Stardust

After the two films I've seen from Vaughn (Kick-Ass and this) I'm still not convinced he's much of a director, but he's definitely a cool wingman. Stardust is a not-so-cleverly story edited affair (enough things here could have been resolved in dialogue and didn't need to be unnecessarily shown) that has little will to mask its social budget and devotes its own shot, if not scene, to every digital special effect, no matter how bad. You even realize at the beginning of the film that you hate everything that's been there so far. And yet without it, the gradual coming of age of not just the hero, but the story, probably wouldn't work. First you're delighted with details like the hillbilly Yvaine, the envious witches, the blue blood, and the brotherly shenanigans (with, again, the unbelievably perfect Mark Strong), then the whole direction the film takes with lots of perfect digressions to round out the plot, the best of which I would consider to be the relationship between the fearsome Captain Shakespeare and his crew of cutthroats. And I still enjoy the pirate rapists' tough-guy gesture to this day. "Now remember, Captain Shakespeare has a fearsome reputation." (03/05/2012)

Undoubtedly the biggest cinematic experience from the films of recent times. It is a very pleasant fairy tale fantasy, and very well acted, cast, and thoroughly handled both in terms of direction and script. An impressive romantic spectacle about the search for love and success in life. Contrary to some reviews, I don't think it suffers from poor set design. Scenes with the airship are among those that I will always remember, and as a boy, that's exactly the kind of airship I dreamed of. In several scenes, the authors poke fun at fairy tale stereotypes and lighten the storytelling with jokes and thrilling battles. Intrigues, passions, fights - simply everything that an audience can appreciate. With the exception of really young children (because the film does contain some more drastic scenes), the film is truly for everyone. Overall impression: 95%. (31/01/2009)

An engaging story with a pleasant esprit of British dry humour and finally, after a long time, a fairy tale that does not make a fool of the children and delights the adults with its wit and the originality of its setting. I'm sure I'll read something by the oddball Gaiman sometime. Matthew Vaughn has grown up, and the likeable De Niro hasn't had such a rewarding role in a long time (his "travesty dance" in The Wardrobe is, I'd say, a rare moment in his long acting career). I don't mind the visibly limited budget at all, because this film has a soul and that's worth it. The slightly rushed finale is a bit of a pity perhaps, but otherwise it’s a very nice film. (25/12/2007)

Although in terms of technical aspects I can find all sorts of issues, except for the excellent soundtrack, in terms of pure emotion, Stardust affected me like few romantic / fantasy films... I immediately found connection to the likeable heroes, I smiled at the jerky humor, the imaginative choreography and joyfully light storytelling, through which Vaughn masks a relatively forgettable artistic vision and a (lack of) feeling for strong composition. Visually, Stardust is really just a mixture of proven techniques and bad CGI effects, which reveal that 70 million was simply not enough... However, the incomplete impression of the kingdom of Stormhold literally drowns in a nice impression of the story and great characters (especially the central couple and the famous De Niro, who turn a good movie into a great spectacle)... in my opinion Matthew Vaughan managed to create a less than magnificent fairy tale with a big soul. Unfortunately, today's viewer likely prefers magnificence. (01/10/2007)

A wonderful family movie made even more special thanks to Gaiman’s imagination and his feeling for story. Marvelous casting, from the beautiful Claire Danes all the way down to the horrible Peter O'Toole;everybody fits their roles perfectly and Vaugh demonstrates that he really knows his stuff. Why can’t life be a fairytale like this too? (28/04/2011)