*** SPOILSPORT ALERT ***

What is the frikkin deal with CGI monkeys? Ever since Jumanji they have looked like shit, and always seem less believable than any other animated animal. Perhaps it’s because of their human-like traits; the more human the animal the more sensitive we may be to flaws in appearance and movement.

Compare this miniature computer generated Dr. Zaius (Mrs Coulter’s unnamed golden monkey daemon) to the fabulously real monkey from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you can see there’s still a long way to go.

The other daemons are for the most part superb, especially Pantalaimon in cat and mongoose form, and really serve to break up what otherwise might be stuffy exposition scenes with people sitting around a table. It’s great watching them padding into a room behind their respective humans, deftly avoiding being trodden on and apparently attracting no special attention.

Ok, so apart from the daemons… The story seems to follow the book pretty closely, although it ends at a slightly different spot (which is understandable but somewhat annoying). Lyra is very well cast, being a little rough looking (you can actually imagine her beating up other kids) and Daniel Craig as Azriel would be great if he were on screen for more than 30 seconds. Nicole Kidman is so-so as Mrs Coulter (especially when she pretends to reach out and hold mini-Zaius).

The main criticism I have for The Golden Compass, which I have already heard elsewhere, is that the movie does feel rather rushed… in order to include all the major plot points there never seems to be much of a pause for breath. I think it could have easily been 45 minutes longer to allow better establishment of the world of the College and the Magisterium (which is still very obviously a version of the Catholic church), and to allow the characters time to get to know each other a bit.

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(images nicked from this article)