A well meant fairy tale with really good romance and adventure but has some moments of frustration

Rating: 7/10 (25 August 2007)

Stardust is not alone in the absolute slew of magical fairy tale adventures to hit the screen in 2007 although it stands alone this summer with the exception of Harry Potter. Still I have to wonder if audiences really want all this fantasy and magic? Stardust to date hasn't fared well in the theater but I went to see it with reasonably decent expectations and the first hour I was a little disappointed. The film is much longer than it needs to be, in fact, it almost feels like it forces itself to be 2 1/2 hours just to fit the fantasy epic genre. The problem with Stardust is very simple. It has far too much misguided and misplaced humor. It makes itself into a fantasy/comedy and it doesn't need to be like that. The humor and self mocking ruins the film rather than assists it in any manner. Fortunately by the time the first hour is past the rest of the film redeems itself in a huge way with an amazing adventure, beautiful romance, a touching story, and a feel good Fairy Tale with the happy ending in tact. Director and co-writer Matthew Vaughn has never done anything like this only previously directing Layer Cake and involving himself in British cult classics like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch. So his attempt and experience at a subtle dry humor just doesn't transition over the Stardust very well but fortunately Fairy Tale wins out.
Certainly an all star cast brings this film into high regard with Sir Ian McKellen narrating the story. Charlie Cox plays our young hero/Prince Tristan. He goes through a very big metamorphosis throughout the film and I couldn't see him as the hero in the beginning (which I think was the point) but by the end he is the handsome and swashbuckling Prince you'd expect. He does a terrific job and delivers a strong performance while being very easy to relate to. Lovely Claire Danes returns to the big screen for the first time in two years as the fallen star Yvaine. I had figure Yvaine would be portrayed as a quiet, lovely, naive girl but much to my surprise she is a firecracker. Sarcastic, and strong and a fighter and a much more interesting character than I thought she'd be. It makes the romance between Cox and Danes much more interesting and it is really a beautiful romance with some truly inspiring moments of heartfelt honesty. Michelle Pfeiffer is the evil witch (one of three) who sets out to capture Danes in order to capture eternal beauty by eating her heart. Pfeiffer is appropriately 'witch-like' but unfortunately her character gets saddled with a lot of the misplaced humor I mentioned. She's almost campy at times but the final battle does make her as wicked as witches come and she looks incredible (out of make up that is.) And finally I must mention one of my favorite actors Mr. Robert De Niro who I admit I respect in almost anything he does but this performance makes Stardust worth while. De Niro plays...ahem...flamboyant but closeted Captain Shakespeare. Supposedly the meanest pirate of the air ship in the sky but as it turns out he simply wants to keep his reputation while living his secret life behind closed doors. Watching De Niro prance around in a dress is priceless and it's not that it's mocking homosexuality, in fact, his character has an important moral about being yourself and he is a hit of the film. He's a great character!! Add in supporting performances by Peter O'Toole, Sienna Miller, Nathaniel Parker, and Mark Strong as a deliciously evil Prince bent on capturing a stone around Yvaine's neck that will make him King. Everyone has a great role and does a great job despite the sometimes campy humor and dialog.
Stardust manages to hold a little bit of adult aura to it while still being reasonably acceptable for children and comparisons to The Princess Bride are not unfounded at all. In fact Stardust may actually stand the test of time and become a bigger hit down the road on DVD or as a cult classic because it does have moments of true heart and I wasn't disappointed in any way. I just wish there had been less of that humor because it wasn't entirely necessary although the plot point of the 'dead Prince brothers' watching over the remaining brother(s) was very funny and did add smiles to the already cute story. Most of all Stardust has a terrific romance and adventure spanning a magical world and it's worth checking out. 7.5/10