Stardust is a lot of fun and one of those films that has something for everybody.
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It looks like a Terry Gilliam film. It feels like a Terry Gilliam film. Unfortunately, Terry Gilliam stepped away from the project to work on the film "The Brothers Grimm." Thankfully, "Stardust´s" director Matthew Vaughn returned to the project he and Gilliam first collaborated on and created a film that is magical, quirky and similar in tone to many of Gilliam´s whimsical creations. The involvement of Robert De Niro, who has one of his more interesting roles since Gilliam´s 1985 masterpiece "Brazil" where De Niro portrayed the guerilla air conditioning repairman Archibald ´Harry´ Tuttle, aided "Stardust" in being a refreshing, unique and engaging experience.
Fantasy films took a backseat to other genres for a few years until the Peter Jackson big screen adaptations of the "Lord of the Rings" novels and the series of "Harry Potter" films from Warner Bros. starring Daniel Radcliffe. Since then, tales of knights and dragons and princesses and witches are more commonplace and "Stardust" is one of the few romantic fantasies to be greenlit. The film feels like an updated mixture of "The Princess Bride" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" with the romantic storyline of the former and whimsical world of the latter. It is a film that combines some action, with a dash of high spectacle effects and enough wit and romance to satisfy a wide array of demographics.
"Stardust" finds Dunstan Thorne (Ben Barnes) crossing over a protected wall outside the town of Wall. There he enters a magical kingdom that was long kept secret. His journey introduces him to the lovely princess Una (Kate Mogawan). She is held by a magical chain by a witch and forced into a life of indenture. Una charms the young Dunstan and offers him a gift of a pretty little glass flower. In exchange, she talks him into the witch´s caravan and seduces the young man for a passionate tryst. Dunstan returns back to the village of Wall and leaves his princess and the secret kingdom of Stormhold behind. However, his adventure would not be forgotten as a young baby would be delivered nine months later by the protector of the wall. The boy, his son Tristan (Charlie Cox) was the result of his affair with the princess.
When Tristan grows to be a man he falls in love with an uptown girl named Victoria Forrester (Sienna Miller). However, she is uninterested in the shop boy and already has a suitor, Humphrey (Henry Cavill). Humphrey ridicules Tristan, but it does not stop the boy from trying to win the heart of Victoria. When Tristan loses his job, he finds Victoria agreeing to go on a walk with him and they share champagne and witness a falling star. Victoria tells Tristan that Humphrey is off to a far away land to buy her an engagement ring, but if Tristan can return by her birthday with the fallen star, she will allow him to be her suitor. This begins Tristan´s adventure.
Tristan is not alone in the quest for the star. The dying king of Stormhold (Peter O´Toole) sends a ruby into the heavens where it combines with the falling star. The King´s sons kill one another to have a shot at claming the ruby and the surviving son Septimus (Mark Strong) desperately desires to find the star and claim the throne. Also, an elderly witch, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), wants to use the star´s power to regain her youth and help her two sisters also regain a youthful appearance. Between Lamia´s magical powers and Septimus cruel and powerful determination to earn the throne of Stormhold, Tristan´s quest for love becomes an unknowingly dangerous undertaking.
The biggest surprise for Tristan is when he discovers that the fallen star has taken a human form and is the beautiful Yvaine (Claire Danes). Yvaine wears the Ruby around her neck and meets Tristan in an awkward manner. Tristan forces Yvaine into returning with him to Victoria and offers to give Yvaine his Babylon candle to return her home if she takes the journey with him back to Wall. Their travels lead them into a trap set up by Lamia and once they realize they are in danger, Tristan uses the Babylon candle to send them home. Without specifying whose home they are to travel to, Tristan and Yvaine wind up upon a cloud, which is halfway between each of their homes.
The notorious pirate Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) finds them stranded on the cloud and places them into the ship´s brig. It appears to the ship´s crew that Tristan is tossed overboard and that the ruthless pirate leader has taken Yvaine to be his personal concubine. This is the furthest from the truth as Shakespeare is a gentle man who likes to sing and dance and wear women´s clothing. He devises a plot to earn Yvaine and Tristan their freedom and maintain the reputation he has built over the years. He has Tristan pretend to be a ruthless nephew and offers Yvaine as a present to his supposed kin.
The story continues as Tristan must decide if Victoria is the woman he really wants to be with or if Yvaine is the true love that is right under his nose. Yvaine must protect her true identity of being a fallen star from those that would do harm to her. Eventually, Lamia, Septimus and the two young star-crossed lovers must all come face-to-face and Tristan discovers his own true identity. A few encounters occur for all characters involved and Tristan discovers far more about himself than he had expected to. Of course, "Stardust" is a fairy tale and all good fairy tales have a happy ending.
"Stardust" is a very enjoyable film and it reminded me of many of the fantasy films I enjoyed when I was younger. It has the romantic touch of "The Princess Bride," but a very Gilliam feel to it that is reminiscent of his film "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen." Gilliam may have not joined the project after the initial discussions, but director Matthew Vaughn emulates the Monty Python alumnus nicely. It is a beautiful film that takes place in a whimsical land that reminds the viewer of numerous fairy tales. There are kings, princesses, witches and evil spirits about in the film. There are also sky bound pirates and when you have Robert De Niro leading the band of pirates, you always have a winner. "Stardust" is a magical film that has a classic feel to it, but benefits nicely from modern visual effects.
The ensemble cast of "Stardust" is very good. Ian McKellen is a familiar voice as the Narrator and his presence is felt, even though he is not seen on-screen. Peter O´Toole´s cameo as the King of Stormhold is perfectly done and the veteran actor feels quite noble in king´s clothing. Rupert Everett is another familiar name that has a short role in the film and it is a departure from the lovable characters Everett is typically known for. Michelle Pfeiffer and Claire Danes are both wonderful as leading ladies. Pfeiffer is very nicely cast as the aging witch who destines to have her beauty returned to her and although Pfeiffer is still a very beautiful woman, she uses her own advancing age to bring a truth to her role. Danes is a lovely young actress and seems perfectly suited to fantastical roles. Sienna Miller does more than add to headlines in this film with a nice performance as Victoria.
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