Stardust (2007)
Stardust
- 4.5/5 Cameras 🎥🎥🎥🎥.5
- Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
- Starring: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Robert De Niro, et al
- Where to find it: Rent it on Amazon Prime
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Stardust was a bit of a flop when it came out in 2007,
making a little over its production budget but not the kind of numbers it hoped
for. Based on a book by Neil Gaiman, the film was directed and co-written (with
Jane Goldman) by Matthew Vaughn who at the time was most well known for having
produced violent crime films such as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and
“Snatch”, so having him direct a family-friendly fantasy adventure would seem a
little strange, but in spite of this, almost 15 years on, Stardust has built up
a strong positive following, and after I recently re-watched it, I’d argue that
it’s more than deserved.
Stardust follows the story of a young Tristan Thorn (Charlie
Cox) who lives in the village of Wall. Unbeknownst to most of Wall’s residents,
the wall from which it gets its name is the border to the magical kingdom of
Stormhold, the King of which has cast a ruby into the sky, bringing down a
star. Whichever of his descendants finds the ruby will be the new king.
Tristan, in an attempt to woo a woman from his village, crosses the wall to
find the fallen star and bring it back for her, but to his surprise, the star
has taken the form of a human woman. Along the way there are witches, sky
pirates, soothsayers, and jealous princes, leading to an expansive, varied
adventure.
Beyond Tristan, the key players to the story end up being
Claire Danes as Yvaine, the star that most characters are chasing, Michelle Pfeiffer
as Lamia, an ancient witch seeking the heart of a star to restore her youth and
Mark Strong as Septimus, the youngest son of Stormhold’s King. The standout
performer here is certainly Michelle Pfeiffer, who manages to be genuinely
intimidating as an evil witch while still managing to be funny and entertaining
throughout. Also, Robert De Niro shows up as a ruthless pirate captain with a
twist and seems to be having a great time doing so. Elsewhere Charlie Cox does
a solid job in the lead role, though his character does get left feeling a
little mundane next to some of those around him, while Claire Danes is just OK
but for sure there’s more good acting than bad throughout the film.
The true joy of Stardust lies in its sense of adventure. The
film keeps a constant momentum, never lingering too long in one setting,
constantly moving between its characters and plotlines. This gives no
opportunity for the film to ever fall close to boring, with new characters and
locales constantly appearing. The impressive thing about Stardust is that it
manages this without sacrificing depth; each character has purpose to the plot,
nobody feels like they’re just there to make up the runtime which for a film
juggling as many characters as this is a remarkable feat. On top of that, it’s
genuinely funny without over forcing (looking at you Marvel) nicely blending
its humour with its action as well as a healthy dosage of romance for a fun,
crowd-pleasing fantasy adventure that is easily accessible for all age groups.
As you can probably tell, I’ve always been baffled as to why
this film failed initially. In many ways it’s a more modern equivalent to “The
Princess Bride” a film nearly unanimously loved as a quirky, funny, and
constantly entertaining, if a little silly, fantasy adventure. In a way I’m
almost glad it didn’t succeed; had it done the inevitable sequel would almost
certainly pale in comparison to this excellent piece of family-friendly
escapist fantasy storytelling.
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