User Reviews

Difficult to enjoy if you're a fan of the original books. This season is where they start making changes to the original plot and do even more race swapping of characters.

l loved to story plot and what really goes on, but after the first episode got really boring and the story started to add all these deferent element which over wells the hole sorry but over all it was not to bad

I havent wathed the show yet, but the books were the best experience of my life.

Great TV series. The story is really very particular and each season has very different settings and stories (even though the main plot always remains the same). The development is well done in every aspect and detail even when the plot becomes more complicated. The conclusion of the series makes the story even more beautiful and effective

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A "Harry Potter" wannabe, I just couldn't get into this. Let's see, another world in another dimension, check, each human has an animal partner, check, her parents have a mysterious past, check.

it's pretty good, the acting is fantastic, the writing is ok I suspect is more the original books fault though, the writers seem to be competent, and that is a lot to say in a show nowadays. Good show, worth watching.

Good show in an original setting with some stand-out actors (Mrs. Coulter) and moments. Unfortunately the show does drag at times and the pacing is a little off. Also, not all characters are well developed or even likable. But the overall story and drama works well and with 3 seasons, 8 episodes each, it's not the biggest time sink.

Interesting show. Definitely worth a watch. The CG animals are believable 90%+ of the time. Makes you wonder what they're doing in Hollywood.

Jak najbardziej polecam. Oglądam odcinek za odcinkiem. Czekam na kolejny sezon.

It's phenomenal and finally does justice to this awesome story! It's everything and more a book/lore fanatic can expect from a good adaptation. Every actor delivers their character with devotion. The writers and directors are 100% compentent, talented and understand the material they are working with.

Another adoptive fantasy masterpiece with fantastic visual effects, screenplay could be better

The author of the original books, admittedly hates, the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis, and by extension God. His reason for writing the books is to destroy the notion of God in children, of which C.S. Lewis tried to do the opposite with his books, based on what he writes about Aslan in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Institutionalized religion is the evil institution that His Dark Materials is based on. The TV series does the same. This kind of material does not belong on TV.

I'm a big fan of the books, and I was looking forward to this adaptation. However I found it quite dull at times. It took several episodes to really get going and although the cast did a decent job none of them really "owned" the screen. I also found everything quite small scale. The big gyptian attack on the secret base was disappointing when only about 20 people either side were involved. There was no sense of grand spectacle during the end battle either, with the witches barely putting in an appearance and only a few armoured bears. With CGI you would have thought they would use a "cast of thousands". Looking forward to the next series and where they go with Will and Lyra. Preferred the movie version if I'm honest.

This show is sadly very mediocre. Pretty much every single scene just feels so uncomfortable and stilted. Most scenes are very different from the written original both in events and tone. They cut out book scenes, and introduce new ones instead. The original plot points and revelations are all shuffled up into an unappealing mess. Daemons barely appear, and with the exception of Hester, they seem completely irrelevant. The art direction also feels almost nonexistent. The 2007 movie was visually gorgeous and had a strong, consistent visual theme. Here everything is just so drab and thematically confused - by the environments and clothes it feels more set in the 60-70s, than in the late 19th - early 20th century. It feels like the series tried to incorporate as much lore from the terrible La Belle Sauvage novel into the trilogy as possible, largely to its detriment.

I've been a fan of the books for about a decade now since I first read them. To me the show is just painful and it absolutely couldn't hook me. The dialogue is painfully bad, especially of the kids. Lyra was annoying in the books already but Daphne Keen makes it even worse (maybe that's a good thing?). Most actors don't seem interested and the special effects could've been way better in our time. Also the alterations they made from the books were mostly unnecessary and many scenes would've improved drastically, if they were just a little closer to the source material. I'm afraid to say that even the movie (which I didn't like) managed that alot better at times. Don't get me started on the cinematography. I'm just from the audience so I don't have any expertise whatsoever BUT there are so many horrible shots that killed the already thin immersion due to bad composition or camera angles... Generelly very disappointing to someone who waited a long time for a just adaptation. Guess I'll wait for even longer...

I started out liking HDM. The world building is okay here, but that’s about all it had to offer as the foreshadowing almost gives everything away. Strangely though you never really get a sense of what’s at stake as it introduces a few fantastic characters only to have them leave once they have somewhat motivated the story forward. That’s not uncommon in series like this, but I was left not really understanding what the antagonists actual motivation was to the point that I yelled “BS” when they spoke their last lines in the finale. Sadly, they didn’t take the time to care how they ended the first season as it almost literally freeze frame stopped just after essentially breaking the main thrust of the lead’s entire story arc. There’s much better out there to put the time into watching so if this doesn’t grab you on the first episode, I’d skip it.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

It should be stated that I haven't read the book trilogy that this series is based on so take what you will from that. Generally speaking this series had well done acting and was interesting enough to keep me watching it. But, I was bored through most of it and didn't really care about many of the characters. The few parts that weren't boring to me and that I found intriguing were the only things that kept me watching.

Podría empezar esta ocasión con la palabra "decepción" como detonante, pero creo que la guardaré para el final, ya van teniendo una idea de por dónde va mi criterio esta vez. Pensé que después del final de GOT nuestra querida HBO no me daría más **** equivoqué. Termino His Dark Materials (HDM) una serie fantástica basada en las novelas de Philip Pullman y los sentimientos encontrados me saturan. Por donde comenzar...Hace mucho tiempo vi La Brújula Dorada, película basada también en las novelas y ver la serie (HDM) me llevó al pasado, he de admitir que esta entrega es un poco mejor, pero solo por los efectos especiales, por lo demás ambas son IGUALES, con algún que otro pequeño cambio en el orden (solo el orden) de los hechos, pero por lo demás la serie, la película y la novela parecen hermanos trillizos cosa absurda que no deja nada nuevo para el disfrute del público. Un derroche de presupuesto por parte de New Line Cinema que de tan fiel a la historia original llena los capítulos de escenas largas, tediosas y carentes del elemento principal que debería reinar: la aventura. Salvan la entrega la buena actuación protagónica de Dafnee Keen interpretando a Lyra Belacqua y los pequeños momentos que nos regala James McAvoy. Por otra parte la serie lleva a la par la historia de Will Parry, proveniente del segundo libro, (La Daga) cosa que no ayuda en mucho a la calidad y fuerza del argumento, de hecho entorpece la trama principal con escenas aburridas, cortantes y que, si bien pudieron ser una historia para contar en otro momento, solo fue utilizada para proponernos una segunda temporada que no me molestaría para nada si nunca viese la luz. Para mí, 5/10...nada nuevo con His Dark Materials

Overall I like the series, but it sometimes falls a little flat. At times it feels hurried and lacking the depth, and side-plots, of the books. Information is suddenly available to the characters, many things seem to happen overnight and off screen. for example, Lyra secretly moves to a place and lo-and-behold a few minutes later her enemies know and raid said place. I have read a few of the professional reviews and one thing they fail to mention, as usual, budget. This is a series which could do with an extra two of even four episodes per season to capture the depth and scope of the books. After all Pullman's original does cover 2 alternate universes and the whole of Christianity. Until a production company has the finances of a Starwars or Harry Potter production, we aren't going to see Pullman's work done full and proper TV justice. Mrs Coulter is very well portrayed. The CGI for the daemons is well done and, usually, seems naturalistic. The North has the bleakness and majesty expected of a true arctic landscape. As in the books part of me wants to protect Lyra at the same time as telling her to stop being such a brat! The often hurried pace tends to make the other characters a little shallow. The diversity casting is rather like using a sledge hammer to crack a peanut and leaves a bitter taste of political correctness on the back of the tongue. The Gyptians just do not come across to be the unified people they should be. Despite rousing speeches and group cheers. What it does do well is convey the underlying themes of the books, the authoritarianism and suppression of the Magisterium, greased with lashings of hypocrisy. I get the over all impression the production team have been trying really hard to get the feel of the original within serious budgetary constraints and politically correct management silliness. Well worth a watch!

Cast is well chosen, except for Amir (Will). He sort of looks too old for a 12 year old kid as in the books, I know he's 15. To be fair, he doesn't do much in the first season, but we shall see how he performs in the next one. Also Lin Manuel Miranda is too young to portray Lee Scoresby, but he does the job very well, so I'm pleased with that. Dafne's work is very good in general, but fails to deliver the proper emotional acting in the most dramatic scenes. Her parents are both actor/actress, so us fans expected a bit more from her. (I ****'s a kid). Regardless, I love her. There are other troubling parts that caused discomfort within the fanbase, like aiming the camera away from big battles in order to keep the series within the budget, and some fights that were a bit sterile. But I won't elaborate on that. This adaptation is delightful and well done overall, an actual relief from that disaster in 2007. Expectations for the third book adaptation is high, so good luck with that.

Never heard of this books the show is my first time with this world and as a tv show i like it script is good dialogue r good characters r believable, so if u looking tv series about child of destiny u should watch this not netflix verry poor "adaptation" of witcher books.

From the Coca Cola bears to the "Gyptians" to the tortured children, I can't say I liked this show very much. I'm all for fantasy, but this was way too weird to get my head around, even after 8 episode. Weird and uncomfortable, like I was missing the joke, but knowing there was no joke to be found. Probably catch the second season too, as I'm a glutton for punishment.

Great story telling, incredible characters and many layers in this fantastical series.

Epic, wonderful casting and amazing visual art. faithful to the book not for children !

Pretty hokey. Painful dialogue and some poor performances hold the show back from being anything of note

Não ligue para a críticas negativas. Assista até o 4 episódio e tire as próprias conclusões. Potencial para superar GOT.

His Dark Materials is a joy to watch, smart and entertaining every minute of the way.

I never read the book, so I can't attest to its faithfulness to the source material, but I can definitively say this is a fun show to watch. It's not the most mentally-stimulating narrative out there, and fairly straightforward compared to many other thought-provoking series that are currently available on Premium Networks like HBO. Some of the acting is a bit cheesy and not quite genuine at times, and some of the "big moments" were quite predictable and not impactful for me... But overall, it's a well-crafted fantasy world, that instills feelings of childlike wonder. It's well shot with good production values and sound design. And most importantly, it is entertaining enough to continue watching from week to **** just doesn't reach the level of top-tier television.

It’s a very good adaptation. People saying it’s « boring », « slow paced » and « a total mess » need to go back on Disney+ to watch brainless Marvel movies. Do people have brains nowadays or only want boring action?! The show wouldn’t have 10 million viewers every week if it was « a total mess ». The casting is one of the best of the year, the visuals and cinematography are top notch and the music is incredible. This amazing book needed a TV show and not a movie. Well done!

Does not compare well with the movie version. Everything from actors to production design, etc. seem mediocre by comparison. That may have been unavoidable because of budget or requirements of a TV version. Still, the story seems drawn out and is hard to be drawn into. HBO could have done better. It's hard to beat Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman and Ian McKellen.

The episodes just get better and better, and as a huge fan of the books, I can see them doing so much justice to the story. The main characters are spot on (However, the gyptians and scholars feel fake and contrived, I must say). What I also love about this show is that I know the story will only get better, and that the ending is great and satisfying, unlike Game of Thrones which ended up a huge disaster and major tv disappointment of the century. Keeping HBO - for now.

Love it, especially the visual effects (the animals look stunning!) and acting. Can't wait to see more.

Having been a fan of the book for such a long time, after four episodes I am glad to report the series is what we needed. It is exactly what I hoped for in nearly every way. All of the scenes have some sort of beauty to them between the daemons, how they were positioned, or the sets themselves. Dafne Keen's performance was emotional and impressive and one of the best parts of the series. I was surprised how well she hit me in the first episode during her scenes with James McAvoy. The series expands on many aspects of the books, even some of which goes into the second book. I actually did not enjoy these at first but once they went through with it into the third episode, it helped me understand one part I hadn't understood after reading the books. I hope the second half of the season is this great.

A fantastic realisation of the books on screen. Strong performances and visually stunning.