Just got back from it. Non-spoileriffic version: It was very good, a solid 7/10 easily. Acting was great, especially Lyra; the bears were done PERFECTLY, and the fight between Iorek and the king (whose name was changed from Iofur to I-dunno-what) was EXCELLENT; and the effects, while iffy at times, were done well enough to satisfy. The bad: the under-2 hour running time meant a lot of it was streamlined to the detriment of the characters and plot, and some little deals that help to understand the world and certain plot events are skimmed over, and the ending was cut short. Other than that, it was great, and I'm not even all that miffed about the end. What it needs is another 30-45 minutes to flesh the story and characters out. Hopefully we'll get that in a DVD Director's Cut eventually.

SPOILERED CRITIQUE

WARNING

HERE BE SPOILERS

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WARNED, YOU HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION

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Note: These are almost all nitpicks. I really did enjoy the movie a lot - the spirit of Pullman's novel is still very much there.

Alright. My problems with the movie stemmed from the treatment of certain details. First, the child found without his daemon in the movie is Billy Costa, while in the book it was Tony Makarios, a character with no direct ties to the main characters. When they find the child in the book, the horrifying nature of what has been done to him is shown when none of the Gyptians will even go near him until Lyra forces them to stop being assholes - in the movie, before anyone is told what happens, Ma Costa hugs Billy and tells him they'll find his daemon, and everyone crowds around. It would have been better for them to treat him more like Tony was in the book, emphasizing the horror that has happened to him. This was my biggest single nitpick with the movie. Also, the taboo of not touching another's daemon is touched upon, but could have been emphasized more so we really understand what's happening to Lyra at the end.

Second, the ending didn't bother me all that much - it's a much less depressing note to end a film on than discovering Asriel's true motives, and his murder of Roger. While the way they ended "Compass" felt a bit clunky, it's much like shifting around elements in the "Lord of the Rings" movies, and didn't bother me that much.

Third, the rearrangement of some plot elements bothered me (i.e. Lyra doesn't find out about her parents until the end of the film, which is quite odd), but this is a necessary evil. This also made the witches an incredibly unnecessary element of the film, especially Serafina Pekkala. If I hadn't read the book, I'd say that the witches' purpose in the film was to give Eva Green screentime.

Finally, the religious element is still very much there, but the "Church" and "Magisterium" have been merged into just the "Magisterium," and the direct references to Adam and Eve and Creationism have been toned down to vague passing mentions. But this isn't an anti-Christian, or pro-atheist film - it's a film that critiques the strong arm of power the Church can have over politics in the interest of preserving itself, which is something that the Vatican does, it really can't be denied. It'll be interesting to see how "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass" are dealt with.

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END SPOILERS

So, again, all in all I really liked it, and it could be immensely improved with a more relaxed pace and more character/plot development beyond "Point A to point B to point C to point D." Bring on #2 and #3! Highly recommended to everyone willing to have an open mind.