Golden Compass

I watched The Golden Compass on DVD tonight. I had seen it in theaters in December. Even though I really enjoyed the book by Philip Pullman, my favorite of the His Dark Materials series, I was underwhelmed by the movie yet again. I think it shares a problem with many adaptations; the assumption is made that the viewer is familiar with the story so it is strung together more like a series of vignettes than a complete narrative. The movie jumped from plot point to plot point without smooth transitions. That being said, I liked the special effects. It must have been a monumental task to provide every person with a demon. Nicole Kidman must get the highest praise for acting. Her Mrs. Coulter was deliciously amoral. The scene where she slaps her demon made me shiver. It has been quite a while since I read the book, so I can't remember all the differences between the book and movie. The most glaring and unsatisfying is the ending. The DVD I got from Blockbuster didn't have any extras. When I buy it for myself I'll probably go for the two disk set so I can view some of them.