I am a huge fan of this literary series, so trust me when I say the film is very well done. While it's impossible to bring any book to life with word-for-word accuracy (especially in only a couple of hours) this movie remains very loyal to the written work, changing only what's necessary for audience comprehension and to get across the overall message of the story, which is difficult without the running narration and inner monologue of characters that you get in a book. The acting was fantastic, and Nicole Kidman especially brought Mrs. Coulter to life so beautifully! Lord Asriel was a bit under-exposed, but there will be much more of him in the sequels. As for the abrupt ending, though I didn't find it all that abrupt, you would NOT want the movie to end as the book did. While it is fine for the book, you would be much more put out if the movie ended that way! As it is the movie ends a good ten to fifteen minutes before the book would - in estimated screen time, that is. Go see this movie! And then read the book, if you haven't already. It is an epic that rivals LotR and, for me, surpasses Harry Potter.