Bringing this thread back to life because we finally went to see it (for free, thanks to ktspktsp's job)
... it only opened in Iceland on December 26th, and we just got back from Lebanon ourselves.
I had been trying to find the book versions in local libraries and bookstores for a while, but had no luck. I'm very intrigued by Pullman's ideas (as weakly presented as they may have been, in the movie)... but did feel like the story was a combination of LOTR, Harry Potter, and Star Wars (Lyra, I am your mother... [insert Nicole Kidman's breathing heavily, a la Darth Vader]). Not to mention the actors and voices were drawn heavily from LOTR and Star Wars as well... hmph.
Seeing it in Iceland was funny in that we ARE in the cold and frozen north, and many of the names are almost directly Icelandic (they translated Iorek's name to "Jórekur Byrnisson" in the subtitles, which made the audience chuckle). And Ragnar Sturlusson, is that really his name in the book??? That name is 100% Icelandic, and nothing else... looks like Pullman drew just as heavily from the Norse world as Tolkien did for his books.
Anyway, I found the ending of the movie came far too soon, and was extremely trite... I was disappointed by that, and the soundtrack as well (it seemed way overdone). I look forward to reading the books. Good thing I'm far closer to being an atheist than a Christian, so it won't tempt me away from my faith.
hehe.