Stardust

Stardust is a fun movie. You can see they’ve consciously tried to make a classic, old-fashioned fantasy story. Apparently, Gaiman’s original novella was subversive because it was very frank, full of sex and gristle, but suddenly-massive director Matthew Vaughn makes everything much lighter and sticks in a whole lot of Princess Bride-style silly humour and a naturalistic, improvisational dialogue style. It doesn’t completely work, and this is no classic film, but it’s very enjoyable to watch.

Yes, ‘Classic, old-fashioned fantasy,’ really means, ‘full of clichés.’ A simple shop boy goes on a quest to find a star knocked from the sky by the pendant of a king, only to find the star is humanoid, and the two of them end up pursued not only by ‘Lilim’ witches who want the star-girl’s heart to make them immortal, but also princes whose succession relies on getting hold of the pendant. People get turned into goats and goats into people, a young man finds what real love is and all the little missing bits and pieces slot into place neatly at the end in a series of outlandish coincidences we’re inured to by lifetimes of such storytelling. Groups fighting involves waiting your turn to challenge one another, even if it means the ally you ought to have helped ends up dead, and baddies who want to kill damsels in distress don’t just do so, but give the hero a chance to come to the rescue, standing there sharpening their knives. There’s also a middle section involving the delightful idea of storm-harvesting pirates, led by Robert De Niro in a really remarkable performance…reviewers seem to have alternately loved and loathed this surprising performance, one step away from Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, but I thought it just about worked – albeit probably less well than it would’ve with another actor where shock value doesn’t force you to remember that you’re watching an actor on a screen. Ricky Gervais does his Ricky Gervais thing, and Michelle Pfeiffer puts in a deliciously devilish and cackling performance that works a charm. Charlie Cox is an effective romantic lead, able to carry off gauche chump and charming champ well. Clare Danes goes well with him, reserved and petulant and just plain ordinary enough for the role to work, her strange accent somehow adding a little to the cuteness of the character with a propensity to glow when she’s happy.

There are some imaginative scenes (the swordfight at the end is one of the most remarkable pieces of choreography you’re ever likely to see, and the weak witch’s futile duel with her queen is somehow quite awesome – and the ghostly onlookers are an inspired addition) and stunning effects (an inn growing out of nothing, some great miniatures work), so if you can forget the camera shots recycled from Lord of the Rings and the usual tropes of purposely generic writing about young heroes and witches, this is a lot of fun.

Billing it as ‘The Fairy Tale That Won’t Behave’ was a mistake, suggesting a zany subversive comedy. This was very much a classic epic with a few interesting moments and a whole lot of old chestnuts.