In the fantasy tale Stardust a man crosses a forbidden entrance in a wall that leads him to an alternate world. His objective is to bring back a star to prove his love to a woman (Sienna Miller). There is only one catch…he finds the star is not a rock but Claire Danes. (A little hard to transport!)
What complicates matters further is that old witch Michelle Pfeiffer is sent to cut out her heart to reverse the aging process. Then you have the princes of this new world all after a jewel she carries for who has it will become the new king.
When watching Stardust you do find a highly enjoyable story with interesting characters.
The inclusion of Robert DeNiro as a pirate sailing across the skies proves to be one of the
best pieces of the story. That and the jokes that fly from the ghosts of the dead princes as they kill each other off in comical ways to gain the jewel. Everything is explained in a book style voice-over by veteran actor Sir Ian McKellen.
The only downsides are the inclusion of the current flavor of the month Ricky Gervais
who just repeats lines from his TV shows. Then you have the more serious of the movie loosing focus of its purpose. The ending does feel a little long an unimaginative in the genre with the inevitable confrontation with the witch a given.
While that is an issue it doesn’t take away from the fact that Stardust is an incredibly entertaining movie with a number of quality performances and proves to be a visual spectacle. Although perhaps more aimed in some parts at younger viewers bar some adult issues that are touched upon.
There are a great number of quality extras on a single disc entry into the market. You have a 30 minute comprehensive making of. 6 minutes of deleted scenes, a blooper reel also six minutes long. Plus there is a commentary by writer/director Matthew Vaughn and writer Jane Goldman and finally the usual theatrical trailer.
Verdict: +