I've just seen
The Golden Compass which has exceeded my expectations. I expected all the religious elements of the books to be missing, which would have gutted the story. This was not the case although the movie treatment is (as with a number of the other elements) significantly lighter than in the books.
For those who have not read the books or seen the movie, there are spoilers below. Go read the books then come back.
First the negative elements. The start of the film has a voiceover that has too much information. There is always a problem in getting all the detail of a book into a film, but this seemed clumsy. I would also have liked more character development. Serafine Pekkala is introduced by dropping onto the Gyptians ship, having a brief chat with Lyra then taking off again. Her affair with Farder Coram is mentioned briefly, as is the long life of the witches but these elements are never explored. I also felt some more time spent on Lee Scoresby would have tied the character into the film better.
On the positive side, the film has a number of things to recommend it. The casting was excellent. Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby suited the role exactly. Dakota Blue Richards fits the role of Lyra very well and gives a faultless performance. Daniel Craig's role was necessarily small but convincing as Lord Asriel and I liked Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter a great deal more than I expected too.
The fight scene between Iorek Byrnison and Iofur Raknison was well animated. I suspect it was too much too hope for in a movie aimed at children that Iorek would eat Iofur's heart as in the book, although he does still take off his jaw in the fight.
The movie ended before the book, without Lyra meeting Lord Asriel and the subsequent murder of Roger and opening of the gateway between worlds. I remain undecided on whether the film narrative ends at an appropriate point, although both possibilities require a sequel to continue the story.
Overall I'd say the movie is worth seeing and one of the better translations of a fantasy book to film. I found it helpful to have read the books first, and they are certainly far better written than the Narnia series that the His Dark Materials series is often compared with.