Whatever one might think of Philip Pullman’s personal beliefs and the themes that run through the His Dark Materials trilogy, it is hard not to admire his writing. I particularly enjoyed the first book: The Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the US). When the film released a couple of years ago, many author friends were telling me I had to go and see it, but for one reason or another, I never got around to it. I wish I had taken the time to do so. This is a big screen film that no doubt loses atmosphere when seen on a dvd.

As I knew I had a slack week this week, I went out and bought several dvds of films (based on children’s books) that I missed in the cinema, but wanted to see – this is the first.

What can I say? The film is beautifully made, the casting is superb and the special effects are amazing. For lovers of the book, this is a superb translation to the big screen. However, much like the wonderful films of Lord of the Rings, this is a film for lovers of the book. I think it fair to say that if you didn’t like the book, then the film is unlikely to turn you into a fan. It is a story with depth that will appeal to the thinkers, but lacks the pace of something like the Alex Rider stories, or even some of the Harry Potter books. As such, many young people might find it light on the action and explosions that they seem to crave in films these days.

I find this lack of appreciation for detail by many young readers a great shame, but I don’t blame them for it. It’s very much a reflection of our society these days. Everything seems to happen at 100 miles per hour. Fast food, fast cars … fast lots of things. This is also reflected in the books that they read – everything is action, action, action. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I love action adventure stories. You only have to read my reviews of some of the action driven books to see that. Balanced with that, however, I also love books by writers who can paint scenes inside my head that are so crystal clear that I can see them in my mind’s eye for years afterwards. Mr Pullman undoubtedly displays this quality in his writing and I was delighted to find the same depth reflected in the film. I thought it was fantastic.

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