Review of Stardust (2007) by Spangle — 24 Apr 2016

There were moments where I truly hated this film. There were moments where I truly loved this film. I honestly do not even know where to begin when it comes to corralling my thoughts on Stardust. The acting is very good.

Charlie Cox does a great job, as do Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and I loved the small role for Ricky Gervais. The prince brothers are also quite good and all very entertaining. The film is a well-written fairy tale and really lifts you up into this fantastical world where anything is truly possible.

In this fashion, the film is very well-written and does fairy tale incredibly well. Stardust is as enchanting as it should be and is a beautifully romantic film with incredibly unique elements in its corner.

However, in the negative, the ending is telegraphed from a mile away. The second the film began, anybody walking in could tell you how it was going to end, especially the big "twist" at the end.

Did they think they were being discreet in hiding it? While the writing is solid, the film seems often too concerned in following the story structure of a classical fairy tale story instead of blazing its own trail and saying something mildly unique.

Instead of profundity, we find nothing but "love conquers all". A nice message sure, but damn is it ever repeated a lot. With Stardust, I am entirely stuck between being swept up in the fantasy it conjures and writing it off as a wholly derivative and insipid experience.

Thus, I am truly perplexed about my own feelings on the film. I would call it "mixed", but the film feels better than just this. However, even "mixed" sounds too good for a film like this.

My opinion on Stardust will likely never be finite until I sit down and watch it again, but for now, I am left feeling completely underwhelmed at this pretty poorly paced, yet sometimes decidedly magical and enchanting film.

If it could figure out what it wanted to be, maybe my task here would be a far simpler one.