Is His Dark Materials truly unadaptable?

The HBO series overcorrects the mistakes of 2007's much-maligned movie version

His Dark Materials.
(Image credit: Illustrated | HBO, Screenshot/Amazon, EvgVect/iStock)

No review of HBO's His Dark Materials, based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name, is complete without taking a shot at the doomed efforts of the 2007 theatrical version, The Golden Compass. "[The] film adaptation ... was as burdened and immobilized by its special effects as a Spanish infanta in her brocade, farthingale, and jewels," wrote Slate. "Duff," is how The Telegraph succinctly dismissed it. Observed The New York Times with a hint of relief, "HBO has become a place where ... movies go to get a do-over." Mashable delicately contributed that, "the film was not well loved." And while the new take on His Dark Materials might not be "the series fans hoped for," it's at least "better than the movie," USA Today offered.

Despite Pullman's cinematic writing, which offhand seems like it should be a slam-dunk for small and big screen adaptations, His Dark Materials has remained frustratingly unsatisfactory when transferred beyond the pages of the books. HBO's attempt, co-produced with the BBC, premiered Monday night to mixed-positive reviews from critics, although clearing the bar set in 2007 isn't exactly a feat. But now the dreaded word "unadaptable" has begun to burble back into the conversation all these years later. Even considering the advances in CGI in the interim, and the defiant charm Dafne Keen brings to the show's young protagonist, Lyra, His Dark Materials doesn't have the sparkle of Pullman's beloved trilogy. And if HBO has failed under these conditions, then perhaps no adaptation of Pullman's series will ever succeed.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.