The Washington Post wrote one of the Reviews for The Golden Compass...full article here.
The Golden Compass Movie - Based upon the Book - The Golden Compass - by Phillip Pullman
They describe the movie The Golden Compass as, "too many characters too fast; too much emphasis on design and effects and not enough on emotion." The Golden Compass is based upon author Philip Pullman's novel, The Golden Compass tells the first story in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, an amazing fantasy book series.
I havn't had a chance to see the movie, but The Golden Compass movie trailer looks simply amazing and has a great epic feel. It is hard to judge a movie based upon one scene, but my sentiment is that I want to see this amazing film.