Review: The Golden Compass

The plot of the movie centers entirely around the existence of daemons and Dust. Since the goods guys are trying to protect them and the bad guys are trying to destroy them, you get the idea that you should care about them, but the implications of their destruction are never fully explained. The movie is fairly fast paced, which comes at the expense of any character development. My guess is this is more a flaw of the screen play than the actual novel. There are several original elements within the movie, but little is done with them. The casting is excellent

When The Golden Compass came out in theaters, the only thing I kept hearing about is that it was an avowed atheist’s attempt to discredit Christianity generally and Catholicism specifically. Neesha read the book when she was younger and never understood the criticism though she admitted it was in her pre-Horsley days, so she may have missed it. I watched the movie with an eye open for such propaganda, and reached a conclusion. Either it doesn’t exist, I’m not very smart, or the man is incompetent as an atheist apologist. If you were of a mind, you could draw parallels between the Catholic Church and the Magisterium (sp?), the Orwellian authority trying to destroy daemons and Dust, though to be honest I saw more parallels with the Bush administration than with religion.

Rating:

• Buy it now
• Worth $10 at Costco
• Happy we rented it, but also happy we only rented it
  
• No good at any price
• That numb feeling at the top of your head? That's your cerebral cortex closing up shop

m&n