epiphany

All That Glitters...

Last night I went to see The Golden Compass. I enjoy children's fantasy movies, and the trailers had looked interesting. The few articles I'd read about the story's religious controversy intrigued me as well.

Sell outs are common at my local theater, so on my way home from work an hour before the show started, I stopped by for a ticket. I was a bit surprised that a big name movie like this hadn't yet sold out. I was also surprised that prices had gone up $0.25 since I last saw a movie. When I returned a half hour before showtime, the line was about a quarter block long. That must have been the tail of the opening rush because the theater itself wasn't very full when I stepped inside. I chose a seat close to my favorite spot and played games on my iPod and phone until the trailers started. The room did get pretty full, and there was definitely excitement in the air as the lights went down. But I don't think it was a sell out.

You've probably noticed that I haven't talked much about the movie yet. Frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. The effects were interesting. I liked the swirly electric spheres that powered the machines. The spy flies were nicely designed. The bears had some neat moments, and the way the children's soul-pets changed shape was pretty cool. That's about it.

As for characters, I never connected with any of them. Lyra, the girl around whom the story revolves, wasn't particularly likable. Her main trait is that she hates being told what to do and always seems a few seconds short of a tantrum. That and she likes to lie. A few children I know came to mind as I watched, none of them much fun to be around. Lyra turns out to be loyal to her friends, which is good, except that I never really found out why, and I forgot she was supposedly trying to rescue them. The story is more about her doing her own thing than it is about helping the friends. The rescue seemed more an accident than intention: "I'm having a big adventure. Adventure, adventure, adventure. Oh, what are you doing here, Roger? I guess I did say I'd save you earlier in the movie. Since you're here and I'm here, that must be the point of my adventure. In fact, since you happen to be here, I've decided that everything I've been doing this whole movie has been so I can find you. I want to make sure I tell you that and that you understand. Do you understand? I said, 'do you understand me?' (Don't make me angry – I will deck you.) Fine. Come along then."

The other characters were even less interesting, and nearly everyone but Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig felt more than a little melodramatic.

As for the so-called religious controversy, based on this movie alone, it's pretty hard to see. I can see condemnation of power-grabbing, authoritarian government. I can see the author saying that kind of authority works hard and cruelly to prevent people from "growing up" and making their own choices and then covers its greed with talk of it being "for your own good." I'm pretty sure that he's saying adults and other authority shouldn't hide sex from kids.

If, like articles I've read say, the author's intent is to teach kids atheism, prove that God doesn't exist, or disprove God's existence (which I'd say are all subtly different things), this movie alone fails miserably. Not having read the books, I can't say if he succeeds or not over the course of the series. What I do learn is that I really ought to do my own thing no matter the consequences to others. I'm really important, and I should follow my whims. Anyone who supports my ideas is my friend. Anyone who opposes me is malicious and needs to be eliminated.

That's about it. I give it an average-at-best but mostly-forgettable rating. If you want to see it, catch a matinee, wait for it to come to a budget theater, or just Netflix it. You won't miss any stunning "boy, I'm glad I saw that on a big screen" moments by watching it on a TV.

I have a feeling I'm not alone in my sentiments. After most movies I see, the audience has a certain intensity to it. They may be cheering, laughing, and buzzing excitedly. Sometimes they're very, very sober and thoughtful. Last night felt like a collective, "Is it over? That's it? I guess I'll go to bed." Out of several hundred people, there were no cheers, no claps, and no buzz. The few voices I heard as the crowd filed out sounded whiny or disappointed. If anyone really enjoyed it, they certainly didn't make themselves known.

Posted by jonhanneman at December 8, 2007 8:40 AM | TrackBack