That's a nice summary of my impression of The Golden Compass. It's a giant disappointment that one of the best fantasy books since Tolkien wasn't made into a great film. But the fact that it was a gigantic disappointment doesn't mean it was an awful film. It was merely good, when it should have been great.

I had to restrain myself on Sunday when a friend denounced it as horrible. He has a tendency to overstate the badness of disappointments, and likewise seems to over-praise tolerable stuff he expected to stink. I kept that in mind while holding back the rebuttal that was begging to come out of my mouth.