I found this series to be all over the place. As someone who has never read the books, my only experience with the material was the film from 2007 - 'The Golden Compass'. Season 1 of this show largely covers what that film covered, with seasons 2 and 3 then going beyond to cover the rest of the books.
I think there are two main areas that were a mixed bag/perhaps negative when looking back at the show. The first is the action sequences. Some pieces of action were decent, but others were downright laughably atrocious. The second would be the acting, which I thought was very inconsistent. Some actors were great, but others were simply bad. I'm not sure if it was just the acting or if it was also to do with how certain characters were written, but I found both Lee and Will to be painful to watch in almost every scene they were in. Will did get better in season 3, as did Lyra (who I found more meh than anything) - but I think that's largely due to those actors being a little older by the time we got there. Not sure what it was about Lee, but he just really bugged me.
The real standouts of the show are Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel. Both give great performances and are the highlight of any scene they are in.
Overall, I did enjoy the show, and it's definitely a unique watch, unlike anything else I've seen on TV - that alone is enough to make me recommend it. The plot was mostly solid, and I was intrigued from start to finish, wondering where the story would go next and desperate for answers. I was never bored, and there were a lot of interesting concepts and ideas to unpack. A wonder of imagination.
It gets a 10/10 for originality and creativity, but it's ultimately dragged down by a few aspects in the execution that aren't quite up to scratch.
Review by ragreynoldsVIP 7BlockedParentSpoilers2023-01-24T01:36:36Z
I found this series to be all over the place. As someone who has never read the books, my only experience with the material was the film from 2007 - 'The Golden Compass'. Season 1 of this show largely covers what that film covered, with seasons 2 and 3 then going beyond to cover the rest of the books.
I think there are two main areas that were a mixed bag/perhaps negative when looking back at the show. The first is the action sequences. Some pieces of action were decent, but others were downright laughably atrocious. The second would be the acting, which I thought was very inconsistent. Some actors were great, but others were simply bad. I'm not sure if it was just the acting or if it was also to do with how certain characters were written, but I found both Lee and Will to be painful to watch in almost every scene they were in. Will did get better in season 3, as did Lyra (who I found more meh than anything) - but I think that's largely due to those actors being a little older by the time we got there. Not sure what it was about Lee, but he just really bugged me.
The real standouts of the show are Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel. Both give great performances and are the highlight of any scene they are in.
Overall, I did enjoy the show, and it's definitely a unique watch, unlike anything else I've seen on TV - that alone is enough to make me recommend it. The plot was mostly solid, and I was intrigued from start to finish, wondering where the story would go next and desperate for answers. I was never bored, and there were a lot of interesting concepts and ideas to unpack. A wonder of imagination.
It gets a 10/10 for originality and creativity, but it's ultimately dragged down by a few aspects in the execution that aren't quite up to scratch.