Stardust
DVD Reviews | Dec 17th, 2007

Starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller, Robert De Niro, Ricky Gervais, Peter O’Toole, Rupert Everett
Written By: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Studio: Paramount
Buy on Amazon.com link
When I originally saw the trailer for Stardust, I went to myself “oh no, not another movie trying to be like Lord of the Rings.” Obviously that was a judgment I made too soon because after seeing Stardust, I thought it was a great & funny fantasy film that would make for a perfect date movie!
Stardust is based on the Neil Gaiman fable. Stardust takes place in 19th century England and is about a young boy who wants to win the heart of the beautiful girl (Sienna Miller) in the village. Tristan (Charlie Cox) vows to win her heart and takes her to the stone wall in their village for a late night picnic. He tells her he’ll catch a falling star for her and then she’ll fall in love with him. As he goes looking for the star, he enters a magical, hidden kingdom just over the wall. The shooting star isn’t actually a star, but a beautiful girl Yvaine (Claire Danes). This whole time, Tristan is trying to find the star for his true love when in fact; his true love is the star itself. Meanwhile, while Tristan and Yvaine are trying to get back to their homes; there are a lot of other subplots happening. There are the scheming Brothers who are all trying to be the King after their Father passes away. There’s an evil witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) who seeks to be young & beautiful again, but needs the Star to do it. Tristan and Yvaine cross paths with an air pirate (Robert De Niro) who comes across as villainous & dangerous, but behind closed doors is quite the opposite. In the end, Tristan has to decide whether or not to stay in the Kingdom with Yvaine or go back home to the superficial Victoria.
I was really surprised about this movie! I just put it on, thinking it would be some fantasy dud like the last few movies have been. What you get from this movie is a great mixture of comedy, action, adventure and romance. A little bit of everything! The acting in Stardust was good, and there really was no stinker in the bunch. There were funny cameos from Ricky Gervais, Rupert Everett, and Peter O’Toole. Robert De Niro’s character is brief but very memorable and probably the highlight of the movie. Although I liked all the scenes with the Scheming Brothers in it. I never saw anything that Charlie Cox has done but thought the guy had a good sense of humor and charm, and portrayed the character well. Since Matthew Vaughn directed this movie, and he was the producer of Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels and Snatch; he had a lot of the secondary character actors in this movie. I would say 75 percent of the air pirate ship were the actors from those 2 movies. Those actors are great so I’m glad they were included in this movie. The direction was excellent, and I wished Matthew Vaughn directed X-Men 3, like he was originally supposed to. Maybe that movie wouldn’t have sucked then?
I thought the story of Stardust was well balanced; with just the right amount of romance, action, adventure and all that fun stuff. The movie didn’t seem to drag at all and it also didn’t seem to take itself too seriously. If there is one movie to compare this to, it’s the Princess Bride. A movie that has held up over the years and a movie that both adults and kids will enjoy. Although I think this fantasy film is more geared for adults. If there is one movie to check out this winter while you’re stuck inside from the snow, this is it! The bonus material on the DVD include a Making Of featurette, a blooper reel and deleted scenes. The extras aren’t that impressive but there is enough just for the average fan. But the real gem on this DVD is the movie itself.
Features:
Good Omens: The Making of Stardust
Blooper Reel
Deleted Scenes
Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French
Favorite Scenes: Scenes with the Scheming Brothers, Robert Deniro Scenes
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 127 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: