If you react to the film as an independent entity, it works spectacularly. With an unlimited supply of CGI eye candy, plucky performances, a quest story and a feisty young heroine, the movie is an engrossing experience.

“The Golden Compass” tells the story of a rebellious 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua. Lyra lives in a world that is quite like ours except for the “little differences” as Vince Vega would have told his hitman buddy. In Lyra’s world, the souls move outside the bodies in various animal shapes. Also, the world is ruled by the Magisterium which does not take kindly to free thought.

Lyra is a ward of the Jordan College, which is the last bastion of free thought. Her guardian, the powerful Lord Asriel, is off on an expedition to investigate dust particles. There are also children disappearing and the “Gobblers” seem to have something to do with the vanishing children.

When Lyra’s friend, Roger, vanishes, she sets off on a quest to find him and collects all sorts of helpers and hinderers on the way. Before setting of for the north with the mysterious Mrs. Coulter, the master of the college gives her the golden compass, the last of its kind, which is a mystical device that can tell the truth about everything.

Mrs. Coulter proves to be hinderer number one. Lyra runs away from her and throws her lot with the sea-faring Gyptians led by Lord Faa. There is also the great ice bear, Iorek Byrnison, who swears loyalty to Lyra, the witch Serafina Pekkala and aeronaut Lee Scoresby. All these knights help Lyra in her search for the missing children, which she does in super style, in a right-royal punch up towards the end.

Of course, there will be a sequel — the source material is a trilogy right? — and so the movie ends with the mandatory cliff-hanger. The cast is uniformly good — starting with Nicole Kidman as the icy Mrs. Coulter, Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra and Sam Elliott as Scoresby.

Ian Mckellan (Gandalf in “Lord of the Rings”) is in familiar territory as he supplies the voice for the regal Byrnison. And of course there is Daniel “James Bond” Craig in a role that can be best described as a glorified cameo as Lord Asriel. Fully clothed, Craig squints his bright blue-grey eyes to show how serious he is about the goings on.

The fact that his Vesper from “Casino Royale”, Eva Green, is also in the movie as Serafina lends a nice touch of the surreal to the proceedings.

Now we can wait for part two and maybe read the books in the couple of years that it would take for the sequel to be made!

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

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