Stardust
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Based on Neil Gaiman's novel



i'll start by saying this is a fantastic romantic/adventure film. although it is somehow marketed as a fairy tale story targeting the young, i find the story is quite mature and satisfying. the special effects are great but they managed not to go overboard like some fantasy films lately, the acting are quite superb, the characters are diverse, scenery are awesomely beautiful reminiscence of LoTR, and the story is just simply enjoyable.

the film is set somewhere in 1850s england in a village called the wall. the name was derived from the village situated at the border of england and an enchanted land called stormhold. the king of stormhold was dying, and as a final act to find a heir, he caused a star to fell from the sky. seeing a shooting star, tristan, trying to please the girl of his dreams, sets to retrieve the star for her. he crossed the forbidden wall and finds yvaine, the fallen star. and the adventure ensues! i wont spoil too much here

however, the story differs quite a lot from the novel, i was informed. so dont expect a direct translation from the written media, even the ending is different. i might catch the novel after this, but general impression that i've read from the net is that this is one of the few films that managed to outshine the novel. we'll see later.

all in all, this is a satisfying film. the characters are diverse yet very english. robert de niro's performance was excellent, u'll giggle not stop! claire danes spikes a genuinely believable english accent; michelle pfeifer with her twisted and cunningly evil portrayal of a witch; the fine ensemble of british TV performers/comedian/presenter as the princes - potential heirs of the throne who're at each other's necks; the brief cameos of peter o'toole, ricky gervais and the rest are simply enriches the show totally.

4.5/5


This post has been edited by azarimy: Oct 21 2007, 07:55 AM

i think u missed alot. the story is very dialogue/character driven, didnt u get it?

maybe those who're not familiar with british TV might not know this, but all the ghosts are actually famous british talk show hosts and stand up comedians. some of the jokes apparently relates to a few of their "trademark" shows, but i didnt get it. my wife did, bcoz she loved those shows alot.

the song is very popular here in the UK. it has been coined as the song that will bring back "take that" to its former glory. or so they say .