The Golden Compass

We went along to see The Golden Compass, the movie adaptation of Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (the first in His Dark Materials trilogy). I suppose I should preface this by saying that I haven't actually read the book - so I can't comment on how good an adaptation it is (or indeed isn't). My experience with book adaptations is pretty mixed with very few effectively capturing the novel - you'll have to judge for yourself I'm afraid. As a movie, however, The Golden Compass is jolly good fun. It is visually impressive with some lovely imagery of the parallel earth and some strong performances - particularly Dakota Blue Richards, who plays Lyra. I found the presentation absorbing and it managed to avoid the twee aspects of Harry Potter. On the downside it does feel like the start of something (and with the next instalment not scheduled for release until 2009 that's a little disappointing) and the ice bear fight has a rather brutal ending which is probably unsuitable to more sensitive children. But otherwise a very enjoyable film.