Stardust - the Movie

I must say, sometimes we get pretty lucky down here at Star Clipper. I know Ben mentioned that we got to go and see Stardust today, about two months ahead of time! And as you know, I'm not a big Neil Gaiman fan, but the trailer looked pretty good, and hey, a free movie is a free movie, right?

I guess I didn't expect too much, really I expected I wouldn't like it all that much. Boy howdy was I wrong! What a great movie! It was fantastic! Everything about it, the acting, the sets, the scenery, the cgi, all of it. I had expected something much more serious, and when it needed to be, it was. But more so it was funny. Oh sure, it might have been more of a deadpan dark funny at times, but there were plenty of just outrageous moments. At one point the main character Tristan (Charlie Cox) is told in a very dire warning that he must board an approaching stage coach at all costs or all is lost. Tristan barrels through the woods towards the road, leaping to grab the coach, only to miss and slam right into the side knocking himself silly.

Now guys, don't worry, this isn't just some fantasy comedy type thing, it's also action packed. There are some great sword fights, and more then a few grisly, if satirical, deaths. Think of it more like Princess Bride. An action packed comedic fantasy romance. And seriously, how much of a reason do you need to watch Claire Danes run around in slinky curve hugging dresses? Michelle Pfeiffer was also quite pleasing, and Kate Magowan is just...bewitching as Tristan's mother Una.

Some of you (a few!) might be wondering how it stacks up against the illustrated novel. Well, as I mentioned earlier, I'm not much of a Gaiman fan, so I had never read it. However, I felt that before writing this I should at least read over some of it, just for this very purpose. And let me say this, this movie is not an adaptation, such as 300, this was a "Based on..." type of movie. "Inspired by..." even if you like. It's not a direct adaptation. For starters, and I'll just leave it there, no pointy ears. You heard me right. It's still a world of magic, just not the world of Faerie. I think it actually works better that way. First, you don't have to explain why it's called Faerie, and not Fairy. I mean, that would turn people off right away.

On the McNamara sliding scale of movies, I would rate this at about +6 for quality, and a +8 on the fun. Robert DeNiro in a dress is worth 2 points anyway you slice it. Check out their website over at Stardustmovie.com There are still a couple of months before the movie comes out, so it's not quite all the way done - but it's certainly has it's moments.

-Dan