The Golden Compass

If you read His Dark Materials, you know why this movie was made. If you saw this movie, you know why none of its intended sequels ever got greenlighted. Given all the inventiveness of Philip Pullman's clever story--which made the books so compelling and entertaining--the same characteristic works against a movie retelling, especially considering the need to account for audiences unfamiliar with the source. Thus, we get a lot of expository dialogue in this flick, which is always a burden for a script that's trying to move and make sense at the same time. There is good stuff in here that came over intact from the book--Dakota Blue Richards makes a fine Lyra, and Iorek's battle remains a highlight--but it's also easy to see how a lot of this movie left non-fans scratching their heads. It seems this film was destined to be an orphaned curiosity; that may be the best Pullman fans can ever hope for.