Fun, but with a big flaw

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2014)

People seem to need to compare this to The Princess Bride, and I'm not sure why; they have very little in common but being fantasies (this one much more so than TPB) with good production values and not relying too much on big excitement. That's about it. OK, if that's an obligatory comparison, here are the differences: Stardust has magic, and The Princess Bride has likable, enjoyable characters. Oh, and TPB has a tremendously witty script, which Stardust doesn't; just clever in parts.
To be fair, there are two or three distinctly likable characters in Stardust, but they aren't present for the greater part of the movie; and for me, that was a big issue. Most of the characters are well done, but they range from truly evil to wantonly vicious to somewhat immature and peevish. In the abstract, taken as story elements, they seem like great ideas, but you wouldn't actually want to spend time with them.
Watching this film as escapism is fine. It's almost suitable for young children, but not really: sexual references and violence are not graphic or gross, but the prevalence of selfishness, including random and thoughtless killing, although not bloody, would be disturbing. Clare Danes is fairly magnetic, although not lovable, and the premises and story line are nicely twisted. Mark Williams turns in a nicely quirky performance, as always, and the visuals are smooth and attractive. Robert De Niro is charming as well as whimsical, but oddly, he's the only one. There's something wrong with that.