I thought it had been a while since my last film review so here is a review of 'The fairytale that won't behave'; Stardust.
Stardust is a fantsay adventure thatis both the perfect fairytale and one of the most originol plots I've seen in a very long time. Featuring treasures, kings, witches, pirates and magic; this film is one of 2007's greatest box office sucess stories.
Stardust was directed by Matthew Vaughn and features a star-studded cast (No pun intended) including Robert De Niro, Claire Daines, David Walliams, Rupert Everet, Ricky Gervais, Mark Strong, Michelle Pfeiffer and many more.
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The film opens in the small English village of Wall, unknown to the residents, their quaint little village shares a border with the fantastical hidden kingdom of Stormhold. A guard is posted at a gap in the wall to prevent anyone passing through, at the start of the story, Dunstan Thorne evades the guard and meets a young slave girl in the local market. 9 months later a baby arrives at the foot of the wall guard.
19 years later and Tristan Thorne (the baby) has grown up and dreams of courting the girl from down the road. In order to win her favour and gain an advantage over a competing suiter, Humphry, he vows to cross the wall and collect a fallen star.
The star in question was knocked from the sky by the pendant of Stormhold's dying King who has sent his 7 fratricidal sons to capture it. The stone has lost it's colour, claiming that only a son of Stormhold can restore the ruby and the King's last words, each of the 7 princes then methodically (And amusingly) assassinate each other until only Septimus and Primus are remaining.
To assist his son, Dunstan reveals the identity of Tristan's mother and supplies him with a Babylon candle, a magical devise that can take the bearer to the place they wish to be most. The candle is lit but Tristan breifly thinks of the star and is taken to the crater where it fell only to discover that the star is in fact a beautiful woman called Yvaine (And she is wearing the pendant).
Tristan takes the star with the intention of returning her to his bride to be. As they travel it becomes clear that he was not the only person who wanted the star. A group of fanatical witches are seeking Yvaines heart in order to gain eternal youth, led by the queen of witches Lamia, they pose a major threat to Tristan's efforts.
After a run on with the witches that they barely escape, things go from bad to worse when Tristan discovers that Prince Septimus (Now the only remaining son) is seeking him out for the pendant, after a number of dramatic conflicts (One of which involves a highly amusing Captain Shakespeare (De Niro) prancing around in dresses and fighting to the can can) each character is in a race against time to reach the wall. Tristan realizes that people from the magical world cannot cross into the real world and attempts to stop Yvaine before she crosses, just as he does this, Lamia arrives and captures them along with a slave girl she caught before hand (Tristan's unknowing mother) and takes them to her lair.
Septimus and Tristan arrive at the castle and barge in on the 3 withes and a scene of magical chaos ensues, after a worthwhile last stand, Septimus is killed. Thinking that he has won the day, Tristan moves towards Yvaine, but Lamia has one more trick up her sleeve, using a voodoo doll, she brings Septimus back to life for one last fight. Once Tristan has dealt with the witches using the raw power of the star herself he takes the ruby from the floor to return to her, in his had it turns red. Una (the slave girl) reveals her identity as the missing daughter of the dead king, making Tristan the surviving male heir to the throne.
Tristan and Yvaine are wed and become the rulers of Stormhold in a stunning coronation scene featuring a guest list of all major cast members.
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One of the main reasons as to why I enjoyed this film so much was it's level of unpredictability, with most fairytale plots the viewer can easily guess what is going too happen next, this is simply not the case with Stardust. Which each new scene the audience is transported to another area of fantasy that is both totally original and inspiring, be it a flying ship that catches lightning or a cosmic star that is actually a human.
Special effects and CGI also play a major role (As is the case with most films) but is not over used and has been well placed in the film by adding to the sense of fantasy without making everything seem overly artificial, the conflict between Tristan and the witches is particularly well executed.
I would highly recommend this film to anyone of any age. Featuring a good mix of love, drama, action, magic and thrills it makes for a wild and enthralling production.
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