An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Matthew Vaughn.
Cast: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer
Description: Village boy Tristan is madly in love with Victoria but she only has eyes for dashing bounder Humphrey. In order to prove his love, Tristan agrees to bring Victoria a fallen star and he crosses into a magical realm, where Prince Septimus and the witch Lamia also seek the star. Tristan manages to reach the crash site first, where he discovers that the star is in fact a girl called Yvaine, who dearly needs his help to return safely to the heavens.
Country: UK. 2007. 127mins
Drowning in special effects: Claire Danes and Robert De Niro give good performances in a film which is only partially successful
Age old problem: Michelle Pfeiffer is barely recognisable under layers of make-up
All star cast: Jason Flemyng is among the many star names
Some film fantasies provide us with a world that's satisfyingly complete in itself. Some can't manage it at all. Matthew Vaughn's film, taken from the work of best-selling author Neil Gaiman, is more in the latter category. There are plenty of good things in it, but you get the feeling that it has been cobbled together with less conviction than Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series. The result is not the rip-roaring two hours in the cinema that it intends.
We begin in the sleepy village of Wall, which is named after the dry-stone wall that divides the villagers from the supernatural universe on its other side. The nice young Tristan (Charlie Cox) promises pretty village girl Victoria (Sienna Miller) that he will bring her back a fallen star from the strange kingdom across the wall.
The star, however, is not what he expects, but a perky young woman called Yvaine (Claire Danes), whose cosmic tumble has rendered her hurt but still determinedly chirpy.
Back on earth, from whence presumably she sprang, she is in danger, sought by the king's several sons - for only she can secure the throne for them - and by Michelle Pfeiffer's feline witch, who wants to tear her heart out to achieve the secret of eternal youth.
Tristan has to protect the star and begins to fancy her, though the introduction of a transvestite pirate captain and a shady trader in the mode of Time Bandits rather than anything the author wrote, make his incipient romance more difficult. That's not much more than half the plot.
But you may be glad to know that Peter O'Toole plays the old King and Robert De Niro and Ricky Gervais have some fun as the pirate captain and the trader. Ian McKellen provides an over-sonorous narrator in the good old Hollywood tradition and Rupert Everett is also there, whilst Pfeiffer has to make an awful mess of one of the most beautiful bone structures on earth with mountains of caked make-up.
Otherwise, the two principals are rather swamped by the special effects which billow around them as if there were no tomorrow. Cox and Danes are adequately fresh and charming, but a bit amorphous all the same.
Vaughn tries not only for spectacular fantasy, but for romance and comedy as well. He allows himself a few satirical swipes even as he attempts to maintain the serious tone without which this kind of film fails with its main fan base, the young. He is successful some of the time with each mode, but tends to fall back into well-worn cliché when he can't think of anything else to do.
But this remains a stout, ambitious effort from Vaughn whose previous form directing Layer Cake and producing Guy Ritchie's first efforts hardly suggested that Gaiman's colourful adventures would be a natural choice. Despite its faults, Stardust should at least be accounted a partial success - and certainly more than a failure.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
[ 1 ] [ 2 ]
I took my son (12 ) to see this a few weeks ago - we both thoroughly enjoyed it, I particulary enjoyed the transformation of Tristan into a 'dashing' and very fanciable man - all it took was a little magic and Robert de Niro's pirate as a hairdresser!
Fantastic chic flick ending too.
Pure escapism and lots of fun start to finish.
- Dawn, Islington
Well I went last Monday somewhat reluctantly and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. It is obviously a load of nonsense but as pure escapism does exactly what it says on the tin - I even laughed out load once or twice, and seeing Ricky Gervais getting his comeuppance was worth the ticket price alone. De Niro as the closet Privateer is fantastic as are his crew. Best thing I've seen in a while and I would watch it again tomorrow. Bit like riding a scooter - good fun but you wouldn't want your mates to see you doing it.
- Squiz, Islington
If it's anything like the book then it's utter drivel.
- Trevor Roll, London
Morning:
13°c
