Impeccable work of high fantasy empowers the genre and showcases a great array of international talent!

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2007)

Nutshell: Fun, endearing and exciting movie. High quality entertainment which I will be returning to very soon with equal anticipation.
Having not had what I can imagine is the pleasure of reading Gaiman's novel before seeing this film, I entered the cinema with an entirely open mind. Arguably without the dynastic nature of Tolkien, Rowling or Pullman's stories being imposed upon the source material it perhaps would have had less bearing anyway. The fans can be the greatest threat to an adaptation so with some relief I can avoid the concerns of whether or not it was a faithful conversion.
Overall I can only say that this, from any critical angle, was a tremendous film. Naysayers of the fantasy genre will frankly have to keep their traps shut; if you don't like fish, don't eat it. Stardust is a wonderful experience visually and emotionally, with an entirely appropriate and enjoyable score/soundtrack to support it. The story itself keeps an excellent pace and absolutely epitomizes the wonderful nature of fantasy, with a diverse array of intelligently conceived, multidimensional characters. It doesn't dwell on irritating issues like the acceptance of unusual circumstances by our protagonist Tristan but most importantly is coherent and comes about full circle. Really a very great job by the screenwriters and presumably initially Gaiman. The beautiful motif of the worthlessness of eternity without love runs subtle and yet strong throughout.
Every actor is a delight to watch on screen, from the main characters to the supporting roles. The British audience will see a myriad of nationally renowned stars, many of whom are pushing the international forum with continuing success, as well aided by this film. Charlie Cox stands out strongly and brightly in his debut lead, an excellent performance. Claire Danes and Michelle Pfeiffer are marvelous and even further refute the long standing taboo of Americans attempting English accents. The character of Septimus (well played by Mark Strong) as with chief villain Lamia (Pfeiffer) both have much superior depth to most film antagonists, a rare treat, and Sienna Miller portrays the bratty village beauty perfectly. And De Niro... oh De Niro.. thank you. I shall say no more of him. It was perhaps a little cheeky giving McKellen (narration) and O'Toole primary billing but regardless both castings in their respective roles were a nice touch, as were every recognized face from Gervais to Everett to Fleming, Fletcher and Williams... (deep breath), and more! The audience loves a cameo, especially when it doesn't appear exploitative and by intelligent management of character involvement, Stardust also avoids the ensemble cast effect.
In closing, another strength was the elegantly applied use of CGI and Spectacle (with a capital S). In the wake of the sword and sandals/epic fantasy boom we've seen a number of films rely heavily on grand set pieces that usually lack enough creativity to make up for other deficiencies in story or acting (how many can you name?). Stardust spares us the ordeal of a mighty battle or vast employment of special effects, rather choosing to let the characters and well timed pace keep you riveted. This is not to say you will leave feeling cheated for oohs and ahs moments. When they come they are expertly executed and the violence can and probably will catch you off guard at times.
Stardust comes with my highest praise, I would recommend it to anyone. Let's see if the Golden Compass can keep the ball rolling for fantasy!!