Whimsical as intended. Read the book after!

Rating: 8/10 (7 September 2007)

I adore the book, I love Neil Gaiman, and I like fantasy movies. This should be an obvious win, but it's a mixed review. Stardust is sweet, but deviates from the book in important and annoying ways.
Stardust is a classic fairy tale. Tristan Thorne ventures off into the fairy kingdom of Stormhold to retrieve a fallen star for a young lady he wishes to marry. But of course, the world of fairies differs greatly from our own. The star is not a lump of rock, but a surly girl, and her entrance into Stormhold has not gone unnoticed. Powerful princes and witches race to seek the Star's power, and Tristan is thrown unknowingly into the pitch for power.
If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it, particularly if you can get your hands on a copy with the original illustrations of Charles Vess.
The movie stands on its own without comparisons to other current popular fantasy movies. Beyond the eye candy, the story is solid and the characters are quirky and interesting. The three competitors for The Star cross paths in entertaining and coincidental ways, and the movie - like the book - is wrought with comedy.
While the movie is mostly faithful to the book, the biggest downfall is in the minor characters. Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro both had their parts artificially inflated for the movie. Robert DeNiro's pirate captain Shakespeare, in particular, was a role that took place in about 3 pages of the book. It's true that a long passage of time occurred in those few pages, and it was nice to see them fleshed out in the movie. But the character of Shakespeare was reduced to Jar-Jar Binks status - mostly unnecessary and over-ridiculously funny. Pfeiffer as the Witch Queen Lamia had a role much more in keeping with the book, and stole the show with her deliciously evil performance. But the added combat scenes at the end were over the top, and eventually made no sense at all. A huge "huhwhut?" washed over everyone in the theatre - book fans and newcomers alike - when Lamia's part ended. Even Septimus had his character altered from unyielding villain to sympathetic opportunist.
The best part of this movie is the romance. While foppish Tristan could have been a slightly more remarkable man, Claire Daines was perfect as the surly Star, and paired together, they were too cute to deny. The image of Yvaine shining every time she's happy is practically meant for movies, and will strike a heartstring-chord for anyone who's ever been in love. There are even a few places where the story is altered to add some subtle lines that build the romance, and they're very effective.
Because the story is so packed with adventure, and a few things were inflated to fit the big acting names, the movie is a little long. But I do recommend it for any lovers of romance, fantasy, or the original book.