http://www.moviereviewblog.net/2005/12/13/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-by-andrew-adamson/ itsvery Movie Review - independent film reviews Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:23:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.1 http://www.moviereviewblog.net/2005/12/13/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-by-andrew-adamson/#comment-11593 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:21:36 +0000 http://www.moviereviewblog.net/2005/12/13/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-by-andrew-adamson/#comment-11593 [...] After The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, here is the next Fantasy film based on a popular book series - Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy. The Golden Compass suffers a bit from the Part-I-Syndrome - a whole new complex universe has to be established and half a dozen main characters must be introduced, and there is an extensive story to be told. Chris Weitz masters all of that and finds enough time for a couple of excellent fight and action sequences. The special effects are of mixed quality - The Golden Compass is basically one big special effect, and the dæmons are not only the souls of the people in this universe, but also the soul of the movie, and they are adorable, and so is the Panserbjørn Iorek Byrnison - at least most of the time. But occasionally, the effects with Iorek are plainly embarassing (i cringed when Iorek carried Lyra through the icy northern landscapes). The Golden Compass is suitable for kids (Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence in the USA) but will also please adults - which is kind of the main problem of the film: it seems nobody ever decided if it should be for kids or for adults and so the movie meanders between kiddie-friendly and made for serious fantasy aficionados quite frequently and uncomfortably, failing to fully score in either genre. And the end comes rather abrupt, almost brutal - but then, the audience is spared a soppy-happy ending - definitly a good thing. Looking forward to Part II! [...] […] After The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, here is the next Fantasy film based on a popular book series - Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy. The Golden Compass suffers a bit from the Part-I-Syndrome - a whole new complex universe has to be established and half a dozen main characters must be introduced, and there is an extensive story to be told. Chris Weitz masters all of that and finds enough time for a couple of excellent fight and action sequences. The special effects are of mixed quality - The Golden Compass is basically one big special effect, and the dæmons are not only the souls of the people in this universe, but also the soul of the movie, and they are adorable, and so is the Panserbjørn Iorek Byrnison - at least most of the time. But occasionally, the effects with Iorek are plainly embarassing (i cringed when Iorek carried Lyra through the icy northern landscapes). The Golden Compass is suitable for kids (Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence in the USA) but will also please adults - which is kind of the main problem of the film: it seems nobody ever decided if it should be for kids or for adults and so the movie meanders between kiddie-friendly and made for serious fantasy aficionados quite frequently and uncomfortably, failing to fully score in either genre. And the end comes rather abrupt, almost brutal - but then, the audience is spared a soppy-happy ending - definitly a good thing. Looking forward to Part II! […]

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