The Golden Compass

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The Golden Compass

PG-13

Released Dec 7, 2007

1h 58m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

194 Reviews

51%

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250,000+ Ratings

Lyra Belacqua lives in a parallel world in which human souls take the form of lifelong animal companions called daemons. Dark forces are at work in the girl's world, and many children have been kidnapped by beings known as Gobblers. Lyra vows to save her best friend, Roger, after he disappears too. She sets out with her daemon, a tribe of seafarers, a witch, an ice bear and a Texas airman on an epic quest to rescue Roger and save her world.

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Critics Consensus

Without the bite or the controversy of the source material, The Golden Compass is reduced to impressive visuals overcompensating for lax storytelling.

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Debbie Day

Premiere Magazine

"The Golden Compass ultimately fails as a film in its broad strokes and inadequate scene development."

Rated: 2/5

Nov 3, 2016

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Alonso Duralde

MSNBC

This plot may sound somewhat ludicrous on paper, but Pullman has created a logical, well-thought-out world that Weitz has brilliantly translated to the big screen.

Rated: 5/5

May 1, 2008

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Amy Nicholson

I.E. Weekly

Lyra surpasses the timid drone of Pan's Labyrinth or the Pevensies' do-gooder sap, she's brave, smart, and the best liar in the universe.

Rated: B-

Jan 29, 2008

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Solid entertainment, but of the repetitious kind - as if it was the sequel to something else, even though it is obviously the first of a potential series.

Rated: 7/10

Nov 24, 2020

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Cinemanía Staff

Cinemanía (Spain)

Dazzling. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Oct 14, 2020

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

This uneven and muddled affair is too compressed and compromised to please viewers of any persuasion.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 17, 2020

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Timmothy C

It wasn’t terrible, there were good actors, and good editing. However, you didn’t understand what exactly was going on. The action at the end should’ve happened sooner there should’ve been longer build up. The movie needed to be longer to get the story across. It was very rushed. You couldn’t tell the difference in parts of the story that are important to remember and which are not. Mostly because it was rushed.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/25

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Alex D

ME AND MY MOM WTCHED THIS AND THIS IS AMAZING

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/26/25

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james o

the film have compared with The Chronicles of Narnia.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

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Wing Hong C

Didn’t deserve to win Best Visual Effects over TF 2007 and At World's End

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

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Elizabeth S

They took a perfect 10/10 book and destroyed it with a terrible movie.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

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Audience Member

This movie is just amazing! And I’m still so sad that we haven’t got part two

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

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Chris Weitz

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Dakota Blue Richards

Lyra Belacqua

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Synopsis

Lyra Belacqua lives in a parallel world in which human souls take the form of lifelong animal companions called daemons. Dark forces are at work in the girl's world, and many children have been kidnapped by beings known as Gobblers. Lyra vows to save her best friend, Roger, after he disappears too. She sets out with her daemon, a tribe of seafarers, a witch, an ice bear and a Texas airman on an epic quest to rescue Roger and save her world.

Director: Chris Weitz
Producer: Deborah A. Forte, Bill Carraro
Screenwriter: Chris Weitz
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Scholastic Productions, Depth of Field
Rating: PG-13 (Sequences of Fantasy Violence)
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 7, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 30, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.1M
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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