Stardust charmed me

Rating: 7/10 (28 July 2008)

This charming little story completely missed the marketing wagon and I feel drawn to point it out to people so it gets the attention it should. I found it in the cheap pile at a DVD store on the weekend and decided to watch it late on a Sunday night. I'm really glad I did. It's been a long time since a fantasy movie has told a fairytale so completely and so well. Most of the cast were brilliant; it seemed everyone was having fun but taking it seriously, producing a happy, dreamy quality with dark undertones that all good fairy tales should have. Ricky Gervais was the exception (although it may have been because I don't like his humour); he seemed to not fit into the world they were trying to portray. Michelle Pfieffer was a perfect wicked witch, Charlie Cox was a great lead role for a virtually unknown actor, and even Claire Danes had her moments. The whole film was fun, feel-good entertainment without being either Disney or Epic Fantasy, with good use of limited but perfect special effects. There's an absolutely fascinating fight scene that you have to see to believe. The film reminded me of the good old days of Labyrinth, Princess Bride and Never Ending Story and was a only a little disappointing by being very same-ish throughout, no huge highs or lows, with very little in the way of memorable quotes (except for a rousing pirate "Argh!"). That's the only thing I can be critical about however and I will be recommending it to everybody I see in the next few weeks.