C

An engaging fantasy adventure that, albeit no masterpiece, is hardly the disaster one might have imagined.

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07/14/08

2/5

I realize that when you make a book into a movie you cannot include every single detail, but it seems like Weitz purposely tried to take all of the magic out of the story.

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05/20/08

2/5

The final battle is reminiscent of a ruck at a football match, with many characters joining in for seemingly no other reason than to have a good punch up.

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05/16/08

5/5

This plot may sound somewhat ludicrous on paper, but Pullman has created a logical, well-thought-out world that Weitz has brilliantly translated to the big screen.

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05/01/08

N/A

This kid film noir touching on magic dust substance abuse, cranky clerics, worrisome wizards, goth grownup child abusers and computer-generated homicidal polar bear throat slashers, is less likely to dazzle the senses than exhaust minds of all ages.

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04/30/08

6/10

...if I hadn't liked Pullman's books so much, I probably would have liked this movie version more than I did.

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04/24/08

3/4

Will it be enough to satisfy fans of Philip Pullman's widely read 'His Dark Materials' trilogy? Hard to say. But for the uninitiated this is an engaging adventure, even when Chris Weitz's screenplay lacks the compelling clarity of Pullman's prose.

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04/09/08

C-

Sam Elliott shows up as a cowboy, who would normally be a pick-me-up, but with Golden Compass I just wanted to find my direction home.

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03/04/08

5/10

The Golden Compass should be fun, but it rarely is. It should sweep you away, but it rarely does. For a film suffused with magic, it is, regrettably, far from magical.

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02/28/08

1/5

No, I didn't read the novel before seeing the film, and nothing in this shimmering disaster made me want to read it, either. Made me hate polar bears, and I used to love the darned things, so that's saying something.

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02/25/08

2/5

Read this review, skip this movie, and instead read the excellent books. Poor Dakota Blue Fanning is the perfect Lyra in a terrible adaptation.

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02/16/08

3.5/4

A beautiful, thought-provoking fantasy film.

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02/02/08

2/4

This Compass points to the end of a would-be franchise.

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01/19/08

N/A

Suggesting at once Mrs. Coulter's devotion to her Magisterial mission, her fears of soulful and sensual embodiment, and yes, her own split self, her slap-and-hug of her damon all but stops the film's action.

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01/17/08

2/5

Deus ex machina ... is the only driving force.

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01/14/08

2/5

koyrastika amihani kai sygkehymeni kritiki sto thriskeytiko systima, den parehei oyte kata dianoia arketo allothi gia toys ano ton 16 na asholithoyn idiaitera me aytin tin yperparagogi, poy ehei aytapates megaleioy tin ora poy pashei sto rythmo kai ti syn

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01/14/08

N/A

More thought seems to have went into providing grist for future [sequels] that have not been made than the film that was.

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01/03/08

3/4

The Golden Compass is an entertaining blend of feisty pre-teen girl heroine, CGI animals both adorable and fierce, and the usual suspects on the human side ...

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01/02/08

55/100

The Golden Compass bears the brush strokes of a film produced by a committee of people intent on trying to make some money rather than a good movie.

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01/02/08

1.5/4

All the pieces combined feel like nothing more than a barrage of exquisitely crafted names

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12/31/07