Stardust Review; Where Shinies Save the Day

 

Stardust is a big-budget movie based on a book by Neil Gaiman from 2007. This is one is special. I say that because this one of the very and I do mean very rare cases where I read the book before I saw the movie, however I don’t remember the book, I remember it was good though but we’re here to talk about the movie and it’s alright.

The movie is set in the Victorian period in England. Young Tristan lives in a village near a wall that beyond has whole another world of fantasy things. In this fantasy world, there is the kingdom of Stormhold, where the king is dying. And much like the highlander there can be only one heir, so the seven princes have kill each other but they also have to find some gemstone and return it’s color to it or something. The king sends it so high that it knocks a star out of the sky and to earth. Tristan sees it and decides to the he will get the star and bring it back to a girl he likes. Then it a race to get the star as witches are after her too for immortality and there are also sky pirates. Hooray! Oh and Tristan is really the son of the princess of Stromhold which mean he is crown king and he marries Yvaine a.k.a the star.

I left a TON out because it would have taken FOREVER. The plot is interesting but it is overly complex for what is supposed to be a fun fantasy adventure with fairy tale elements. I don’t mind complexity but there are a lot if thing working against this movie that makes the plot just go on and on. Though it all does come together nicely though that is the book’s work and not really the movie.

My main issue with this movie it the pacing. Some parts are like super rushed and some part drag on and on. Like that final fight, some parts were cool but it went on too long. Like why did Lamia (main witch villain lady) do a fake out? What was the point? I just found myself bored.

The timing and pacing problems might have been okay to deal with if the characters were better. Tristan is just kind of boring. Yvaine is just sort of mean and not very charming. Lamia and the Sky pirate captain, Shakespeare are sort of enjoyable but you can tell the actors are hamming-it-the-fuck-up. I did like the dead prince ghost party. But the the bad princes who kills all his brother save for like one, Septimus, looked and acted like Richard Armitage from the BBC version of Robin Hood. It was really uncanny.

So we’re left is an overly complex plot that is fairly enjoyable and the technicals. The technical are okay at best. The sets, costumes and camera work are all good, not amazing but solid but the CG work is hokey. Like really cheesy. I was not a fan and it’s a fantasy movie that was operating that it had impressive special effects.

Despite its flaws, Stardust is okay. I just wish the main characters were more charming or not so over acted but the overacting helped with the fun quota so I guess it’s forgivable.