His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - Preview

Comment on “His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass”

1. A Reader Says:
   November 20th, 2006 at 03:00

   Um... I think you should read the book before you review it? It's not a kid's book. It's a 'young adult' book. You appear to have forgotten some key points, like lots of kids being kidnapped and stolen away to be tortured, to mention one of a few items I would find out of place in a kid's book. While it's true the text doesn't dwell on the gory details, why would you want it to? We have HBO for that. Let the movie appeal to a broader audience than people who like gore.

1. Josh Says:
   November 20th, 2006 at 03:01

   This isn't a book review, it's a movie preview. If I wanted to review the book though, I'd be well qualified since I have indeed read it.
   
   Sorry if I don't get the same vibe from it that you do.

1. William N Cate III Says:
   February 14th, 2007 at 18:45

   I'm sorry, but I have to agree with "A Reader". This film is by no means an adaptation of any mere "kids adventure novel". There are some dark and complex concepts in the book which will undoubtedly make their way onto the screen. "A Reader" names an excellent example. Another is the idea of the Church being the villains. Sure, the story is told from a child's perspective, but if Weitz does this right, we'll be able to see some darker, underlying themes foreshadowing the events in the next installments.
   
   

1. Andy Says:
   April 2nd, 2007 at 16:47

   "This isn't a book review, it's a movie preview. If I wanted to review the book though, I'd be well qualified since I have indeed read it."
   
   With respect Josh, that's exactly what you have done - given your review (albeit in capsule format) of the book and stated how it's not as good as Lord of The Rings for older readers etc.
   Although I am somewhat confused by several of your ideas - you say that there's nothing adult about the book, offering up the reasoning that an attack by a polar bear is insufficiently gory and described in detail to qualify.
   Simply adding grand guignol descriptions of fatalities and injuries does not make a book "adult". That sort of narrative detailing limits a book to the more 15-20yr old demographic of, say, a Shaun Hutson novel about killer slugs.
   
   What is adult, and what you seem to dismiss, are the themes presented. The notion of The Church/The Authority being all powerful and able to dictate how people should think and learn, children being kidnapped, tortured and killed, the emergence of a child into adolescence and the burgeoning awareness of the world as a larger whole that a small town of Oxford etc etc.
   
   I'm not sure what adult themes are lacking, because the book I read tackled extremely adult theological questions using talking polar bears, gyptians, witches and daemons. Maybe you were given a Cliff's Notes version?

1. Jamie Says:
   May 22nd, 2007 at 15:10

   To be fair to Josh, Andy, his point was exactly that the book IS gorey, not that it isn't sufficiently gorey enough for adults. His point was that gore appeals to kids more than adults.
   
   I can also kind of see his point, in that if there was one of these three books that you could possibly label a kid's book, it'd be this one!
   
   But anyway, my opinion also differs to Josh's in that I really do not think it is a kid's book either; it deals with adult concepts and everything is delivered subtly; the gimmicks themselves (talking animals as friends) take second fiddle to the actual concept of what these gimmicks represent (we could discuss the subtext all day).

1. Jay Says:
   July 7th, 2007 at 12:14

   This book is as adult as the person who reads it & contains a rich & hidden depth. For some it may be easy to miss the wealth of relevance i can see how many people would have not picked up on the intricately woven web of literary, geographical, historical, philosophical homages that are so fitting with the resonant themes.

1. Hardik Says:
   July 8th, 2007 at 19:24

   To be honest, the perspective of the person depends on the individual. Harry potter can be changed from a young teenager to a kid.. It depends on the director to make the movie according to his perspective. Now here no thinking of author will come into effect. It purely depends on the artist and the direction.... The best thing is WAIT AND WATCH.

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