Aaaah Nicole Kidman...

That flawless alabaster complexion. The luminous hair. Those impeccable facial features. That poise. That iconic fashion sense.

In The Golden Compass, the golden countess appears for only 20 minutes in the role of the villainous Mrs Coulter. Yet she was paid a staggering US$17 million. That's almost a million a minute, folks. That also makes her the most expensive woman in Hollywood - way more expensive than Julia Roberts or Reese Witherspoon.

So, is she any good? Well, Nicole is Nicole. She sashays about on her skyscraper legs, in her magnificent dresses, turning everyone's heads. She smiles softly, speaks gently and occasionally breaks into tiny little frowns. Her presence is both visible and slight. She has a strange way of being there and yet not being there - like a fashion model rather than an actress.

In a way, the movie is like her too. Very beautiful to look at, but very ephemeral.

Based on Philip Pullman's bestselling fantasy novels, The Golden Compass is the first installment of a possible trilogy ala The Lord of the Rings. The mythological story is set in a universe where there are numerous parallel worlds that co-exist alongside the human world. Gaining access into these parallel worlds, however, is a mystery that humans have yet to unlock.

When Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), a scientist and explorer, discovers evidence of these parallel dimensions, he travels to the North Pole to look for it. He leaves behind his 12-year-old niece Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) who quickly becomes friends with the wealthy and mysterious Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman). Mrs Coulter offers to bring Lyra to the North where she might have a better chance of finding her uncle. But along the way, Lyra discovers that Mrs Coulter has an evil agenda of her own…

Directed by Chris Weitz (American Pie), The Golden Compass is a magnificently-designed film with many wondrous objects and characters to behold. True to its fantasy genre, animals can talk and ships can fly. Bears wear armors and battle each other to the death. Each human being is also accompanied by an animal, called a daemon, which expresses the thoughts and moods of that person. The Golden Compass really does offer a magnificent mythological universe unto its own.

The trouble with the film, however, is that a lot of it was filmed against a green CGI background. The exotic locations and landscapes are later generated by computers. As a result, the images have a bland palette and soft hue which makes the film feel rather cold and unreal. (Remember the Star Wars prequels?) Consequently, you can't help but feel somewhat detached from the proceedings.

At 113 minutes, the film is also too short for its own good. This strange, fantastical universe is populated by unusual creatures and characters. But we're never given enough time to take in this universe or fully understand these characters and their relationships with one another. The film feels a little rushed. Thankfully, the strong performances by the talented cast sometimes manage to overcome this problem.

The Golden Compass is not nearly as stunning, majestic and accomplished as The Lord of the Rings films. But it is still an enjoyable fantasy film that conjures up a very magical world of armored bears, flying witches and talking critters.