The Golden Compass condenses the first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, resulting in a great-looking adventure which is packed with seemingly disparate fantasy concepts, none with much depth behind them. Perhaps if I had read the books, I'd not find it so jarring to have speaking armored bears, flying witches, cowboys, sea-faring gypsies, and more all in the same soup. In comparison, the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy creates a much stronger feeling of an alternative, unique universe.

Dakota Blue plays the heroine Lyra Belacqua, who is an orphan raised by scholars in a rather Victorian-like universe. Thus excellent British accent. Her friend is kidnapped, and she hears that the evil conspiracy called the Magisterium might be guilty. She's suspiciously offered a trip to the Artic north where her friend is supposedly taken, and so the adventure begins.

Dakota Blue is outstanding as Lyra. Roger Ebert calls her "pretty, plucky, forceful, self-possessed, charismatic, and just about plausible as the mistress of an armored bear," and there isn't much to add to that. Though not comparable to one better known Dakota, the movie is well worth watching just for her.