I no longer fear hell for I have watched 'The Golden Compass'

[underpants]

all 2 hours of it

Wow that had to be the most contrived, simplistic, over written, over directed, patronizing 120 minutes of childlike story telling in the history of cinema

Is it really necessary to have characters explain who people are as they are introduced? Is it really necessary to flash an image of the place people are talking about so we little dummies can hope to understand? Can Terry Gilliam get his sets back?

I got the messge about the church in fact I got that pretty much in the first 5 minutes. Was the whole Dickens-street-urchin part really necessary?

I need to write a book. Clearly they will film just about anything these days as long as there are mystic worlds involved. Flying cowboys and armored bears??? And how long WAS that witch's name anyway? that could have cut a good 5 minutes of this crapfest right there.

Oh and having TWO members of the LoTR trilogy really didn't help neither did the surprise surprise about the parents...:eyes: think I have heard that one before (at least that was a western set in space not a pile of dung in the wintry north)

[NJmaverick]

1. I saw it, while I didn't think it was great

I would consider it light hearted summer time entertainment. I actually got a chuckle over things like the armored bear.

[TZ]

2. Have you read the book?

Its actually pretty good..and I think they had to cut out a lot of stuff from what I hear, including a lot of the anti church stuff.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I thought the movie was a pretty good adaptation of the book.

Not excellent by any means, but it was pretty good.

I enjoyed the book more, because it had more depth and nuance to it.

[BarenakedLady]

4. The book series was good.

I liked the movie. I think they probably did all that to help those who didn't read the books. :shrug:

[underpants]

6. I've never read LoTR but I was able to get that

Maybe it was just me :shrug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. it was fairly true to the book.

[LeftyMom]

7. Some books don't make good movies.

In general, complicated sci-fi/fantasy books don't translate well. Either you keep most of the plot elements in and spend a lot of time explaining (like The Golden Compass,) you cut a lot of elements out and the remainder doesn't always make much sense (most sci-fi adaptations,) or split the middle and still wind up with a mess (80's Dune.)

[Bicoastal]

8. How could a story with a villainess named "Mrs. Coulter" be bad?

I ask you...

[Deja Q]

9. Try watching Doctor Who's two-parter "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End"

I don't think it gets much worse than that...

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. It could have been Voyage of the Damned.

:shrug:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

11. I had to watch it twice

just to be twice as confused and irritated by the flying-jumping-plot line.

Yes, the polar bear and the cowboy made me want to scream.

I concur with your movie review. I can only say, I am glad I only bought the DVD and didn't pay for me and my two kids to get into a theater to sit through that pile of crap.
:crazy:

[tigereye]

13. the books are wonderful, much, much better than the movie

they condensed and combined a lot and there are complex philosophical issues that were simply glossed over...


the books are highly complex - they did ok in the movie, but so much nuance was lost.

[tigereye]

12. the book is much, much better. Please make sure you read it...

:hi:

[yellowdogintexas]

14. well, I enjoyed the movie and I had not read the book at that time. I am currently

reading the book and enjoying it immensely.

The armored bear, the longnamed witch, the flying cowboy, the parental surprise ALL straight from the book. As the author intended it.

[JVS]

15. I'm saving my money for the claymation version of "The Screwtape Letters"

[carlyhippy]

16. my kids and I watched it

when the heroine tore up the machine that separated the daemons and the kids, one of my kids said "that is one P*SSED OFF little girl!!!"... I actually liked the movie. Sam Elliott was, as usual, hot.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. It was about an hour too short.

I'm not going to blame the director. This was clearly a case of too many cooks spoiling the soup. This was a movie made by committee.

If they had far less exposition, and instead relied on actual dialogue and the audiences imagination, they wouldn't have squandered the opportunity.

This film had much the same faults as Lynch's Dune, a mess of a film made of an exceptional book.

[loveable liberal]

18. The books Rocked...the movie sucked.

Its rare I like a book and I loved all three. Especially because two christo-fascists I work with said they were the "work of the devil"... (a direct quote by the way).

[leeroysphitz]

19. It's good to see you haven't lost your child-like sense of wonder.

:)