of my life that I want back.

Don't be fooled by the bad reviews! The film is excellent and has a 'cliff-hanger' ending. This film is from the trilogy of books by Philip Pullman in which the explaination of 'dust' will be explained! This film is just the beggining of the trilogy and well worth a watch! But will obviously make more sense when the all of the films are released. Overall this film has excellent acting and brilliant effects, definetly something I would reccomend.

Having not read Philip Pullman's books, this is the first time I've 'experienced' one of his stories. Doesn't have the depth of Lord of the Rings nor the humour of Harry Potter / Stardust. However a thoroughly enjoyable romp all the same. Found the portrayal of a parallel universe interesting. Also the theme of the elite keeping the masses ignorant in order to retain power is something we are familiar with in our own universe.

I was not impressed very much with the story. Also lots of special effects were taken from other films i suspect. The film for me did not go on long enough it was quite short where films like harry potter was longer and so much better. Seemed a bit mixed up to me and found myself not concentrating.

This was quite good. I`d heard a lot of bad things so wasn`t expecting much but I was pleasently surprised. I`d advise watching the film before reading the book as there is a lot of stuff left out from the book so you`d not like it if you read the book first. Worth a watch

What a disappointment! We'd just finished watching Stardust and thought we were in for a similar treat. Instead we had to put up with a load of nonsense talk of daemons and goblets and dust and that. Daniel Craig has a very minimal role. The only good stuff is the music and the polar bears. Avoid.

Like Narnia I wanted to read the book first, but I'm glad I didn't with Golden Compass. I was dissappointed in the Narnia films but I found GC to be a great film as I never built up my expectation of it. More appealing to the adult audience as well.

Enjoyed it as a good adaptation of the book. The CGI is excellent particularly the daemons and especially the bear fight. Not sure that Nicole Kidman was chilling enough as Mrs Coulter though.

Possibly one of the worst films Ive seen. I sat with someone who had read the book and couldn't believe the editing. If you like films that gallop through scenes with very little character development and a complete de-emphasis on plot then this is the film for you. It does look fabulous but actually needs a good half hour extra and some of the scenes need re-shooting or re-editing. Look on Wiki if you need to know why the director walked out and why he got back on board. Everything in this movie has the ingredients to make it great and with a bit of work it possibly could be. And if your waiting for a sequel to smooth over the cracks, forget it. It didn't take enough at the box office in the US to facilitate another and in the current financial climate it would be difficult to raise the finance. Unbelievably the rest of the world bailed this turkey out to make a fair profit for the makers. For once, the great American public was correct!

The Book is Amazing, one of my fav reads, so I was really looking forward to the film version. What a let down! - Badly Acted, Badly cast on ALL characters, Storyline Butchered to bits so most of it didn't make sense to the average viewer. I can't think of a good thing to say about this Movie. If you're a fan of Philip Pullman, do yourself a favour and stick to the books!! I just hope if the other two books in the trilogy are made into movies they do a better job than they did with this one!

Wasn't sure what the expect but did enjoy it. Bit scary in places for younger children but good for a wet afternoon.

film was okay my eldest son is 6 and wasn,t that impressed and found it hard to stay interested .

Excellent effects, well producted and an intriging story line, hope they do the next book in the trilogy soon.

Big names and huge special effects. Pity the plot, story line and interest werent there. For kids only I suspect.

This film is too fast to keep up with unless you have read the book. It misses all the linking parts which allow you to piece together the sections where the action is taking place and without these links it is hard to follow what is going on. Having read the book I found that I was having to update my fellow viewers (by their request) as to how the characters got to the stage they were at because there was no character building as the characters were intorduced. Altogether, in my opinion, a poor attempt at turning a great book into a visual experience, which, hopefully, if they decide to produce films of the remaining two books from the authors trilogy, will not be repeated.

its a good film i didnt like the fact you have to go and see a sequal also you dont see daniel craig much

A good story, with interesting charcters. May not be suitable for younger kids, beacause of one scene they may find upsetting.

Awesome film. Are the other two books going to be turned into films? ooooh I hope so

having not read the books yet - I find it best to do film then ook to avoid disappointment in the film, my son and I very much enjoyed this fantasy tale of children, dust and demons (you'll understand when you see it), visually stunning this is a great excuse to curl up on the sofa together and have a bit of family time.

Sub-par acting, storytelling, pace, plot, characterisation, special-effects, originality and maturity. When you're 45 minutes into an action-adventure/fantasy and STILL nothing of any interest has happened, you know you're in trouble. Sub-par writing and sub-par directing.

well worth watching for all the family!

A nice film for children below 10yrs but some some large parts of the film where nothing much seemed to happen. The end was just a set up for a sequel.

Another disappointing family film which my children thought little of. There was really no plot to this, other than to leave the way open for the sequel. What some of the big name actors believed they were doing when they agreed to take part, goodness only knows!

A Pleasing film, like Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings before it, the written matter is too long to manage to fit everything in but the important parts are there and the visualisations are good. Hooray for CGI and Great actors.

I know the books are a trilogy, but you would think there would be some point to the first film. Well made, great effects, poor screenwriting

I recently read the full 'His Dark Materials' trilogy before I saw this movie so I was excited at the aspect of seeing it brought to the bring screen. The film looked wonderful, the set designs, costumes, CGI all looked great! However I was seriously let down but the storytelling. They missed massive chunks out from the book, turned the idea of a daemon into being nothing more than a cute pet and cut off the ending. The person who I was watching it with had no idea what was going on because of the huge holes in the plot. Normally if a person hasn't read the original story then the film adaptation won't be such a let down. But as the plot in this was so jumbled up I think even a non-reader of the series won't make much sense of it. I don't even know if the Subtle Knife is going to be made into a movie but I really don't want to see it if its going to spoil the book as this film did.

Dissappointing film. Loved the book but the film was quite boring. despite the marketing it was still very much a children's movie.

I was attracted by the theme, having a shadow spirit with you at all times, but it was not utilised much, just used as an interesting diversion. A lost opportunity, they could have made so much more of it. And of course it should be advertised as a childrens film, only the imagination of children could possible think there was any point to it at all!

My daughter tells me that this is a poor representation of the book on which it is based. Not having read the book I found it very entertaining and would happily recommend it. The ending is so obviously saying 'sequel coming' which is slightly annoying.

hmmm ok - film could have had a better storyline in the end.

Admittedly I have also loved the books and found the visual presentation fascinating, particularly of the daemons and the alternative world. I think the casting was excellent, Lyra was good, although her accent varied occasionally, and there is an excellent high calibre cast. I suppose if I hadn't read the books it would have been harder to grasp all the concepts. I would recommend reading them first, for adults and children alike although my nephew was inspired to read the books having seen this film. The religious aspect of the Magisterium was not brought out clearly - a conscious decision? Anyway, I am really looking forward to the next one!

No charaterisation, no storyline worthy of the name and another dull film totally reliant on effects and CGI. My advice...don't bother.

An utterly fantastic book and a very disappointing movie. On the positive side, visually it is fantastic, but it takes significant liberties with the storyline and fails to involve you in what is a rollercoaster ride when you read the book. It is always difficult to make a decent job of converting from book to film but (so far) the Harry Potter series have managed to capture the essence of the books while clearly chopping much of the content. This fails.

excellent family viewing. great adaptation of Pullman's novel, can't wait for the next one

A really enjoyable film which allowed you to escape from realitty to a fantasy world. The special effects were very good. I hope they do a follow on as I think it would go down very well for the viewing public.

Enjoyable if a little disappointing, cast is strong and storyline OK. What held the magic for me was the depiction of the fantasy world which Lyra experiences - loved the concept of each of us having a 'daemon' or animal as our guardian spirit. Ending clearly points to a sequel which I would like to see.

I loved the book and wondered how they would capture essence of it. I was so impressed. Even on the second viewing I thouroughly enjoyed it!!!

Watchable but not quite up to expectations. Quite a confusing plot for children.

Kids loved the idea of demons . plot very weak no real ending or answers My kids wanted to know if they found the lost demons . Big let down .

This is a fantasy film and everything we dream of as kids which makes this film a brilliant watching oppertunity i loved every second of it and i love the intetaction between the kids and adults very good motion picture i would advise everyone to watch this film.

I do not like animal movies especially ones that can talk, but enjoyed this one. Pure fantasy, pure entertainment, fast paced and easy to watch.

If you have read the book then this was a bit of a let down, However if you have not read the book then this movie is good fun.