A new Global trailer has arrived for this winter’s adaptation of The Golden Compass, based on the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. Try as I may, I can’t get too excited about the movie, though. The book is less action and more philosophical/cerebral content, and the movie just seems like a quick attempt to cash in on the success of The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia without a franchise to back it up.
I’m not saying everything about the movie looks bad. In fact, there is some stuff that really works. Casting like Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Sam Elliot seems inspired, and the trailer reveals what appears to be more – is that Christopher Lee I see as part of the Magisterium? How did I miss that bit of brilliance?
Still, I just can’t get too excited about The Golden Compass. Ian McKellen’s voice coming out of a talking polar bear seems completely mismatched and I’m just not sure the movie is going to pull off a decent adaptation. There’s already been reports by the director of the movie that then ending of the movie was changed (essentially, the movie will end before the book does so the conclusion of the book can be moved into a hopeful second film).
Despite my doubt, the trailer does look impressive, so my concerns are more about the final product being shallow and empty. Am I wrong? What do you make of this adaptation? See the trailer below or head over to Yahoo! Movies for a high resolution version than post your thoughts below.
