The Golden Compass points to success
Wed 09 January 2008
Jacqueline Lewis, Journalism major
From the grandeur of Oxford to the white abyss of the North, The Golden Compass is a non-stop thrill-ride from beginning to end.
Starring James Bond stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green, alongside Australian Nicole Kidman and breakthrough star Dakota Blue Richards, the film will enthral viewers of all ages.
Based on Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, the film is set in a world similar to ours but with one big difference – souls in this world take on the form of animals, or ‘daemons’. The Golden Compass follows the adventures of young Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), who is unaware of the turbulence in the world around her. Living a sheltered life with scholars in Jordan, Oxford, Lyra’s life changes forever when a strange woman (Nicole Kidman) offers her a chance to travel to the freezing North. In the events that follow Lyra’s only hope for survival rests with her parting gift from the Master of Jordan: an alethiometer, or ‘golden compass’, an indictor of truth.
The visual effects in the film are nothing short of stunning, and the beauty of the sets is truly breathtaking. Nicole Kidman gives a fantastic and unnervingly eerie performance as the mysterious Mrs Coulter, but the standout performance of the film is from 12-year-old Dakota Blue Richards. For such a young actress she becomes Lyra with seemingly little effort.
The Golden Compass is well worth the cinema admission price, as the film can only truly be appreciated on the big screen. A world of adventure, fantasy and non-stop action awaits you.
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