Stardust Reviews

This film is lovely to look at, with lavish costumes and beautiful sets. The music is lovely too, with the beautiful Take That song over the end credits, and Ian McKellan lent his wonderfully distinguished voice to the narrator. Michelle Pfeiffer also is very good as Lamia, and Claire Danes is perfectly tolerable as the "star". I will say though that Charlie Cox was not entirely convincing at times as the hero, and the film is overlong. However, there are plenty of things to recommend it, particularly a chance to see Robert DeNiro in drag doing the can can. The direction, while not the best direction in existence, is competent, and does give some thrills here and there, like the princes who decide to kill each other. The script is quite witty, a little underdeveloped at times, but not that bad at all. In conclusion, an enjoyable film, not the best I've ever seen, but well worth watching. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

It is important, if one enjoys the art of film, to occasionally see an awful movie. This gives balance to your opinion, gives you an idea of what truly bad cinema looks like, and provides some wonderful unintentional laughs. I say this because it's one of the few good things about Stardust. It will give one a much better appreciation for better films, and even mediocre films.

Stardust is about a shooting star that has landed on (presumably) earth. It turns out, the star is actually a person named Yvaine. The main character, Tristan, finds Yvaine, and wants to bring Yvaine home to his girlfriend to win her hand in marriage. He does not know, however, that there are other forces that want the star very badly, and will kill to get it.

There's more to the story than that, but the whole thing is so hopelessly tedious, and so unnecessarily complex, it's not worth it to explain the whole thing.

How so many critics have been won over by this is beyond me. Stardust (in addition to having very little to do with it's name) is endlessly trippy (in the worst way), often dull, and uneven in tone. Stardust tries to follow multiple stories at once, and the sequence of events and the poor editing makes it all feel lazy and slapped together, not to mention extremely in-cohesive.

Stardust is made even worse by a series of contradictions, plot holes, and obvious mistakes that should have been caught. Character development is also extremely rushed. Some characters literally reform in a single scene without showing any signs of remorse previously.

Stardust attempts to be many different genres. Action, comedy, parody, etc. This is typically a recipe for disaster, and Stardust is no exception. Moments of light-hearted and childish humor feels off when the film is so frequently dark and perilous. At times, Stardust feels more like a children's film with it's intellectually insulting humor.

The action scenes are barely what one could consider "action." It mostly revolves around people running away. The few times there's actually "true" action are surprisingly dull. The lengthy climatic battle may go down as one of the most tedious and campy of all time.

Special effects are mostly fine, and they admittedly look pretty good most of the time. Still, the first 10 minutes boasts some extremely dubious looking effects (two pint sized elephants being kept in a cage make up the most offensive of the special effects).

Acting is one of the most painless elements of Stardust. Charlie Cox is believable as Tristan, though a mostly brainless and indecisive idiot can't be too difficult to portray. Claire Danes is fine as the first obnoxious then overly sweet Yvaine. Michelle Pfeiffer makes for a creepy villain.

The score by Ilan Eshkeri is mostly uneven. At it's best, it's rousing, grand, and spirited. At it's worst, it's corny, childish, and shamelessly over the top. The love theme is also an obvious rip off of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings cue, "Concerning Hobbits."

I am shocked and even a bit disgusted that Stardust has been so positively received from critics. It's ridiculously campy and trippy, hugely unfunny, and often immensely dull. Stardust is ultimately too childish to entertain adults and teens, and way too violent and off color for kids. One of the only reasons to see Stardust would be to get a few unintentional laughs.

As a follow up to his impressive debut 'Layer cake', Matthew Vaughn decided to direct something completely different, a Fantasy feature. Since I kept hearing many good things about it, I eventually checked it out and I had some pretty huge expectations. Honestly, even though I did indeed enjoy it, I actually think it was a little bit underwhelming and I think the whole thing is rather overrated. I mean, yes, it was very well directed, the whole thing looked good, there was an impressive cast (Claire Danes, Ian McKellen (only narrator), Ben Barnes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole, Mark Strong) and they all gave some decent performances. Still, I was entertained by the whole thing but I was expecting more, especially after hearing so many good things about it. I guess, the main issue I had was with the story. Indeed, in my opinion, there were too many storylines, the whole thing was rather unfocused and I thought it was eventually rather messy. Still, if you compare this movie to all the garbage starring De Niro recently, you can say that the damned thing is pretty much a masterpiece. To conclude, even though I thought it was slightly disappointing, I have to admit it, it is a very well made and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Matthew Vaughn’s work.

Wow! What an absolutely amazing film this is. Stardust is one of those films that is so beautiful to watch that just has a very simple story that you don't really need to focus very hard on regarding the story. There are some fantasy films that have some very messed up stories but adapt well in the end but this one didn't mess up at all. I find Stardust to be a very realistic story of how some of us would wish life would really be like. It is a film that made me wish that life was like that, well; a fairy tale even though I know it is very far from it. Stardust is a really funny film as well because of the characters involved. They are all just so original. Stardust is a film that is adapted from a novel of the same name. It is a British story. I do think that we Brits are the best at creating fantasy novels. We created Harry Potter, Narnia, Dark Materials, Lord Of The Rings and many more as well as Stardust. This film rivals with The Golden Compass for best fantasy film of the winter. Both are good films but Stardust is better in every aspect including more realistic effects, story and characters within. All of the characters bring a Disney like feeling to them with all the heroes and the villains, the funny characters and also the effects within. Stardust reminds me a lot of Enchanted and The Princess Bride because of this. Despite of the feelings of Disney about this film, I am glad this wasn't made by Disney because I think it would have flawed big time but it didn't flaw at all and it also would rival with Enchanted.


Stardust definitely has one of the best ensemble cast ever in my opinion with lots of talented actors and actresses. Charlie Cox was good as Tristan Thorn because he was a real charmer for the character and a really brilliant hero in the film that makes him like a Disney prince which made his acting really surprising. Claire Danes is the lead actress in this film and she is absolutely amazing as star Yvaine. She was probably the best choice for Yvaine because she is bloody gorgeous and she is a star anyway. Michelle Pfeiffer was the best out of the whole cast in this film. Pfeiffer looks really good for her age but she certainly does know how to portray a terrifying villain. Her character was like Susan Sarandon's in Enchanted apart from Lamia is a more interesting character. It was funny seeing Pfeiffer looking like an over 100-year-old woman but then seeing her like her ordinary self. She should play more villains in the future but not in a fantasy film because could ruin her great reputation of Lamia in this film. I was unsure of what to make of Robert De Niro in this film to start with but when I watched it, I was actually really surprised. He always plays every character so well no matter what sort of person they are. It was weird seeing Robert play a gay pirate but it was really good as well because I have always seen him play straight characters in the past. Perhaps he just decided he selected Stardust for fun not for serious Oscar worthy acting. Other cast members Mark Strong, Ricky Gervais, Sienna Miller, Rupert Everett, Jason Flemyng, David Walliams, Mark Williams, Ian McKellen, David Kelly and Peter O'Toole were all absolutely brilliant in thie roles as well.


Stardust is a beautifully filmed piece of treasured magic that I loved first time and loved again second time. I think I probably will after more viewings now. It is one of the best films of 2007 which is one of the best years in film ever. It isn't the best fantasy film of 2007 but it is the smartest and simplest though. It is better than both The Golden Compass and Enchanted. Stardust is a family masterpiece that is targeted at the right people and is made in the proper manner and it seems a pleasure, an honour and really good fun to be filming and be part of such a fantastic film like Stardust.

I'm a huge fairy tale nut, and Stardust is the sort of story that manages to catch every bit of that love and throw it back to me. Gaiman is a genius. The plot is light and silly, but at the same time, manages to catch every bit of the wonder that makes the Grimm tales so enticing. In a way that movies like Ladyhawke and The Brothers Grimm do not.

I highly recommend it.

Now, for the detail.

Overall, I loved this film. It's sweet, and uplifting, and the few flaws are mild enough not to annoy me, and I'm the sort who can easily find that some flaws keep me from enjoying movies, so that says a lot, I think. The story is simple enough. Tristran is sweet and rather innocuous. The girl-next-door that he wants at the beginning of the film is vain and spoiled enough that you know she isn't the one for him. The set up about the royal family of Stronghold, and their succession is humorous, if a bit obvious. The star in the form of Claire Danes is lovely. She occasionally overreacts, but as a non-earthly creature, it works quite well, really. And Michelle is incredibly perfect as the evil witch. All in all, excellent casting.

Two things I'm incredibly pleased by in this story: the magic and fact that those little threads that most writers would let dangle were actually pulled back into the main thread of the story. The magic feels real, like it actually has rules behind it. Like someone's given it thought. Hubby tells me this is just Gaiman's usual magic, but I'm still pleased to see it. He did a lovely job of it.

As for the storyline threads, there were so many that I wouldn't have been surprised to see dropped, but most of them were still wound back into the story. The story about Tristran's parents: not only her "story" that she tells to his father about being a princess, or the chain he cuts to try to free her then gives their son later, but also the name she gives her son: Tristran is a version of a name that means "sad." What better name for a girl to give her son when she's been held captive who knew how long, and she was going to have to give him up, and possibly never see him again? And as for the chain that his father chops off, it is not only used by Tristran on Yvaine, but later another version is used to bind her and Una together. And the idea that only powerful magic -- including a unicorn horn (a nice touch) -- can remove the chain is very nice. There's more, of course. These are just the ones that immediately come to mind.

Actors: Peter O'Toole's cameo was fun. As was Rupert Everett's. Michelle was utterly lovely. At the moment she started sobbing about loosing her sisters, I was utterly disappointed, so when we found out it was entirely put on...I couldn't help but grin. And she did not only a lovely acting job, but she did it through a ton of makeup. Claire did an okay job. I've seen her do better, but she held up well. As for Deniro? He was a slasher's dream. I think he may well have stolen the movie. I just loved him.

In fact, I will say that the point the movie and the two heroes' come into their own is the entire sequence on the air boat. The movie is especially fun during that whole part of the film. Captain Shakespeare's reasoning for his name, his closet, "cutting" Tristran's hair longer, the fighting and dancing lessons... I loved it all. Particularly Septimus's attack once they've left the ship. Absolutely priceless.

I do have to say that the story surrounding Tristran's parentage and the "secret" about his mother was a bit anticlimactic. Meaning that the moment the King asked where "Una" was, I knew that Tristran would end up the king, with Yvaine as his queen. I would have liked something more subtle, at least. But I am glad it wasn't the only storyline. Some of the acting was a bit stiff, and a few accents were dropped. But overall, I thought it wasn't enough to really upset the balance of the film.

My overall impression? Excellent movie. I highly recommend it.

Tristan promises his loved one, Victoria, that he will bring her a fallen star to prove his love. During his quest for the fallen star, he will encounter a world different than his... and find his real true love.

I was very surprised to see such raving reviews for this film, as I hadn't expected it to be so appreciated.

Wonderful acting by everyone, but De Niro. All other performances just proved how bad De Niro's acting is, it was just beyond belief. That said, this role as a "whoopsie" was perfect for him! Really. He was so bad he was good! Finally Pfeiffer is at her best. Let's not forget Claire Danes' superb performance! Charlie Cox is truly a gem, I hope he continues to be as talented in other films as he is here. Perfect directing.

Beautiful cinematography, truly great decors and costumes.

I can't get enough of this movie, despite the fact that its story is so simple, basic, predictable, it is still such a delight from start to finish. I, like Gwenny, was transported back to a world where Good and Evil coexisted and Life itself seemed so simple. The movie proves you don't need original stories to be a great film; simple themes, as presented here, also provide enjoyable films.

I will be watching this motion picture at least once a year, it's that great.

Not only did this movie end up being different then what I thought it was (as is usually the case) but it turned out to be far better as well. There's also the fact that I never would have picked Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro to do those type of roles but seeing them in those roles and pulling it off as well was really surprising. They just seemed perfectly suited to it. Plus there is the added bonus of seeing De Niro dancing around, I found that amusing.
A thoroughly enjoyable movie.

I was first drawn to this film by the theme tune. As I aimlessly flick through music channels checking the latest videos, I came across the Take That video and got curious.

I was taken by surprise as I didn't notice this film at all until its release. However, it is an enjoyable fantasy flick.

Ricky Gervais once again slinks his way into Hollywood. His role is far greater than that of Night at the Museum and I'm glad to see him moving up in the world.

If you like to forget about rationality, then watch this film. It's a treat.

Michelle Pheiffer, "Lamia", she was amazing, hilarious, tragic tragedy which made me cry, then laugh two seconds later. This film reminded me of how much I love her. She was the centerpiece of this beautiful fairytale. The world was gorgeous,the CG-Imagery was well done, I am definately going to buy this movie! I saw this film with my friends of 20-somethings, we enjoyed it, there were elderly few in the theaters as well, they were laughing, it's just a good movie.