A poor man's Princess Bride. (A very, very poor man's Princess Bride.)

Rating: 5/10 (11 August 2007)

Stardust is an interesting mish-mash of things we've seen before, but it is not that interesting in and of itself.
What it has going for it is:

An offbeat sense of humour that makes it memorable even though it's not all that original. This will make sense to people familiar with Neil Gaiman's work, because he seems to take a lot of joy in odd little things. After seeing the movie, you just know the humour played out ten times better in the book, but at least they were *trying* to entertain us.

A story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, even if it's all seemingly recycled. (That's more than you can say for Spider-Man 3, which never even really got off the ground.)

Great performances from De Niro and Pfeiffer. Actually, the most noteworthy thing about Stardust is Michelle Pfeiffer's performance. It's so great to see her in movies again that one is led to believe that she is the actual "star" in this cast. I also happen to love Claire Danes, but I think the chemistry was off here. She could glow *without* any special effects, but I think she was just misdirected in this movie.

What didn't work in Stardust:

That same sense of humour that makes the story memorable is often just plain sad and unfunny.

Stardust avoids ever having a point or hitting home on any of the moments that must have been good in the book. It makes you want to go read the book just to see how badly they messed it up. You can tell this was a sarcastic story in print, with a subtle mix of humour and romance. The movie never finds a balance; it just flops back and forth like a broken tennis ball... not very satisfying to watch.

The special effects shots are pointless and uninspired. We've seen it all before, too many times. I find it hard to imagine that any of the kids in the audience were looking on in awe. I think most of them were just thinking "get on with it", like I was. If the filmmakers can't summon a sense of wonder, they shouldn't be making these types of movies.

A weak plot. The main character is just getting pitched around from place to place. There are the elements of a story here, but without any flow. Most of the characters' growth is *implied*. This would be okay if the whole movie functioned as "a story about a story" like Princess Bride, but it doesn't. They actually try to be serious with this most of the time, and that makes it come off as very unsubstantial. I was moved once, and only once, by Michelle Pfeiffer's character near the end, and she was the *villain*.

Stardust is a rental for a very boring night. Better yet, skip the movie altogether and sign out the book from the library.