Falling in love with Stardust is as easy as being awestruck by a shooting star, quite literally. In a story that melds the quick wits of The Princess Bride and Midnight Run it is simple to understand the charm of love. This is not an arbitrary comparison egotistically concocted by the author of this article but by the director Matthew Vaughn (Dir. Layer Cake, Prod. Snatch) said, “I wanted to combine these two films to tell Neil Gaiman’s story Stardust.”
In a story where an unsuspecting Tristan embarks on a journey to fetch a fallen star for his “true love.” Well maybe but what he does not know is that there are quite a few people after the star, Yvaine, played by Claire Danes (Romeo + Juliet, Shop Girl). Yes, in this story the star is human-like. Things happen to the star and Tristan has to flee and use a magic candle to get home quicker, but they encounter Captain Shakespeare, to the fans of Gaiman’s story the Captain is added for the movie, which actually works. Tough guy Robert De Niro plays Captain Shakespeare.
Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Minds, Hairspray) makes a rebound by playing a witch and when she transforms from the stereotype of the ugly witch to a bombshell beauty she proves yet again she still has it. Her character is also after the star and is competing, not only with Tristan, but with a set of brothers who need to fight each other for their spot at being king. Their father played by Peter O’Toole died and left them to find a stone that happens to be with the star.
This movie has the goofy and sweet chemistry between Danes and, relatively unknown in America, Charlie Cox (Casanova), which may just be better than Cary Elwes and Robin Wright Penn in Princess Bride, but only time will tell.
The problem with the film is that this should have been Vaughn’s third or fourth movie, this is because parts of it seemed rushed which are evident when Vaughn said this film was shot a little over two months in a “marathon way of film making.” He also shot the film on location in Scotland. And the Isle of Skye shoot was especially tough because the weather changes from sunny to snowy to hail to windy all in the same day said Vaughn.
Also, the effect of the story telling that parallels Princess Bride, Ian McKellen (X-Men, Lord of the Rings) narrates the whole thing, making this the best fantasy film since Lord of the Rings. Vaughn’s connection to McKellen is that he was to direct the third X-Men but due to him becoming a father he had to step away. Also, this film could have been out two or so years ago because Terry Gilliam (Monty Python member, Brazil) planned to direct it and Vaughn just writing the screenplay, but Gilliam was filming Brother’s Grimm.
Being a fan of Princess Bride this attempt was a success; it is rather a retelling of the happy-ever-after but with a twist. This movie not only funny and charming it is one of the best films of the year.