Before I get down to the nitty-gritty of reviewing the movie adaptation of Stardust, it's only fair to note that I'm a huge fan of the original comics and novel that it was based on. Between the collected comics and the book, I've probably read the story 6 or 7 times. It's the sort of thing that I can go through in a day, and it makes me feel better when I'm under the weather. As such, when I heard there was a film version coming out, I was practically giddy. Going into the movie on opening weekend, I steeled myself for definite changes to the story. After all, the trailer showed sword fighting, which was really not an element in the novel. And in fact, as the film played out, I spotted numerous deviations from the original source. However, the important thing was that this movie stays very true to the tone and intent of the comics and novel, and as such, should please any fan of either one. For the most part, the changes were made to streamline the story (though little needed to be removed, it is short enough to be considered a novella, after all), or to make it more cinematic. The characters remain mostly as they were written, the plot elements are the same, and even some of the dialog is lifted straight from the pages. For the most part, it felt as if the story was changed to make it appeal more to the average movie-going audience. In some places, this was fine - I enjoyed the more climactic resolution to the story. In other places, it was unwelcome - the ending itself was changed to be more sappy and stereotypically Hollywood, which I found to be a cop out. Overall, it's a good movie even if you're not a rabid fan of the book. It's beautifully filmed, the special effects are good, and there's quite a bit of light comedy sprinkled throughout. The actors involved put in great performances, and Robert De Niro nearly steals the show in his role as Captain Shakespeare. The one weak spot, acting wise, was the three witches. Though Michelle Pfeiffer did pretty well, and seemed to enjoy the role, there were times when the other two (who have rather minor parts) seemed like they were not really into it. As such, their parts came off almost cheesily to me. True to its nature as an adult faerie tale, Stardust has everything that a discerning teen-to-adult viewer needs in a fantasy film: action, magic, adventure, heroics, romance, and just enough jokes to show that it's not taking itself too seriously. I highly recommend it for a date night, or even a family outing.

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Copyright © 2007 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.com