The Rocky Mountain Collegian

September 6th, 2007

Stardust Review

Alright, so I don’t want to give too much away about the movie, but I have to open with a query about Robert DeNiro.  The question is, did you ever dream, even in your wildest most star-studded dreams, that he could successfully play a gay man in a feature film?  Sorry, I’ve already said too much.

Stardust is a delightful little fantasy movie based on the book by Neil Gaiman.  The setting is the English village known as Wall.  In the story, Tristan (Charlie Cox) makes a promise to a beautiful girl (who doesn’t happen to actually care for him all that much) that he will bring her a fallen star.  However, in order to get to the star’s place of rest he must cross the forbidden wall and enter a mysterious magical kingdom.  Upon arrival at the crash site our dear Tristan discovers that the star is actually a beautiful glowing young woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes).  The quest to bring the star back to Wall is complicated by a hot, but brutally sinister witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) who needs the star girl to achieve eternal youth.

This is a legitimately funny movie.  It’s not the whack you over the head funny of, say, Superbad.  It’s more the kind of whimsical “That’s adorable!” kind of humor.  But guys, don’t go writing this movie off as a “chick flick”.  It’s got plenty of action and humor that you will appreciate.  And ladies, I have the sense to believe that you will absolutely adore this movie.  Believe me when I say that this movie has something for everyone. 

It may be cliché to compare Stardust to The Princess Bride this late after release, but I just did, so eat it.  The parallels are pretty obvious.  Both movies are filled with whimsical humor, both are fairy tales for the young at heart, and both feature eccentric characters portrayed by wonderful actors.

Which brings me back to Robert DeNiro, who gives the most standout, memorable acting in the film.  His character actually isn’t introduced until later on in the movie, but this speaks volumes about his effective use of screen time.  He plays a bloodthirsty sky pirate (what fantasy would be complete without physics defying airships?) with a few personal secrets.  I won’t give it all away, but he does a truly excellent job with the character.  Most of the other performances are fairly average.  They don’t damage the movie, but they do prevent it from attaining that certain mark of perfection.

Given the above text it’s probably easy to see that I loved the movie.  The combination of plenty of stuff for guys and plenty of stuff for gals also suggests that this would make a stellar date movie.  It’s true, and I find it a damn shame that the movie hasn’t received a blockbuster reception in theaters.  Go check Stardust out before it’s off on its trip to DVD.  You will be entertained!

3.5 stars (out of 4)

(Neil Gaiman is a terrific storyteller and has been writing science fiction and fantasy for some time, check him out!)

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 6:41 pm and is filed under the reel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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