Calaidescope World

A Bit of Stardust

Of course, I saw Stardust soon after I arrived. In fact, I saw it with my family. And yes, we all enjoyed it very much. It was very entertaining. And I want to see it again! I must (yes, must)get the DVD when it's released. Although for almost the same reasons as Roman, I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars. It's not astig like The Lord of the Rings, but it's cute and funny like The Princess Bride. Forget Harry Potter. Go get a little Stardust in your eyes.

The Good
I really like what they did with Robert de Niro's character (which was actually a very small role in the book. I don't even remember The Captain having a name) and Michelle Pfeiffer's. It didn't bother me at all that the witches were not referred to as the Lilim, and I like how Lamia (I forget her name in the book. Starts with letter M) would age everytime she worked her magic.

Charlie Cox as Tristan was quite good and I like how they developed his character.

The ghosts of the lords (ok, princes) of Stormhold were spot on and absolutely hilarious! Perfect casting and timing!

The ending was different from the book, but more effective, I think, for a movie. No qualms about that one.

The Bad
Ok, while not necessarily bad, a couple of things could have been done better. First off, I prefer the book version of Tristan and Yvaine's meeting (including Yvaine's fall to earth with the "Ow" and "F---"). Actually, the first 15 minutes or so of the film felt rushed, and I don't think that The Star should have landed like a real one would (big explosion, crater and all that). It had that over-the-top Armageddon feel to it that was rather inappropriate for this kind of story.

Second, I didn't like the music so much mostly because some scenes were not scored properly - they should have had lighter or more quiet music. Alia agrees with me on that one.

The Ugly
I thought that Claire Danes was an absolutely horrible choice for Yvaine (how good is this woman's agent?). She just didn't convey the spirit of Yvaine. All she was was a whiner. Plus she's ugly. In my not-so-humble opinion, Sienna Miller should have played The Star.

The Verdict
Go see it! Read the book, too. And if it's still available at Fully Booked, get the original hard bound graphic novel with lovely artwork by Charles Vess. Stardust is magic! And I hope you feel that magic, too.

posted by Calai @ 9:46 AM