Stardust is a Wild Ride You Won't Soon Forget - Stardust Movie Review

Starring Michelle Pfeifer (One Fine Day, Witches of Eastwick), Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull) and Claire Danes (William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet), Stardust is a wild, unique ride that you won't soon forget.

What is Stardust about?

A wall, separating a realistic world, and a fantastical world of myths and legends; such as, witches, gypsies, flying sky pirates.

A young man who wants to jump over the dreaded wall to see what's beyond the boarder.

A young man who wants to jump over the dreaded wall to fetch a fallen star for his none-too appreciative, none-too sweet girl. Victoria (Sienna Miller). Tristan (Charlie Cox) is his name. He is a dork, maybe even a coward. Things look bleak for Tristan when this girl he loves so much that he would cut off the head of a polar bear to show it, tells him that she's waiting on another guy to purpose. But, when he and his girl see a falling star hit on the fantastical side of the wall, Tristan unwittingly finds a way into her heart.

The king of this fantastical world played by Peter O'Toole (Lawrence of Arabia) has sent his few remaining sons or should I say, murderous heirs to the thrown to fetch a necklace. See, the necklace flew into space and brought down the star Tristan wants so badly to give his girl. But, there's a catch.

The star is actually in the form of a beautiful blond woman, Yvaine (Danes). She wears the necklace around her neck. Her heart is a thing of legend around this fantastical world. If eaten, Yvaine's heart can promote perpetual youth and everlasting life.

Three infamous witches in this fantastical world discover that a star has fallen and set out to retrieve Yvaine's heart. But there's a catch; there's not enough star reserve for all three to go. Only one of these three decrepit old witches can eat the last part of the last star's heart and go. When she does, the dried, bald old prune, Lamia turns into the soft, blond, and beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer. In any form, Lamia is one ruthless and cunning witch. But, that's really not saying much considering how ruthless and cunning many others in this wild and crazy fantasy world are.

Tristan is the first to find Yvaine. Despite the fact that he would be delivering a tall, beautiful woman to his Victoria, Tristan insists that Yvaine come along. Of course, at first, Yvaine is not too cooperative but over time, they both discover that they've fallen for each other.

Along the way, Tristan and Yvaine befriend the captain of a lightning-collecting pirate ship, Captain Shakespeare (De Niro). He is not Captain Hook or Captain Sparrow for that matter. They didn't run around in ladies' undergarments, singing. Captain Shakespeare wants to put on a very straight and very scary act for everyone outside of his own cabin. The funny thing is that everyone on board his ship already knows what he is.

By the big finale, Tristan eventually has found his long-lost mother, and discovered something royal about himself that changes his life forever.

What I liked and disliked

The film feels comedic like a zany, Monty Python kind of way. This is a good thing but it can also be bad. People who want serious adventures of this sort should stick with Lord of the Rings. Due to the strength of the acting, the film never seems stupid despite some of the weird or bizarre things we see happening before our eyes.

If you want to movie that can surprise you, Stardust is most definitely it. If you want a movie that can entertain as well as transport you into a world of make-believe, I can't recommend any movie that has come out this year this side of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that will do it better than Stardust. The movie just might be a little too wild for some people.