Movie Review: Stardust

Two Thumbs Up

I was pleasantly surprised.  It had a great plot, very good actors, and great special effects.  It's hard today to have "great" special effects because CG is so ubiquitous.  We're used to seeing impossible things on the screen that look real but couldn't possibly.  In my mind, great special effects are only used only when actually necessary, and then they are integrated seamlessly into the movie.  Don't give me a "gee whiz" shot like the battles from the new Star Wars movies because they're not going to impress anyone over the age of 12.  But when you show me one man teaching another man how to sword fight on a ship, and that ship just happens to be floating through the clouds at sunset . . . that's beautiful.  That's impressive.

The cast was likewise impressive, containing Ian McKellan, Rupert Everett, Peter O'Toole, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Claire Danes, and Michelle Pfeiffer.  And yet, the director decided to give the title role to a rookie, Charlie Cox.  This was a brilliant idea because that way the movie wasn't "a So-and-So movie," it was its own movie with a brilliant cast.  The surprise performance was from Robert De Niro, who does something you've never seen him do before.  All the actors seemed to leap into their roles, and you get the impression from every one that these characters love doing what they're doing.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised by the plot as well.  It starts as a simple fairytale plot, the boy wants to impress the girl so he crosses the wall into the magical kingdom to bring her back a falling star.  Of course, we've already learned that (a) the boy's mother is from the magical kingdom, so there's already something special about him other than "I don't plan on being a shop boy for the rest of my life," and (b) the girl is a bitch and doesn't deserve him.  Of course, the boy has trouble figuring this out, even with a blond, glowing Claire Danes on his arm.  (She actually glows.)

The movie reminded me a lot of The Princess Bride.  It's unquestionably a fairy tale, and while it's probably fine for kids I think it was really aimed at an adult audience.  (Here's a little secret: all the best children's entertainment has adult appeal as well.)  And like The Princess Bride, it's a modern fairy tale that is not based on something from the Middle Ages, but is completely fresh and original.  Finally, it's a modern fairy tale with modern dialog and modern sensibilities.  No more "evil stepmother" that kids don't really fear to any more. Even when you think the plot is going to devolve into the standard "hero on the white horse must fight the dark villain and save the fair damsel in distress," it tosses in a refreshing dash of modern sensibility.  Modern relationships aren't about a valiant man swooping in to save a helpless girl; they're about mutual support.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

Bottom line: a thoroughly enjoyable film that's just as good as a date movie as it would be for children.

Two thumbs up becuse Yelena liked it too.