Stardust

Director Matthew Vaughn (LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS) takes his experience with credible crime capers and applies it to the fantasy genre in this charming but not too precious adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel. The many threads of the story intertwine seamlessly, unfolding at an unforced pace that complements the movie's magical special effects. Charlie Cox (CASANOVA) stars as Tristan, a somewhat bumbling shopkeeper's assistant in the sleepy English village of Wall, so named for the stone barrier that separates it from the magical realm of Stormhold. Tristan is in love with the beautiful, dismissive Victoria (Sienna Miller), who much prefers her other suitor, Humphrey (Henry Cavill), since he has traveled all the way to Ipswich to buy her an engagement ring. Tristan, in a last-ditch effort to win Victoria's affections, offers to bring her a fallen star they've just seen, and she agrees to marry him if he can deliver.

Unbeknownst to Tristan, he is the product of his father's (Nathaniel Parker) sole excursion to Stormhold, where he had a tryst with a mysterious slave girl (Kate Magowan) who said she was a princess. As Tristan retraces his father's steps he discovers that the "star" is actually a beautiful young woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes) . A trio of witches, led by a delightfully wicked Michelle Pfeiffer, wants to capture Yvaine to cut out her heart and gain eternal youth, while the three remaining sons of the recently deceased king (Peter O'Toole) compete with one another to find the gem Yvaine wears around her neck. With special effects that never outshine the performances and a sweet story peppered with hints of Gaiman's dark sensibility, STARDUST is a truly enchanting fairy tale.

"STARDUST is a beguiling pastiche of storybook magic....It's deftly put together....It's the closest the movies have come in a while to the nudgy, knowing fairy-tale enchantment of THE PRINCESS BRIDE." - Entertainment Weekly

"[A] refreshingly funny fairytale....The charming Danes shines brightest here." - Box Office

3 stars out of 5 -- "A steady stream of star cameos buoy the narrative and Gaiman's source material is well served by the script writers..." - Uncut

3 stars out of 5 -- "Pfeiffer and Strong ensure the story boasts some great bad guys, and Vaughn certainly knows how to make it all look great." - Empire

"[L]ush and whimsical....Brimming with charm and CGI and full to bursting with Proppian folktale staples." - Sight and Sound

4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]o full of unselfconscious fun and adventure that you can't help but be swept up by its charms..." - Ultimate DVD

"Sophisticated in its execution, it is a movie that possesses a child's whimsical sense of wonder that propels the action, coupled with an adult sensibility that gives it emotional heft." - Los Angeles Times

3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here are enough witty touches to make it sparkle." - Total Film

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