CinePhillyist Reviews... Stardust

Stardust is mediocre. It’s the usual good versus evil, with witches, pirates, magic spells and a magic land. It has humorous scenes, but some scenes are just plain cheesy. Watching Robert DeNiro act like something other than a mean bastard was refreshing, and seeing Michelle Pfeiffer in another witch role was well, okay, but I’ve seen her in this role before, so I wanted something a little different. I didn’t care for the emphasis on youth and beauty versus old and wrinkly, but I had to remind myself that this was an adventure fairy tale based on Neil Gaiman’s novel.

Although the movie wanders and meanders through a labyrinth of chases, quests and finding true love, it does have some very beautiful fairy tale scenes. Let's not forget what the story is about: the main character, Tristan, is on a quest to win the heart of his love, Victoria, but his journey leads him to understand that his love is not with the woman who has not reciprocated his affections, but with the fallen star that has come to earth in human form.

Claire Danes’ character, who has the glowing features that only a star possesses, is quite touching. And the character of goat boy has that added fairy tale touch.

There are some interesting effects and the movie held my attention for the most part, but I just wasn’t thrilled. Stardust was directed by Matthew Vaughn and the cast includes Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro.