As for the best moment, that belongs to the bears. There is a bear fight that is glimpsed in the trailers that is easily the best sequence of the entire film. There is more emotional involvement here than there is anywhere in the rest of the movie. A lot of its effectiveness is in no small part due to the voice work of Ian McKellan and Ian McShane. As for the fight itself, while I was not terribly convinced by the effects work, it is a brutal affair that ends in such an unexpected manner that even I uttered "Cool!" under my breath.

That about sums up what I liked about The Golden Compass. Okay, I guess the big fight at the end was kind of fun. Also the daemons were a different concept that was handled well for the big screen; although, even they could have done with a bit more exposition.

Writer/director Chris Weitz fails to deliver anything wonderful or enchanting in this half-baked fantasy. Is the novel better? I can only assume that it is. I had hopes that this could be the next great thing for fantasy; instead it continues the trend of disappointments. I guess if the title doesn't have the words Lord, Rings, Harry, or Potter in it, the product is destined to fail. Although, I do have to say that there was one great fantasy film out earlier this year that was more original, magical, and imaginative than this year's Harry Potter and The Golden Compass combined. That movie is Stardust; see that instead of this.

Bottom line. You'd be better off renting Stardust and drinking a Coke. No, the movie is not without its merits. It is certainly ambitious enough, and there is likely a lot that can be read into what is provided. The problem is that what is provided is not nearly entertaining enough to warrant the effort.

Not Recommended.