It's always dangerous to try to turn an acclaimed book into a film. People who've read the book will watch the film and say "but that's not what happens, and you've missed loads of bits out". And people who haven't read the book will say "hang on, I don't quite understand what's going on". This film, based on Philip Pulman's trilogy His Dark Materials, is no exception. The book is brooding, complex and philosophical, while the film has to be suitable for 8 year-olds. It was always going to be a fine balancing act. Thankfully it's just fine enough.
The film is in two parts. First a gradual set-up, in and around a fictional Oxford college, with characters rounded and the basic back story established. This bit of the film works, pretty much. It's fun to see how the director has brought heroine Lyra's alternate universe to life, especially the animal "daemons" and the ornate fantastical skyline. This could almost be an urban Harry Potter movie, were it to remain coddled within academia. But then suddenly part two kicks in. Suddenly Lyra and a motley crowd of hangers-on are on a quest to the snowbound Arctic, first in a boat then in a balloon, haring after some secret evil experimental facility in which the world's pre-teens are being emotionally neutered, 50 at a time. Oh, and there are talking ice bears who wrestle one another clad in armour made of sky-iron. Please, now is the time to suspend disbelief.
Nicole Kidman is very good as the evil Mrs Coulter, a scheming blonde in heels. Daniel Craig is underused as Lord Asriel (as indeed are most of the starring names - a few lines here and there, every now and then). Just as well that the actress who plays young Lyra is so convincing, as she virtually holds the plot together. I particularly enjoyed trying to spot where certain scenes had been filmed, especially when it turned out I'd visited several of them in the last six months. Look, the Old RoyalNaval College in Greenwich, and Chatham Naval Dockard, and even Kempton Steam Engines in Hounslow.
The film really ought to have a third part. There were muted sighs of disappointment in the cinema when it became apparent that a not-really conclusive point in the plot was the closing scene. Those who've read the book will be particularly disappointed, although the actor destined to die a few chapters after the credits will no doubt relish the opportunity to come back in the follow-up movie. Ah yes, there's a lot more of this franchise still to come. And I might be back to see which bits of the next volume they cut out, you never know.
