Review: Stardust

2007/PG-13/Fantasy

A momentous occation! Here is the first of (hopefully) many reviews that have been requested by you, my faithful (and not so faithful) readers!

Let me start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The story was engaging and the twists on the "who-will-be-king" story were inventive, particularly the outcome for those that failed in their quest for the crown. It did have the advantage of being based on a book/graphic novel, but the story held up well even in the whittled-down, two-hour version.

Even though his Pre-Potter parallel worlds story borrowed from several movies that preceded it, it did so in a fashion that was more praise than plagerism. The most notable homage was to the classic Princess Bride. The captive who falls in love with her captor, the antaganist desires the girl's death, and the reluctant pirate. Another movie that was painfully parroted in regards to the main message of the film was The 5th Element. Yvaine (Claire Danes), a fallen star, mentions how watching Earth with all of it's hate, wars, and mistreatment, would be unbearable if not for love. This is the same arguement that the 5th Element gives for saving the planet.

The "all-star" supporting cast (Danes, DeNiro, Pheiffer, McKellen, Everett, and O'Toole) allowed them to make an amazing casting choice with the male lead, Tristan. They went with relative unknown Charlie Cox who put forth a great performance. With apparent ease he convinced us he was an ambitious yet socially awkward "Shopboy" in England, (Note: Claire Danes starred in Shopgirl), an out of place lovestruck explorer in the land of Stormhold, and a seasoned couragous man by the end of the film. It was an amazing, yet fully believable transformation that audiences never saw coming.

Unlike most fantasy movies, this picture's story was multi-layered and compelling. A starry-eyed young lover on a quest to retrieve a fallen star to prove his love, two brothers warring to obtain a kingdom-promising gemstone, an ancient witch hoping to be young again, and a long lost mother searching for her son. Throw in some pirates, mix with a touch of magic, splash in some intellegent humor and you have Stardust. The moment that set this movie apart for me was near the end as Yvaine is walking towards the wall and there were four different parties racing to beat her there, all with a different intention.

I do have a few critisisms of the film. The ending was inexplicable for me and seemed to be a bit of a "easy-way-out." I don't understand how Lamia was defeated by the Yvaine's actions (That's me trying really hard not to give too much away). Also, the ending of the movie provided no hope that the kings children wouldn't revert to the actions of his uncles. (there was a deleted scene that spoke to this concern, but did so in a way that needed to be removed from the movie. It should have been rethought rather than just removed). And the Titanic (note: so bad that it doesn't deserve a link) reference on the pirate ship shall be overlooked, forgotten, and ignored.

All in all, this movie should become a modern classic enlisting a following only slightly smaller than that of Princess Bride or Lord of the Rings.

4.5 out of 5 stars