This cowardliness in the face of pressure from organizations such as the Catholic League in the US, which has accused Pullman of being the "new face of atheism," is sad. Nevertheless, it must be said that the philosophical thinness of the film probably owes more to the demands of the medium than to Weitz's and New Lines' desire to avoid confrontation with the kind of militant and intolerant religious organization that is criticized in Pullman's books.
Inevitably, the book is boiled down to its simplest components, but even then, there is so much story to tell that the film has a galloping pace in which the philosophical underpinnings of the book get lost or hopelessly confused. This is hardly surprising, as cinema is increasingly something akin to illustrated companions of much-loved books.
In The Golden Compass the author tries to represent philosophical world views. The pictures themselves, while very splendid, are less effective in giving the audience a true sense of what the book is about. Reliance is placed instead on iconic visuals. For example, the polar bear character Iorek Byrnison, a CGI creation, is the center of a set-piece battle sequence which is alone worth the price of admission. It is rather unfortunate that only people who have read the book will understand just exactly how he comes to win it.
For all that, Weitz must be congratulated on fitting so much into so little space, even if this roller-coaster ride might have benefited from a few slower moments. For the most part, plot point follows plot point in such tight succession that there is hardly time to draw breath, and little time for surprise or delight to register. Still we must hope that the film will act as "bait," in the words of Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, and bring more readers to a series of books that deserves to be more widely known.
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