The Golden Compass (2-disc Extended edition)[Blu-ray] - Chris Weitz

Perhaps it didn?t ignite the box office in quite the way it?d been hoped but that?s little reason to pass over the qualities of The Golden Compass now it arrives on DVD. Based on the Phillip Pullman novel His Dark Materials --itself the start of the Northern Lights trilogy the film isn?t without a few problems but emerges as a quality adaptation. And you certainly can?t fault The Golden Compass for sheer ambition. The story for those new to the series is primarily that of 12-year old Lyra who is in search of her friend who has been kidnapped. Naturally this proves to be quite a challenging adventure not least because it?s through Pullman?s vividly imagined world crossing dimensions as Lyra travels. The film while toning down and fiddling with some elements of the source material stays quite close to the book and it proves to be a good if not Lord Of The Rings -standard adaptation. What helps The Golden Compass on top of the strong effects work and scope of the production is a solid cast featuring the likes of Daniel Craig Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards. And it certainly whets the appetite for the next instalment in the series. Whether the muted box office returns put pay to that remains to be seen: for now at least The Golden Compass is a good solid family movie that?s easy to enjoy. -- Jon Foster