Magical

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2007)

When I read the description of this film I truly expected to hate it with a passion. Then I saw the trailers.
Unlike most films where if you've seen the trailer you've already seen the best bits, Stardust has a lot more to offer than just it's trailer contents. A LOT more.
Running over 2 hours if it's supposed to be a movie for kids then they are going to fidget through this. It's overly long for the sake of it in places. Based on a book by Neil Gaiman I assume the film is long to stay as true to the book as possible.
Surely they should know you have to cut a lot for pacing. There are a lot of big names attached to this although the main 2 lead parts are played by unknowns (to me at least). You can tell this was a film that Terry Gilliam should have done (he turned it down) but it doesn't suffer for his absence.
Take all the Gilliam classics like Time Bandits, Brazil, Fisher King & Baron Munchausen and this film would easily slot right in there with that very excellent and extremely prestigious company.
It has all the makings of a cult classic but could very easily do extremely well in cinemas as well.
Michelle Pfeiffer plays a wicked witch very well, Peter O'Tooler as a dying king, Robert De Niro as the very camp pirate. There are many recognizable faces especially for the British audience like Ricky Gervais and several of the deceased brothers.
The effects and locations are fantastic. The film is only spoiled by how long it is and would truly benefit from a harsh cutting of about 20 minutes or so.
Still it is a very enjoyable movie which will stand up well to several viewings.