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The Golden Compass | 
| Category: Movie
Buy New: $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  232 reviews
Sales Rank: 193
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video On Demand
Running Time: 114
ASIN: B001AG52AG
Theatrical Release Date: December 7, 2007
Release Date: October 1, 2008 (New: This Week)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 227 more reviews...
 Can negative reviews kill what could have been a fantastic series? September 28, 2008
Unfortunately, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials never gained the
fame and mass following of JKR's Harry Potter. But his series was one
of my favorites as a child, and now this first movie is a visual treat,
and welcome reminder of how wonderful the books were.
Unfortunately, we marketed the movie all wrong in the US, and labeling
the series as the "anti-Narnia chronicles" did not help boost its
popularity among the audience here, which reveres CS Lewis's creation.
Please understand, there is nothing about His Dark Materials that
detracts from the wonder and Christian themes found in Narnia. If
anything, having read the two series side by side as a kid, I was able
to appreciate the parallels between stories, as well as the different
worldviews of each author.
I think children and adults alike will enjoy this movie tremendously,
regardless of religion or worldview, regardless of whether or not they
have read the books. My boyfriend was not familiar with the series,
but enjoyed it as much as I did. In fact, he was the one who informed
me that the next 2 movies are not currently in production, as it
failed to crack $70 million in the domestic box office despite huge
success overseas. In fact, it is the first film to ever crack $300
million internationally without reaching $100 million domestic. An
astonishing disconnect, really.
The producer has vowed to make the 2nd and 3rd movies, and I'm
crossing my fingers they do a better job marketing the movie (and that
critics aren't so quick to trash it!) This series has real potential.
 Um, somebody forgot to finish the movie... September 15, 2008
I read His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) (suffered through it to be more accurate). Then I watched the Golden Compass. I was grateful that it left out a lot of the banalities of the book, but then the movie ended with about a third to a quarter of book left to go.
I saw the credits start to roll and I thought "Huh! Where's the rest of the story? WTF?"
Other than that, I felt the movie represented the book very well. If only they had finished it.
 Very good. September 10, 2008
What a movie. Kidman, Craig, and Dakota Blue Richards portraying the main characters. Excellent acting, really good special effects. The movie follows the book closely, however, it could've been a bit longer as it might be a trifle difficult to follow without having read the book first. I read the book and really enjoyed it and the movie is equally good. I make a point of not listening to those fanatics on either of the good/bad side as this is a fantasy and a very good one at that. I say it's fun for everyone.
Rushed and disjointed September 9, 2008
How disappointing. The story is rushed and disjointed, trying to fit way too much material into the time allowed. Since I had read the books, at least I knew what the story was supposed to be. If you didn't read them, then forget about it.
The only positives I can mention are that the movie is nice, appearance-wise, and the armored-bears are kind of cool.
The ending is abrupt and unsatisying. Of course, they are setting it up for a sequal but, considering how badly this movie was done, a sequal seems unlikely...
Not recommended.
 Atheist blather September 5, 2008
0 out of 13 found this review helpful
The author made no effort to hide his anti-catholic and atheist viewpoint. While the movie itself made for decent science fiction, the story line will definitely feel like a slap in the face to any person well versed/educated in philosophy or theology.
I'd skip this and buy something with a better message (like Chronicles of Narnia).
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