Movie Review: The Golden Compass

I finally saw the movie The Golden Compass the other day. I blogged about it when it first came out and said I wanted to see it. Well, life does not always allow jaunts to the movie theater these days, so I waited until it came out on video. Thank God. I would have cried over each of the ten bucks had I bought a ticket. The movie is just plain bad. It is so chaotic and adds so many characters throughout the two hours that I lost attention at least a few times. The graphic art is impressive and well done, but even this seemed empty.

There should not have been any hoopla over it's anti-religious themes. Yes, the books might propound atheism and freedom from religion/the church. However, the movie trips over itself trying in avoiding blatant, unflattering remarks about religion (though one immediately discovers that the oppressive "Magesterium" represents the Roman Catholic Church). And as is the case with so many (post)modern movies, the overarching topic is freedom. Freedom from what? The church, or religion, or perhaps something else? I guess the other movies will fill out the bizarre story more.

Though the anti-religious themes were subtle, one got the feeling that the movie did not exist to esteem goodness. You did not feel any love or grace emanating from the characters (the prime actor, a young girl, played the part quite apathetically and even a bit rudely). And it is not because the film is dark (which it is). Even in the darkest scenes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, one always felt as though redemption was around the corner. And even in the midst of the tragedy, all the virtuous characters acted, well, virtuously. Not so with The Golden Compass.

I can't really recommend the movie. It is quite violent and unsuitable for kids. But beyond that, it really doesn't offer anything edifying. Good CGI and clever fantasy can't cover up simple insolence.