Do not see The Golden Compass. Read the book, and then rent the movie.
In many movie adaptations of books, those who have read the book often say the book is better than the movie. In many occasions this proves to be true, in others it is questionable. The Lord of the Rings movies happen to come to mind. But in the case of The Golden Compass, reading the book is not just a more complete tale; it also includes many insightful and descriptive passages that the movie simply omits.
The Golden Compass movie is rather soft for such a hard book. Gone are the political tensions between the Magisterium and Jordan College, and gone are the religious implications of original sin and how Dust factors in to all of this. The watcher is left guessing as to the motives of the characters while at the same time being distracted by flawless cinema graphics and cute animals, called daemons.
The film took a determined step toward being more family friendly and avoiding religious condemnation. While this is a noteworthy attempt, the attempt seems half hearted. For such a lengthy movie it does not get to the end of The Golden Compass book, spending too much time on lengthy, meaningless scenes and skipping ones full of important plot devices. The viewer is cut short in the movie with promises of a sequel. However, the ending is extremely anti-climatic in comparison to the tear-jerking ending of the book.
While there are better things to spend one’s money on, there are worse things, too. Young children would be delighted to see cinema bring the bountiful amount of daemons to life, and the shortcomings of politics and religion would actually be a welcome omittance.
Adults should make every attempt to read the story before seeing it on the big screen. This will give them greater appreciation for the characters and their motives when seeing the movie. Be warned, however, that the eating of bear hearts and seal livers in the book may be unsuitable for young readers.