Stardust

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, Stardust tells the fantastical story of a young man (Charlie Cox’s Tristan Thorn) who embarks on an epic journey involving a falling star (Claire Danes’ Yvaine), an evil witch (Michelle Pfeiffer’s Lamia), and an oddball pirate (Robert De Niro’s Captain Shakespeare). Filmmaker Vaughn, armed with his and Jane Goldman’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced yet mostly satisfying endeavor that benefits from its appealingly larger-than-life atmosphere and proliferation of engaging performances, and it’s clear, certainly, that the movie’s episodic narrative is, as a result, far less problematic than one might’ve initially anticipated – although, by that same token, there’s little doubt that the picture’s first half is rarely as engrossing or captivating as Vaughn has undoubtedly intended. (The bloated 127 minute running time does little to alleviate the uneven atmosphere, to be sure.) Stardust‘s shift from watchable to spellbinding, then, is triggered by an unexpectedly enthralling final third that culminates with a satisfying, tremendously entertaining climactic stretch, with the end result a solid fantasy film that does seem as though it might grow more and more compelling with repeat viewings.

*** out of ****