51
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- It’s pure introductory adventure, meant to immerse readers in Pullman’s richly complicated fantasy universe.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttA "soft" epic, a film touching on childhood fantasies with sturdy, unwavering characters driven to evil or good. More "Harry Potter," in other words, than "Beowulf."
- 67Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAustin ChronicleKimberley JonesThere are significant stretches of talky tedium, more than a few “huh” moments for neophytes – especially whenever anyone starts nattering on about Dust with a capital D – and the ending plays abruptly, but there’s plenty here to hang a franchise on.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliOne key missing element: the world in which this story takes place never feels unique. We aren't drawn into it the way we were with Middle Earth or Hogwarts. In fact, with all the airships flying around, there are times when it feels like an extension of Stardust.
- 58The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe Golden Compass does manage the job of bringing Pullman's world to the screen. With luck, any future entries will try harder to get the job done right.
- 50VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyImpressively rendered but oddly uninviting adventure.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe Golden Compass is a snowbound mystical-whizbang kiddie ride that hovers somewhere between the loopy and the lugubrious.
- 50Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula NechakSeattle Post-IntelligencerPaula NechakThe film is dominated by computer-generated effects and they're most of its problem -- they don't give us anything to emotionally attach to or invest in.
- 40Village VoiceVillage VoiceIn drawing and quartering much of the novel's intent, Weitz ends up with a film that feels not just unfinished but undone.
- 40Washington PostStephen HunterWashington PostStephen HunterThe movie simply delivers too many colorfuls for its own good, none of whom establish a true emotional identity, and thus it isn't moving, it's busy. Busy, busy, busy.