Comment

This magical mystery tour is based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name. Gaiman is an English man of Polish Jewish origin, who was born in Hampshire. Now living in Minnesota USA he is also a comic strip writer, a screenwriter, and an expert on fantasy, having been weaned on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Oddly enough his first book was the biography of Duran Duran and later he wrote Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion, so versatility is his middle name. Stardust tells various stories, but the main one is of Tristan Thorn's (Charlie Cox)
journey
to find a shooting star and bring it back to his love Victoria (Sienna Miller). Why he bothers, as Victoria is only in love with herself, is anyone's guess. She has set her sights on Humphrey (Henry Cavill), a man of substance, but Tristan is sure if he can get the star he will win her hand.

So he leaves the English town of Wall and sets forth on his quest to the magical kingdom of Stormhold. This is a brave act as the people of Wall are forbidden to venture into Stormhold. But the love struck lad will do anything for Victoria, who has agreed to marry him if he brings her the star before the week is out. However when he eventually finds the star it turns out to be twinkling Yvaine (Claire Danes). So he makes a pact with Yvaine that if she accompanies him home to Wall, he will help her return to her home in the sky.

If only it was as simple as that things might have gone according to plan, but it turns out everyone in Stormhold wants a piece of Yvaine. She has mystical powers and wears a necklace with the name of the new king of Stormhold. In one of the opening scenes we learn the old king (Peter O'Toole) is dying and his many sons are fighting for the crown. There is also nasty sorceress Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) who is another in pursuit of Yvain. This is because Yvian's heart can give immortality and eternal youth to whoever possesses it.

The main problem here is there is too much going on. It doesn't exactly spoil the adventure but it is best to relax into the fairytale and not try to understand it. Let's face it most mythical tales are pretty difficult to follow. There is an excellent performance from Pfeiffer who improves with age. I never thought her acting was good enough to last into her late forties, but it certainly is and she has great comic timing. Robert De Niro is also a guinea a minute as Capt. Shakespeare, a part that has little relevance to the story but I wouldn't have missed for the world. However it is Danes who really comes up trumps, making Yvain the most sympathetic character. The production is beautiful looking and gripping throughout as we swing from fantasy to thriller. There are some pretty grisly bits so this isn't for the squeamish, but it is delightfully original and entertaining if a tad long. 7/10

8:55am Thursday 18th October 2007

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login