I don't go to the movies that often, but Sunday night was cold and dreary so Carolyn and I decided to check out a film. We picked The Golden Compass (I Am Legend and Juno coming in a close second and third) and you know what, I really liked it!The film had everything that I want in a big, action/adventure flick. Great characters, awesome action scenes and lots of fantasy and excitement. I'm not really a fan of The Lord of the Rings or those types of movies, but this one was really good... similar to The Chronicles of Narnia. I really enjoyed the special effects and the acting by the little girl, Dakota Blue Richards (are all young acting phenoms named Dakota???,) was superb! Nicole Kidman was great in her role and the supporting characters were all really well played.
I didn't know much about the film before seeing it, except that it had been under some fire for being a tale about atheism and anti-religion. To me, the underlying themes of atheism were very apparent, but that's only because I knew about them before seeing the film. I think that an unknowing viewer might pick up on subtle hints, but would probably be unaware of the controversy. If you see the film, you'll understand.Basically, it's like this: Everyone in the Compass world is accompanied by a companion animal, called a demon, that is their spirit/soul/conscience which manifests their inner being. Some are rats, some are weasels, some are leopards and others are eagles. In the film, the ruling government/church is secretly seeking out children and removing their demons (or free thought/will) before they have a chance to fully develop... thus keeping them from having any crazy ideas or thoughts of their own. Coincidence? Maybe. You can read a longer diagnosis of the story and controversy here.
If you don't know anything about the movie, you can watch the trailer, clips and an interview with Nicole Kidman on iVillage.com. I thought the movie was great, but others think it was too clouded with the author's atheist vision.
Did you see the movie? What do you think?