Film Reviews

Stardust

• Rating:
• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Starring: Charlie Fox
• Details: UK / US / 130mins (PG).

In the small English village of Wall, young Tristan (Fox), in a rash declaration of love to Victoria (Sienna Miller), promises to retrieve the fallen star that crashed to the ground not far from their picnic. Tristan is not alone is his quest, however: the star - which is in fact the beautiful Yvaine (Danes) - has fallen in the magical realm of Stormhold, and her heart is needed by the evil witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) for eternal youth and beauty. Unbeknownst to Tristan and Lamia, three princes - including the ghosts of their siblings - seek Yvaine's stardust to be king of all Stormhold. There's a lot of story in Stardust and we're to be grateful of Ian McKellen's patient narration. Matthew Vaughn directs confidently (with a penchant for the Peter Jackson BIG swooping landscape shots) and delivers a good-looking film, never allowing boredom to creep in as he keeps the gags, action and plot twists going at a madcap pace. Scripted by Vaughn and Jane Goldman from Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess's novel, the writers create an atmosphere of 'anything goes' in this mash-up of The Princess Bride, Willow, Time Bandits and whatever you're having yourself. If De Niro can camp it up as the gay Captain Shakespeare, it'll give you a taste of the bizarre happenings. The major downer is that although there's a constant undercurrent of humour, the writers miss out on a lot (read: too many) of opportunities for gags, while the comedic talents of Andrew Strong are not used to the greatest effect.

Review by Gavin Burke