The Golden Compass

Otherworldly fantasy gets lost in sloppy storytelling

By Matt Pais

Critic's Rating:

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In an alternate world, bossy elders called “Gobblers” kidnap kids and bring them north in a poorly conceived attempt at suppressing free thought. Only young Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) can read the “alethiometer”/golden compass that reveals secret truths about this world. With the help of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) and a talking polar bear, she takes on some grumpy adults, including Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman). Also: In this world, people’s souls are manifested as “daemons,” talking animals that walk beside you.

Big question: Can “Compass,” based on the first part of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” series, launch a “Lord of the Rings”-style trilogy despite some claiming that the film is anti-religion?

Skip it: Suffering from a bad case of kicking-off-a-franchise-itis, “The Golden Compass” has the most scene-setting explanations since “The Da Vinci Code” yet never establishes any shape to its mythology. A gold star goes to anyone who can explain the Gobblers’ agenda, why daemon-less polar bears are desperate to have them and why a character doesn’t freak out when she finds out her uncle is actually her dad.

Catch it: If you think the polar bear community is really onto something by having a rule that if you kill the king, you become the king. Can’t imagine how that could go wrong in the human society.

Bottom line: The daemon-on-daemon action offers some adventure--ever seen a monkey put a cat in a headlock?--and writer-director Chris Weitz creates enough striking visuals to pass for another world. But if you’ve seen a toddler’s first attempts to walk, you know how effectively this epic story gets off the ground.

Bonus: Any women tired of being considered delicate will enjoy Lyra’s discomfort at being called “a lady.” Take note, ladies: Manipulating the Kingdom of the Ice Bears’ leader is a quick way to refute that! 

mpais@tribune.com