Writer-director Chris Weitz makes the most of the visual wonders in Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels – especially in the scenes with a warrior polar bear – but the narrative is a mess. In trying to downplay the anti-religious elements of Pullman’s books, Weitz ends up with a lot of confusing blathering about sin and magical dust and parallel worlds. As a result, this “safe” film version of The Golden Compass is about as anti-God as The Chronicles of Narnia, yet it’s also nowhere near as poetic.
