Movie Review: Stardust

Starring:
Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Ricky Gervais, Sienna Miller, Mark Strong, Peter O’Toole, Rupert Everett

Director:
Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risqué humor.

Release Date:
August 2007

Synopsis:
A young man journeys to a magical world to win the heart of his true love in this fantasy based on Neil Gaiman's novel. Tristan has promised Victoria that he'll retrieve a fallen star to secure her love. Unfolding on both sides of a parallel universe separated by only a thin barrier of stone, Stardust reveals just how amazingly close the familiar and the totally fantastic can be to one another.

My Two Cents:
Once upon a time there was a magical world and a real, non-magical world. They were divided by a brick wall, and crossing it was forbidden. A dork called Tristan (Charlie Cox), raised in the real world, is madly in love with Victoria (Sienna Miller), but she’s a total bitch and only cares about money and status. A shooting star falls and Tristan tells her he’ll bring the star to her if she marries him. Thinking this was impossible she accepts, and Tristan ventures beyond the wall into the unknown to retrieve the fallen rock. The star turned out to be a woman called Yvaine (Claire Danes), and Tristan claims his prize regardless. He’ll take her back to the real world, but that’s when all sort of crazy things happen. Three witches are after Yvaine’s heart in order to regain their youth, and there’s the son of a recently deceased king is after Yvaine’s necklace so he can be crowned as the new king.

It’s nice to watch a movie the whole family can enjoy, and even though Stardust is rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual situations, it’s done in a funny, almost cartoony way. Nothing the kids haven’t seen before. I mean, there are ghosts, homosexuality, a decapitation and other scary images, but it's really not that bad.



The star power is impressive, but this isn’t a drama and none of them deliver spectacular performances. It’s fine, since I wasn’t expecting them to. My favorite is probably Michelle Pfeiffer’s character, the evil witch Lamia, because it somehow fits her perfectly. Robert De Niro plays a cross-dressing pirate, and Rupert Everett plays one of the king’s sons. His role is more like a cameo. Claire Danes shines as the fallen star Yvaine, but all I can say about Charlie Cox is that he’s a dork.

Stardust is a fairytale like the ones we dreamed about when we were little. It’s got the bumbling hero who meets a beautiful girl and must protect her from evil. It’s very cute and romantic, definitely a nice break from all the blood, gore and sexual exploitation I’m used to seeing in movies. The environments are nicely done, as are the special effects. Even the music is epic enough to be memorable. Great actors, fun story, kid-friendly and your girlfriend/wife will love it. You can’t go wrong with Stardust.

Score: