It had potential

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2008)

Adapted from Neil Gaiman's novel, Tristan a young luckless-in-love man embarks on a journey to find a shooting star across 'The Wall' into the magical world of Stormhold.
Stardust is a mish-mash of epic and low-key cinema. The cinematography at times along with the musical score, and special effects have a similar feel to the Lord of the Rings. However, such grandiosity, which one can admire, unfortunately, does not seem to come together with other moments of inadequacy. I felt at times that I was not watching a film made for cinema, at certain moments it felt like a film-for-television, which was a real shame.
The story has potential and indeed some elements were highly watchable and original. Robert De Niro performs well in his role as an air-captain, while Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty scary as a witch in search of eternal youth. But potential is no good if you don't use it well and it tires a long-time before the end.
Stardust isn't bad, but considering the potential strength of the story, some of the very good special effects and cinematography it really feels as though it punches below its heavyweight potential, and for that Stardust disappoints.