Advertise here.
 |
Title: Stardust
|
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ | CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there are a couple strong curse words, but little sexual content and the violence is very stylised. Recommended for ages 11 and up. |
I don’t know whether “Stardust” is a spoof of fairytales or a new age fairytale. After the wonderful “Pan’s Labyrinth” I’m leaning towards the former, but then I’m still not entirely sure. There are scenes in this movie so fantastical, so vivid in imagination you swore you were looking at something special. Then there are moments of pure absurdity and hilarity, as if the actors didn’t realize they were making a serious movie. Then you have the a world that has been created with so much imagination, that you swear a child was indulging himself in a bedtime story. Though for all the admiration this film commands, it never reaches excellence.
 |
In fact, the movie is actually quite boring for the most part. The movie follows a young boy named Tristan (Charlie Cox) who is in love with a local town beauty Victoria (Sienna Miller), but is constantly shot down from competition from the local gentleman Humphrey (Henry Cavill). One night though, Tristan see’s a falling star and promises Victoria that he will bring that star back to her and win her hand in marriage. Turns out the star is actually in the form of a beautiful woman (Clair Danes), and seems a bit perplexed as to why she has fallen to Earth. No matter, to Tristan the fact remains that she is the star and he promised to bring it back to his girl. So on the two march, heading back to Tristans town so he can propose to Victoria, but they are not alone.
 |
They are being chased by a witch named Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), who is old and grey, but will return to a youthful blond if she eats the heart of a star. The star, who prefers to be called Yvaine, has the problem where several people are after her for their own selfish goals. All this is fine and good I suppose, but the movie lacks personality during this time. There is very little zing, zang, or ka-bang. These are things I want in a good fairytale, along with the fun they usually bring. Then, the movie gets the savior in a character named Captain Shakespeare (Robert de Niro), the captain of a flying ship who is secretly gay (and very flamboyant at that) but doesn’t say anything to ruin his reputation of being a ruthless killer. This character is funny. It’s worth recommending the film on de Niro’s performance alone.
 |
He brings a kind of energy and freshness to the screen we don’t normally see in a movie like this. Likewise his flying ship is so ingenious and inventive, that we want to jump into the screen and explore it from top to bottom. The rest of the film is hit and miss though. I know some people who claim that they will forgive a slow start of a film if the payoff is worth it. Based on that criteria I would say that “Stardust” is worth recommending. While I think the beginning of the movie was pretty boring at time, it did pick up steam in story, character development, and energy. The characters molded into people I liked, I admire the ambition of this project, and I think it’s a lot of fun when all is said and done. It may be a mixed bag, but some of my favorite snacks are mixed bags, and this movie may just grow on me as time goes on.
 |
 |
