Stardust

So I went to see Stardust these evening and I have taken it upon myself to review it. So here goes.

It describes itself as "the fairy tale that won't behave" and I'm not quite sure what it means by that. But still, a fairy tale it is, and if you are expecting something with numerous plot twists and great narrative set-up then forget it. What you do get, however, is a very entertaining film, which keeps you on your toes even though you realise what's going to happen about twenty minutes in.

The premise is a simple one. Boy meets girl, boy and girl have one night stand in a gypsy caravan (hmm maybe they were right in saying it won't behave) , girl leaves child with boy. Boy becomes man, infant becomes boy (who strangely never seems to make much of the fact his mother is absent) and boy tries to get affections of another girl.

To win this girl's heart, he has to go and retrieve a "star" that has fallen from the sky as a result of an odd set-piece involving some brothers trying to kill eachother to get a throne.

The star becomes an attractive young woman, and some witches are after her to regain their youth, not to mention the throne brothers for different reasons.

What follows is somewhat predictable, but fun at the same time. The boy and the "star" begin an adventure which involves human goats, Robert de Niro being, shall we say, not his usual self, a woman called Bernard and a montage. Yes, Team America fans, there's a montage. Even Rocky had a montage. In fact, it's a double montage as two people learn to do stuff in a short space of time. How's that for value? Michelle Pfeiffer makes a pretty convincing witch (but not a convincing pretty witch, no) and clearly relishes her baddie role.

Unfortunately Ricky Gervais manages to find his way into the film. This is regrettable, given that he is unable to play anyone other than himself and he isn't even all that funny until he can't speak. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Anyway, the ending is quite well done, (if slightly corny) even though you know exactly what's going to happen.

Other than my Ricky Gervais complaint, sticking points for me included that there were about 4 different plots going on at once at one stage and they seemed somewhat disjointed. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit suspect and it was a bit "suggestive" for a fairy tale, and there are one or two plot holes, but these are but quibbles for what is a pretty fun way to spend two hours. Just don't expect any surprises.