Good Movies Write Off - "Stardust"
Written: Oct 25 '07 (Updated Nov 03 '07)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Very funny and entertaining in the style of "The Princess Bride"...
Cons: ... a few inconsistencies...
The Bottom Line: It may not have the awesome background detail of Middle Earth, but Stardust is one of the most enjoyable films of the year.
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| captaind's Full Review: Stardust |
Stardust is based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name and converted to the screen with a star-studded past. In the UK we had to wait months for it to be released in cinemas - but I’m glad to say that it was well worth the wait.
Stardust is the story of a young man, Tristan, who sets off to bring back a fallen star from a different realm in order to win the hand of Victoria - though quite frankly why he’s besotted with the little brat is anyone’s guess. At any rate, to do so he has to “cross the wall” - which no-one is supposed to have ever done (though in reality one important character in Tristan’s life has). He sets off to do this, not realising that the fallen star is not quite what he thinks it is…
Meanwhile…
… in the kingdom on the other side of the wall, the old king is dying. As is traditional, only a male heir may take the thrown - usually by killing off all of his brothers. This king decides on a new approach, however (after making sure his least favourite sun is disposed of!), and sets a task for his sons. Only one of noble blood will be able to complete this task, and even for them it is a daunting challenge…
Meanwhile…
… the falling star has awakened the interest of three old hags, one of whom is to use the last of her power to go off and find this falling star. For the witches, the star is the key to eternal youth… which they are desperately in need of, being very old and very decrepit.
So, basically we have three people / groups of people all chasing the same thing - only it turns out that Tristan has a huge headstart thanks to a gift from the mother he’s never met. Since it’s in the trailer I don’t think it’s given too much away to say that the fallen star is in fact a woman - at least, when she’s on planet earth that’s what she is. Tristan finds that rather then steal her away for his Victoria (“nothing says romance like an injured, kidnapped woman”!!), he finds himself more and more becoming her protector. But her enemies are powerful…
I don’t recall ever seeing Charlie Cox (Tristan) in anything before, but if his performance here is anything to go by, we’ll certainly be seeing a lot more of him in the future. He gives an excellent, fresh-faced performance that brings to mind a young Matthew Broderick. As his love Victoria, Sienna Miller does fine (can’t make up my mind if she can actually act or not yet) - all she’s really required to do is be horrible. Victoria is a very easy character to dislike, and thus when she’s set up to take a humiliating fall, we all enjoy it because she’s so thoroughly obnoxious. (Is is just me or is anyone else puzzled by all the fuss about her appearance? At best she’s the third most attractive woman in this film, probably not even that!)
Third most attractive? Well, admittedly there are times when Michelle Pfeiffer ‘s character (Lamia) doesn’t look attractive - she is after all playing one of the hideous old witches. When her enchantments wear off her youth and beauty begin to face. Pfeiffer clearly revels in the role of a wicked witch - she seems to be developing a penchant for playing sexy evil women. (See also Hairspray.) Personally, I like it! :d Then of course we have the star herself - Yvaine, played by Claire Danes. Many of us have long suspected that the extraordinarily talented and beautiful Claire came from somewhere approximating heaven, and now we have it confirmed. At first she is a little terse, which is probably understandable as she has just been unwillingly dragged from outer space, damaged herself in the process, and is then carted off by Tristan as a trophy for the object of his desire. As she becomes happier, she starts to shine - as stars do. I tried to think of an actress who might have been better for this role than Danes - I failed. (As for the possibly fourth comment - well, Kate McGowan, whose character I shall keep secret from you to prevent disappointment, has a certain something… perhaps “buxom” would be a more appropriate term than beautiful, though. Her character is related to a plot twist that is so obvious I completely missed it! Her character was fine apart from in one of the final sequences where I found her rather irritating - but that’s only a small annoyance.)
There are many other larger-than-life characters to be found in this film. For instance we meet Captain Shakespeare, who captains a lightning-collector ship and is feared across the seven… um… skies? Played with much aplomb by Robert De Niro, he turns out to have many secrets and by disturbingly perceptive. Of the brothers vying for the throne, Mark Strong is the one who survives the strongest, and his performance was probably the most impressive. His brothers, dead or alive, can still be heard - and they are often very funny. Among the other brothers are Jason Flemyng, Mark Heap, and Rupert Everett. Ricky Gervais is occasionally amusing (I never actually found him funny) as Ferdy the Fence - a tricky conman who tries to get the better of Captain Shakespeare. He fails, of course. Then we have a goat who’s turned into a human (along with a human who’s turned into a goat) - the goat-man is played by Mark Williams, one of the most naturally funny actors alive.
Stardust remaindered me quite a bit of The Princess Bride. Both films lack what many would deem essential in a fantasy movie - a detailed world with loads of history to each place and race - but more than make up for it in wit, humour, and general inventiveness. There were quite a few original ideas in this movie, which considering the number of fantasy films and books there have been in the last century exploring pretty much every world imaginable, is quite an achievement. Despite perhaps a certain lack of depth to the films’ world and less than fully developed characters, the bit that is here in the film is enthralling.
It’s not a film based on special effects, but when they are used they are very good. The music score by Ilan Eshkeri was very nice too. The storyline is quite fun, but it’s in the characters and dialogue that the most humour is derived. Stardust will have you laughing, chuckling or grinning many times. It does have some problems, mainly in a few inconsistencies with the film. But overall it’s so enjoyable that any niggles are completely irrelevant - it’s just marvellous entertainment.
I was dithering between 4 or 5 stars in my mind throughout the first hour or so of the movie. I couldn’t quite decide, but the film just seems to get better as it goes on. By the end I was in no doubt at all - this is a 5 star movie without any doubt!
It lasts 2 hours 10 minutes and is rated PG (UK) PG-13 (USA) for “some fantasy violence and risqué humour”. I can’t see anyone being offended by it unless of course the magic element is offensive to them.
Quotes
From the opening narration:
“A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really...”Do the stars gaze back?" Now that's a question.”
(Ian McKellan narrates the opening sequence - actually pretty unnecessary but not annoying either!)
On the perils - or not - of crossing the wall…
“Because, let's be honest, it's a field. Look. Do you see another world out there? No, you see a field. Do you see anything non human? No, and you know why? Because it's a field! “
On the prospect of meeting a horrible girl…
“Mmm... Murdered by pirates, heart turned out and eaten, meet Victoria... I can't quite decide which sounds more fun…”
On not being impressed with the present circumstances…
“…this came out of nowhere and knocked it out of the heavens without minding it's own business. And over there is where it landed. And right here, here is where it got hit by a magical flying MORON!”
Other Great Fantasy Movies
Lords of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
Lords of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lords of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Chronicles of Narnia
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Willow
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This movie review was an entry to my Good Movie Write Off
Recommended:
Yes
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