A Magical Fantasy Tale
Written: Aug 14 '07 (Updated Aug 14 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Magical wonderful tale of fantasy.
Cons: may be a bit too gruesome in some scenes for younger children.
The Bottom Line: This was a great fantasy tale.
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| shopaholic_man's Full Review: Stardust |
I like well done fantasy tales, or tales that blend fantasy into their telling. This year we had the latest installation of everyone's favorite boy wizard, which I was rather disappointed in. Bridge to Terabithia and Pan's Labyrinth were both excellent, but really more about children and their imagination than a true fantasy tale. I personally didn't feel the magic in The Chronicles of Narnia. In fact, my favorite fantasy films were back in the days of movies like Labyrinth and A Princess Bride.
Stardust is the best fantasy tale I have seen since A Princess Bride! It truly has the right blend of special effects, story, characters and magic. I enjoyed this film from start to finish.
What is it About?
The story is narrated by Ian McKellen. Stardust begins with a young man, Dunston Thorn (Ben Barnes) who lives in the town of Wall, named after the wall that borders one side. It is said that on the other side of the wall is another realm, and ... there is: Stormhold. Dunston outwits the guard at the wall (a funny performance by David Kelly) and runs through. In Stormhold he visits the magic shops in the market there and meets a princess (Kate Magowan) held captive by a witch, Ditchwater Sal (Melanie Hill). Nine months later, the wall watcher informs Dunston that a package has been left for him, a baby boy. Dunston names his son Tristan.
The film picks up 18 years later. Dunston (now played by Nathaniel Parker) has raised his son as best he could, and Tristan has grown into an optimistic young man. When we see Tristan again, he is trying to woo the heart of a vain superficial young woman, Victoria (Sienna Miller). Victoria plans to marry the much wealthier Humphrey (Henry Cavill), but says she will marry Tristan if he can fetch her the falling star they saw one night. Tristan, like his father before him manages to cross the wall to find the star.
The star actually turns out to be a young woman, Yviane (Claire Danes), and she isn't quite pleased at first to be caught by Tristan to be given as a gift to Victoria. However, she has other things to worry about. Three evil witches want to capture the star as well in order to cut out her heart and obtain youth again. Lamia (Michelle Pfieffer who to me is still an incredibly attractive woman) downs the last of the previous star and transforms from an old decrepit hag to a woman of beauty. She sets out to trap Yvaine to regain youth for herself and her sisters.
To make matters more interesting, the King of Stormhold(Peter O'Toole)had declared that whoever can transform his jeweled necklace back into Ruby will be the new King upon his death. Only one of royal blood can do such a thing. When he threw his necklace it flew up into the heavens, knocking Yvaine from the night sky. The King's seven sons and one missing daughter are down to four sons when we first meet them because they have murdered one another to inherit the throne. The dead sons hang around as ghosts watching the story unfold. The remaining sons also set out trying to locate Yvaine upon learning that she has the necklace as well as the key to immortality.
Two scenes to watch for! At one point, Yvaine and Tristan find themselves caught by a crew of lighting herders led by the fierce Captain Shakespeare (Robert DeNiro). Cptn. Shakespear runs his lightning gathering airship (which is a fantasy site to behold in and of itself) with intimidation and an iron fist. Watching DeNiro interrogate the two was hysterical. Even more hysterical was finding out that Captain Shakespeare was a little more flamboyant than he wants the world to know. DeNiro was priceless in this movie
Another scene that was stolen by great acting was Ricky Gervais (The Office writer and actor in UK version) as Ferdy the Fence.
To tell you more of the story would be to tell you too much. Let me just tell you that the story was excellent and I enjoyed the film from start to finish.
Special Effects / Cinematography / Score
This movie was eye candy as well. Whether it was in the quaint village of Wall, the witches castle, Captain Shakespeares flying ship, or the enchanted realm of Stormhold, this film brought the magic and fantasy to life. Even the score of the film was most fitting, the original music of Ilan Eshkeri was perfect for this film.
Direction
I was quite surprised to see that Producer turned Director Matthew Vaughn's first film was Layer Cake a violent UK crime caper starring Daniel Craig. This film was far removed from the violent London underground, and I thought that Vaughn did an amazing job with it. Elements of humor, romance, adventure and drama were all blended perfectly in this tale.
Acting
Overall, I enjoyed the acting in this film, I thought everyone did quite well, but some performances stood out more than others. As I said before DeNiro was priceless in his role as Captain Shakespeare, and you'll have to see it to believe it. The Office's Ricky Gervais only had a brief scene, but he was very funny. Peter O'Toole played the king, and I believe that he has the requisite experience for that sort of role. I also felt that Michelle Pfieffer as Lamia the witch was terrific, but then again Pfieffer has had experience playing witches (The Witches of Eastwick).
Even minor roles like Mark Williams as Billy, a goat turned into a man by the witch were well done and entertaining.
Summary
Stardust was a surprise gem hidden in this summer of threequels. It is the best fantasy fairy tale story I have seen since A Princess Bride. I highly recommend seeing this film.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Feel-good Movie
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