Stardust

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)

Very good. When Matthew Vaughn's exuberant imagination is not enough, either Michelle Pfeiffer's ever more attractive witch or the amazingly funny Robert De Niro on a truly unique role step in with great gusto. The fantastic story and, above all, the world it creates are less appealing and holistic than, say, The Neverending Story or the still unique The Princess Bride, but I can't recall an American fairy tale where the director managed to combine a purely childish portion of entertainment with a purely adult one so brilliantly and seamlessly. Anyway, I am convinced that if Václav Vorlíček had had the same budget and technical possibilities in his time, he would have handled such an interesting subject a little more magically (though certainly not more entertainingly). 4* and a bit. (26/05/2014)

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)

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)

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)