Stardust dazzles fans
As a relatively big budgeted fantasy epic, it's perplexing how Stardust emerged so quickly with excellent reviews, yet disappeared just as fast, barely squeaking by at the box office with a $9.1 million opening week. Stardust largely flew under the radar, and despite being an excellent film, suffered due to an undeservedly minimal marketing campaign. It's a shame when this happens to movies that deserve much more. Not only was Stardust able to blend elements of fantasy, humor, drama and action, but it did so while telling an engaging story about characters that the audience actually cares about.
The movie, which will likely draw several comparisons to the classic The Princess Bride, opens with a young boy crossing a wall separating his town from the magical town of Stormhold. After meeting a pretty young girl kept as a slave in a marketplace, he soon finds himself with a child and out of contact with his lover.
Flash forward several years later, and the baby has grown into a young adult named Tristan, played by Charlie Cox, who is still living under his father's roof and working at a nearby grocers. Intent on proving his love to the town beauty, Tristan promises her that he will venture over the surrounding wall into the forbidden town to bring back a fallen star. Meanwhile, the king of Stormhold lies on his deathbed, informing his three remaining greedy sons that whoever finds his pendant necklace will succeed him as king. After the king throws his necklace, the pendant flies into the sky and hits a star (the same star Tristan sees) shooting through space and hits ground nearby.
The last plot line in this series of interconnected stories sees three old witches, led by Michelle Pfeiffer, seeking a new source of power and immortality, which can only be obtained through the sacrifice of a star. It is in Tristan's discovery of the star that the audience learns of its true form: a beautiful young woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes). Yvaine remains in Tristan's custody as they run from both the princes and witches to the outer wall of the magical town. What follows is an adventure story that touches on themes of love, social acceptance and destiny.
Directed by a man responsible for producing such crime dramas as Layer Cake, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Stardust translates well from novel to film, most likely due to the novel's author, Neil Gaiman, serving as a producer for the film. Both the lead and supporting actors and actresses in the movie portray their characters with a mysterious and charming air. Especially notable is an appearance by Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing pirate Shakespeare, who opens Tristan's eyes to a love right under his nose. Special appearances by Ricky Gervais (from UK's The Office) as a peddler in magical items, Peter O'Toole as the dying king and Rupert Everett as Prince Secundus add to the comic tone that emerges at several points throughout the film. One of the only negative aspects of the film is that the use of computer-generated images is apparent during a few key moments in the movie. Although slightly distracting to those used to the seamlessly integrated effects present in similar movies (such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter movies), the special effects in Stardust do not detract from the movie-going experience. However, I still feel that one should see the movie on the big screen while the opportunity remains, as it adds to the epic nature of the story line and even seems to strengthen the fantastical tone of the movie. Furthermore, the action scene towards the end of the film is fast-paced and thoroughly engaging-so much so that your eyes will find it hard to drift from the screen.
Stardust presents the viewer with a glimpse into a fantasy world brimming with adventure and encourages us to jump over any walls present in our occasionally innocuous lives-because you never know what lies on the other side.
