The Golden Compass (2007)

It's strange, you put all the ingredients of this film into a pot (removing the child actors of course), and it seems absolutely perfect. A popular british novel, a largely british cast, Sam Elliott doing what he does best. So why did it get really poor takings at the box office?

The truth is, there is nothing truly bad about this film, but nothing awe inspiring either. Also, I never read the book, but my lady did, and she was commenting on all the added bits and removed bits for some time after the film. My main comment comes from the child actors, the girl got better through the film, but at the beginning on the rooftops, oh dear, I was almost in tears (and not in a good way).

My other comment is my WTF moment during the film, i'll try not to spoil too much, but there is a fight scene, and being a family film you expect the loser to go down, and the viewer to not see the decisive blow. Instead you see a jaw fly across the scene, followed by a neck snap. It's a little bit savage tbh.

Anyway, if it wasn't for the awesome cgi animals (hair in particular), and the high brow actors/voices this would not make such headlines. It's disappointing, but not wholely aweful. Enjoy it, but don't expect a life expanding experience.

The Golden Compass (2007)