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Stardust (2007) [HD DVD]
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CDN$ 49.99 |
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|  | Judging by the DVD synopsis, I went into this movie expecting an over-the-top fantasy, with things like long and heroic discussions of the history of this legend or that, or with bloodthirsty monsters at every turn. It's actually not like that, which is a welcome change. It's an exciting, lighthearted fairy tale that doesn't have you sweating it out at every turn, all the while drawing you into the interesting story.
Tristan (Cox) and Victoria (Miller) set up a great beginning, with Tristan venturing out to cross a magical wall (seemingly only passable through a small gap) to retrieve a fallen star for her, the girl he wants to marry. Only his father has ventured into this land once before, and briefly fallen in love with a girl there (this is set up at the opening and is important to the story).
One side of the wall is England, and across the wall is a magical kingdom. This is where the adventure begins. The fallen star is actually a beautiful woman, Yvaine (Danes) who was knocked out of the sky by an amulet thrown high by the king in his dying breath. But the catch is, the king's heirs want the amulet, and three witches want her dead so they can obtain her heart. For the sons, the amulet will instantly make them the next king; and for the witches, her heart will bring them beauty and a huge source of power. During the course of the movie, Tristan tries to bring Yvaine back to Victoria to prove his love, whilst fending off his competition (in the case of the king's sons, they also fend off each other). In doing so, he learns a lesson or two about love, and life.
The movie has a good balance of humor, action and romance. It's funny but never gets lost in slapstick, and has a love story that doesn't get too sappy. It definitely is a unique adventure. De Niro adds a lot as well, playing the funny and unpredictable airship captain. Also, while it's a magical tale, the characters all play their roles well and make sensible decisions, given the boundaries of the fantasy world. For example, the lead witch (Pfeiffer) always has one cunning move after another to catch Yvaine, and even when her magic is thwarted she makes do with what she has (which makes for a great action scene).
The settings are just superb, from the open countrysides, to the grand hall of the witches, to the blue skies of the airship. I saw the DVD version and since I just picked up an HD-DVD player, I'll watch it again in Hi-Def. I expect the enhanced visuals and audio to be spectacular.
This is a fun and lighthearted tale, and would definitely make a good family or date movie that everyone can enjoy!
| | | Fantasy is hard to find in the movies -- for every "Lord of the Rings," there's only a handful of bad sword'n'sorcery tales for kids ("Eragon," "The Seeker"). As for fairy tales, forget it.
But one little fairy tale HAS made its way into theatres -- an enchanting little story loosely based on a Neil Gaiman novel. And "Stardust's" charm is its lack of pretension, and its willingness to be silly, romantic, fantastical, sparkling and most importantly, tongue-in-cheek. And it has pirates too.
A wall separates our world from the world of magic -- and one night, Dunstan Thorn went over it, and had a brief tryst with a beautiful princess, who is imprisoned by a witch. Nine months later, baby Tristan is left on his doorstep.
Nineteen years later, a dying king magically flings a ruby into the sky, and says that the prince who finds it will be the new king. The two remaining princes -- and the ghosts of their dead brothers -- et off to find it. But that ruby dislodged a star, and it plummets to the ground across the Wall -- attracting the attention of three ancient witches, who use the hearts of stars to restore their spent youth.
Still with me?
Tristan (Charlie Cox) also sees the star, and the snotty girl he adores (Sienna Miller) says that she will marry him if he gets her the star before her birthday. Tristan does manage to find and entrap the beautiful star, Yvaine (Claire Danes), and they start off on a magical adventure of air pirates, unicorns, evil witches, and true love.
"Stardust" has pretty much all the requirements for a fantasy and/or fairy tale movie -- magic, love, an evil villain, and lots of odd characters to round out the cast, and flesh out the story. Not much is actually new. But like the original Gaiman tale, the movie winks affectionately at you as the story unfolds.
In fact, the movie only really stumbles when it stops to ruminate on true love and how precious it is, etc. Cute, but boring -- especially since the romantic leanings of the leads are pretty clear. Director Matthew Vaughn really shines when he's focusing on airships, goat-men, and the occasional magical sword-fight with an dead man.
Despite the scattered nature of the plot, Vaughn directs with a smooth, sure hand, and he sprinkles plenty of comic relief through it -- Captain Shakespeare dancing in drag, or the Greek chorus of murdered princes. And the dialogue avoids fantastical pomposity by being just as tongue-in-cheek ("Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!")
Cox makes an excellent wide-eyed, slightly blinkered country boy, who turns from a bumbling suitor to a strong young hero. Danes isn't quite as ethereal as one would expect Yvain to be, but she gives a solid performance, and Miller is perfect as the snotty, shallow Victoria.
But while the younger performers are solid, the veterans are absolutely brilliant. Pfeiffer is hilarious, chilling and pouty as the constantly frustrated witch, and De Niro steals the show as a cuddly, twinkly-eyed gay pirate who pretends to be brutal. And Peter O'Toole and David Kelly have brief but brilliant appearances.
"Stardust" is exactly what the title suggests -- sparkling, funny, wry, and just deep enough to be entertaining. A solid, sweet little fantasy movie.
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