CINEMA: Stardust

Once upon a time Neil Gaiman wrote a fairy story for adults that turned out to be great fun for big and little kids alike. That tale is Stardust and in the hands of director Matthew (Layer Cake) Vaughn it has become a charming movie with a huge heart and plenty of feelgood factor. It doesn’t hurt that it also has more humour then you might expect, a very dark edge and some stunning special effects.

Our hero is young Tristan who lives in the village of Edge and is smitten with local beauty Victoria (Sienna Miller). In order to win her heart he promises to travel into the forbidden magic kingdom of Stormhold and retrieve a star that has fallen to earth, which is where his plan falls down because the star isn’t an inanimate object but a living and rather grumpy woman (Claire Danes). It doesn’t help that the king’s murderous sons also want to get their hands on the star, as does a trio of hag witches (led by a wonderfully nasty Michelle Pfeiffer) who will use her life-force to rejuvenate themselves.

All of this leads to what is basically a romantic chase film – but one with weird and wacky characters and happenings galore (including a goat turned into a man, a boy turned into a mouse, and the ghosts of princes past chatting about their still living brothers). Best of all is the Sky Captain (Robert De Niro) who drifts among the clouds on his pirate ship catching lightning and exploring his feminine side in his downtime.

The film’s imagination and scope lead to some stunning set pieces, including an explosive climax, and (of course) this being a fairy tale it’d be wrong to assume that it doesn’t end happily ever after.

If you are looking for a family film that really delivers, or if you’re just a big kid who likes magic spells and a bit of adventure, then the charming Stardust will definitely put a smile on your face.     Dee Pilgrim