More then a whiff of stardust! MAGIC!

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2007)

Films that depend heavily on special effects as created by computer generated graphics have never been too interesting for this viewer - and that, of late, covers a lot of territory from the Harry Potter series through the continuous glut of sci-fi films, vampire tales, and apocalyptic epics, etc. But there is something very different about STARDUST that brings it into a realm of solid storytelling simply enhanced by well-done special effects, and that difference is in the story itself, an unabashed fairy tale populated with wonderful characters played by some of our finest actors.
And it all begins with a wall (according to the narrator, Ian McKellen) that separates the real world from an enchanted place and through that wall runs a young lad who starts the frolic. Flash forward and the child of the runaway lad, Tristan (a magnetically alive Charlie Cox), has groan to maturity and has fallen in love with the beautiful Victoria (Sienna Miller) who demands a star from Tristan to prove his love. The magic begins when that 'star' falls from the sky in the form of Yvaine (Claire Danes, radiant even without the halo that surrounds her). The foul witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her wicked sisters become aware and plan to cut out the heart of Yvaine in order to gain immortality. The little village is also under the stranglehold of the impending loss of their king (Peter O'Toole) and there is a struggle among the seven sons to ascend the throne: the seventh son Septimus (Mark Strong) defeats his now spirit brothers and sets off to gain the stone that Yvaine wears which will give him immortality. The on-the-run groups encounter a pirate, Captain Shakespeare (Robert DeNiro in a splendid role), who captures lightening in a marvelous flying ship manned by a swarthy crew. Of course Tristan and Yvaine become his 'captives', only to discover that the fey closet queen captain is on their side against the forces of evil. As the film progresses Tristan and Yvaine gradually fall in love, negating their past histories, and the ending is another act of pure magic: evil succumbs to good in the best of fairytale ways.
The cast is uniformly excellent, from the true star turns by Pfeiffer, DeNiro, Danes, and Cox to the secondary roles equally well cast. The special effects are beautiful and very much in keeping with the story instead of simply breeding monsters to emerge from the bowels of the earth to destroy civilization. Everyone involved, from the director Matthew Vaughn to the writers Jane Goldman with Vaughn (and of course the creator of the novel Neil Gaiman) to the cast, seem to keep tongue in cheek and appear to be having as much fun as we the audience. It is a light, exceptionally beautiful fantasy that is pure joy! Grady Harp