Stardust (Widescreen Edition)

 

 

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Fantasy is hard to find in the movies -- for every "Lord of the Rings," there's only a handful of bad sword'n'sorcery tales for kids ("Eragon," "The Seeker"). As for fairy tales, forget it.

But one little fairy tale HAS made its way into theatres -- an enchanting little story loosely based on a Neil Gaiman novel. And "Stardust's" charm is its lack of pretension, and its willingness to be silly, romantic, fantastical, sparkling and most importantly, tongue-in-cheek. And it has pirates too.

A wall separates our world from the world of magic -- and one night, Dunstan Thorn went over it, and had a brief tryst with a beautiful princess, who is imprisoned by a witch. Nine months later, baby Tristan is left on his doorstep.

Nineteen years later, a dying king magically flings a ruby into the sky, and says that the prince who finds it will be the new king. The two remaining princes -- and the ghosts of their dead brothers -- et off to find it. But that ruby dislodged a star, and it plummets to the ground across the Wall -- attracting the attention of three ancient witches, who use the hearts of stars to restore their spent youth.

Still with me?

Tristan (Charlie Cox) also sees the star, and the snotty girl he adores (Sienna Miller) says that she will marry him if he gets her the star before her birthday. Tristan does manage to find and entrap the beautiful star, Yvaine (Claire Danes), and they start off on a magical adventure of air pirates, unicorns, evil witches, and true love.

"Stardust" has pretty much all the requirements for a fantasy and/or fairy tale movie -- magic, love, an evil villain, and lots of odd characters to round out the cast, and flesh out the story. Not much is actually new. But like the original Gaiman tale, the movie winks affectionately at you as the story unfolds.

In fact, the movie only really stumbles when it stops to ruminate on true love and how precious it is, etc. Cute, but boring -- especially since the romantic leanings of the leads are pretty clear. Director Matthew Vaughn really shines when he's focusing on airships, goat-men, and the occasional magical sword-fight with an dead man.

Despite the scattered nature of the plot, Vaughn directs with a smooth, sure hand, and he sprinkles plenty of comic relief through it -- Captain Shakespeare dancing in drag, or the Greek chorus of murdered princes. And the dialogue avoids fantastical pomposity by being just as tongue-in-cheek ("Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!")

Cox makes an excellent wide-eyed, slightly blinkered country boy, who turns from a bumbling suitor to a strong young hero. Danes isn't quite as ethereal as one would expect Yvain to be, but she gives a solid performance, and Miller is perfect as the snotty, shallow Victoria.

But while the younger performers are solid, the veterans are absolutely brilliant. Pfeiffer is hilarious, chilling and pouty as the constantly frustrated witch, and De Niro steals the show as a cuddly, twinkly-eyed gay pirate who pretends to be brutal. And Peter O'Toole and David Kelly have brief but brilliant appearances.

"Stardust" is exactly what the title suggests -- sparkling, funny, wry, and just deep enough to be entertaining. A solid, sweet little fantasy movie.

I am watching this movie right now (not for the first time) and am thinking about how under rated it is. Awesome storie, great performances, funny, its just a well made movie that dose not seem to get the credit it deserve. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good adventure movie.

Fantasy is hard to find in the movies -- for every "Lord of the Rings," there's only a handful of bad sword'n'sorcery tales for kids ("Eragon," "The Seeker"). As for fairy tales, forget it.

But one little fairy tale HAS made its way into theatres -- an enchanting little story loosely based on a Neil Gaiman novel. And "Stardust's" charm is its lack of pretension, and its willingness to be silly, romantic, fantastical, sparkling and most importantly, tongue-in-cheek. And it has pirates too.

A wall separates our world from the world of magic -- and one night, Dunstan Thorn went over it, and had a brief tryst with a beautiful princess, who is imprisoned by a witch. Nine months later, baby Tristan is left on his doorstep.

Nineteen years later, a dying king magically flings a ruby into the sky, and says that the prince who finds it will be the new king. The two remaining princes -- and the ghosts of their dead brothers -- et off to find it. But that ruby dislodged a star, and it plummets to the ground across the Wall -- attracting the attention of three ancient witches, who use the hearts of stars to restore their spent youth.

Still with me?

Tristan (Charlie Cox) also sees the star, and the snotty girl he adores (Sienna Miller) says that she will marry him if he gets her the star before her birthday. Tristan does manage to find and entrap the beautiful star, Yvaine (Claire Danes), and they start off on a magical adventure of air pirates, unicorns, evil witches, and true love.

"Stardust" has pretty much all the requirements for a fantasy and/or fairy tale movie -- magic, love, an evil villain, and lots of odd characters to round out the cast, and flesh out the story. Not much is actually new. But like the original Gaiman tale, the movie winks affectionately at you as the story unfolds.

In fact, the movie only really stumbles when it stops to ruminate on true love and how precious it is, etc. Cute, but boring -- especially since the romantic leanings of the leads are pretty clear. Director Matthew Vaughn really shines when he's focusing on airships, goat-men, and the occasional magical sword-fight with an dead man.

Despite the scattered nature of the plot, Vaughn directs with a smooth, sure hand, and he sprinkles plenty of comic relief through it -- Captain Shakespeare dancing in drag, or the Greek chorus of murdered princes. And the dialogue avoids fantastical pomposity by being just as tongue-in-cheek ("Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!")

Cox makes an excellent wide-eyed, slightly blinkered country boy, who turns from a bumbling suitor to a strong young hero. Danes isn't quite as ethereal as one would expect Yvain to be, but she gives a solid performance, and Miller is perfect as the snotty, shallow Victoria.

But while the younger performers are solid, the veterans are absolutely brilliant. Pfeiffer is hilarious, chilling and pouty as the constantly frustrated witch, and De Niro steals the show as a cuddly, twinkly-eyed gay pirate who pretends to be brutal. And Peter O'Toole and David Kelly have brief but brilliant appearances.

One thing to mention: this movie is almost certainly going to be a must-see on HD DVD. It's very colourful and vibrant, from the clothes to the swooping pirate ship to the bluish ghosts, and it promises to be even more visually impressive when the image is sharpened up.

"Stardust" is exactly what the title suggests -- sparkling, funny, wry, and just deep enough to be entertaining. A solid, sweet little fantasy movie.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Stardust review.
This is an adult fantasy story. Quite unbelievable but fun. This is a film I will probably look at again several times. Read more

Published 13 months ago by KMB

5.0 out of 5 stars Stardust
Loved this movie! It reminded me of Princess Bride....full of fun, silliness and great lines; Michelle Pfieffer is possibly the best silver screen witch of all time. Read more

Published on Sep 23 2009 by KathE Simon

4.0 out of 5 stars Kind of like the Princess Bride: witty, humorous, has a bit of sparkle and a bit of darkness
I had no idea what to expect going to see this one and it really knocked my socks off. It's one big fairy tale that doesn't take itself overly seriously and yet it's intelligent,... Read more

Published on April 13 2009 by killerwhaletank

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated
This is wonderful movie that is fun and enchanting. The stars are having fun with it and it shows. A must see for anyone who doesn't find graphic death and destruction all that... Read more

Published on Mar 12 2009 by R. Harnden

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantasy in the tradition of "Howl's Moving Castle"
As I said many,many times: I have a nack for literary films (movies that are based on books), and Fantasy is my favorite genre. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2008 by Frances L. Arsenault

3.0 out of 5 stars decent fantasy adventure movie
this fantasy adventure movie is not as good as i'd hoped,but it's still
pretty good.it does plod along though for the fist 60 minutes or
so,then it pickup for about 20... Read more

Published on Feb 20 2008 by falcon

1.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous.
Pretty wretchedly conceived and written story, having 'something' to do with true love. The characters are grating, annoying, and horribly precious. Read more

Published on Feb 3 2008 by A reviewer

1.0 out of 5 stars Zero actually...
If you've read the books, do yourself a favour and skip this travesty. Stardust is the worst book adaptation ever. Even worse than Bonfire of the Vanities. Read more

Published on Jan 24 2008 by Robin Phillips

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun fantasy tale!
Judging by the DVD synopsis, I went into this movie expecting an over-the-top fantasy, with things like long and heroic discussions of the history of this legend or that, or with... Read more

Published on Jan 11 2008 by ACY

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you still believe in Magic
This is a wonderful tale for those of us who still believe in angels and magic. I watched it twice in less than a week and I absolutelely love it!

Published on Dec 30 2007 by Joseph Hancock

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