Light-hearted fantasy adventure with a love story at the heart
There's swordplay, magic, betrayal, comedy, and romance. Michelle Pfeiffer throws herself gleefully into her role as the witch Lamia. Prince Septimus oozes slime as a cross between Prince Humperdink and Professor Snape. And Robert De Niro's Captain Shakespeare is... indescribable. Charlie Cox as Tristran and Claire Danes as Yvaine (the star) manage to hold their own with the impressive cast of villains and supporting characters.
After re-reading the book, I was impressed at how closely the movie tracked the story. Incidents were expanded or contracted, minor characters were removed or replaced. I did think the climactic battle got a bit overblown after a while, and I really missed one aspect of Una's character which is revealed near the end of the book. But the movie actually does a better job of portraying the developing relationship, which sort of comes out of left field in the book.
Overall, Stardust does it right: change the details, or even the structure if you have to, to make it work in a different medium. But stay true to the heart and spirit of the book.
After re-reading the book, I was impressed at how closely the movie tracked the story. Incidents were expanded or contracted, minor characters were removed or replaced. I did think the climactic battle got a bit overblown after a while, and I really missed one aspect of Una's character which is revealed near the end of the book. But the movie actually does a better job of portraying the developing relationship, which sort of comes out of left field in the book.
Overall, Stardust does it right: change the details, or even the structure if you have to, to make it work in a different medium. But stay true to the heart and spirit of the book.
- Kelson
- Sep 16, 2022