Monday, January 07, 2008

Movie Review: Stardust

Hubby and I decided to rent Stardust because we had heard good things about it and we had both wanted to watch it but never got a chance to.

What can I say, after seeing it, I fell in love with this movie. So much so that I'd decided to buy it. My DVD just came in the mail today. Whoo!

Stardust is fairytale about a nerdy guy named Tristan (played by unknown actor Charlie Cox) who goes to look for a star (named Yvaine) that has fallen out of the sky (played by Clare Danes), so he can impress the village beauty Victoria (Sienna Miller). Tristan along the way becomes the hero (although I wasn't that fond of his longer hairstyle in the second half of the movie, I now have a new actor crush. Sigh), and wins the fair Yvaine's heart.

Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer were also in the movie, and both did an awesome job, although I think De Niro was having a little too much fun with his role. But in a good way that made the movie fun to watch. The rest of the acting was great.

It's a fairy tale in a similar style like The Princess Bride, but the story's much simpler, in my opinion. It's charming, funny, has ghosts, pirates, bad princes and very old evil witches. And of course, true love. There's enough appeal for both children and adults alike. Yes, it has it's fluffy, happy ending, but it is a fairy tale after all. And there's not too much fluff or mush to turn anyone off.

Now I've read some negative comments about the movie, such as the CGI wasn't up to Lord of the Rings quality. One person felt that there really wasn't any real cues that told him that Tristan had crossed over from the land of humans into fairyland, like the do in other movies. Give me a break. LOTR was this multi-million dollar project, and for the second comment, you, stop relying on Hollywood to make up for a sorry excuse of an imagination. My only real criticism of the movie was that the plot was slightly weak in some parts, but it wasn't enough to detract from the plot.

The director had set out to make a film that was appealing to both adults and children, and I think he's succeeded. It also encouraged me to read the book, so that will be coming in the mail shortly. Review for that forthcoming...

8.5 out of 10 stars. A must see.

1 comment:

Jessica said...

We watched Stardust this weekend, and I totally agree with your review. It was fun, charming, and entertaining. I didn't have to think (much) about the story, unlike other movies (*cough* LOTR *cough*) but that's what made it so enjoyable. Now I'm avoiding your review of the Illusionist, as it's on our list of movies to see!