Stardust review

PQ: 4/5
AQ: 4.5/5
movie: 4/5

I missed this in the theater (as most people seemed to), but I have been pretty anxiously awaiting its release on HD, and it did not disappoint. I think the people calling it "the new Princess Bride" are stretching the truth a bit, as it was not on that level IMO, but it is a good movie for sure.

There is nothing particularly exceptional about the story; it's basically the same standard fairy tale we've seen before in countless Disney cartoons, but it manages to remain interesting throughout, and while it is certainly not as funny or charming as the Princess Bride it has a few laughs, and I think most people would walk away from it with a smile.

I didn't particularly care for the lead guy or Claire Danes, but they do the job well enough, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Ricky Gervais are all excellent in this, and the majority of the minor characters are played equally as well.

A movie like this really needs you to care about the main characters to fall in love with it, and that is kinda lacking here, and there is also not really enough content crammed into the film itself, but it moves at a good pace, and apart from being extremely predictable and derivative, it is a lot of fun to watch and has some moment of genuine excitement. You'll pretty much know how it is going to end about 20 minutes into the movie, but it doesn't ruin the film really.

On the PQ side, it is not a show piece by any means, but it looks very nice, and it seems to be a solid transfer overall. There are quite a few scenes with brilliant color, and apart from some very minor grain during a couple of scenes, the vast majority of the picture quality is great. The film as a whole it a bit soft though unfortunately, the details are not particularly sharp and the effects don't really "jump off the screen" quite as much as they should. The color too while great looking it just a little off somehow. Like, at points, a girl will be wearing a dress so shockingly blue that you'll almost want to turn your color down to compensate, but at the same time her skin tone seems kind of washed out. The thing is, having not seen this film in any other format, I'm not really sure if these are flaws in the transfer, or simply the way the director intended the film to look. The whole movie seems rather soft with aspects that almost look blurred or desaturated, but I think they are intended to look that way...

The AQ on the other hand is outstanding, with excellent surround, tons of ambient noise, and explosive effects and music. The only reason I don't score it a perfect is that the levels are just way out of wack. I found myself adjusting the volume every few minutes as the music and sound effects were rattling the walls, but the dialogue was very soft. One scene in particular has the cast having a conversation on an airship during a lightning storm, and you can barely discern a word they are saying over the crashes of lightning. As long as you turn on some dynamic volume leveling or sit with the remote in your hand, the AQ is outstanding.

Overall, a great movie that I will definitely be watching again, but one that I could probably have upconverted to a similar level of PQ due to the style of the film. On a side note, I don't know if it was just the store I happened to buy it at, but it seemed really overpriced for what it is. I paid $34 for it using my 10% discount card at FYE, and that was including their release-week discounted price as well. I think the regular price on the tag was $39. For a strictly HD film on one disk with little extra features to speak of that seems pretty outrageous to me at this point. Wal-Mart is selling older HD titles starting at around $15 now, and I think Shrek 3 only released for $29. Why is this movie so expensive? It's not even dual format...

PQ: 4/5
AQ: 4.5/5
movie: 4/5

I missed this in the theater (as most people seemed to), but I have been pretty anxiously awaiting its release on HD, and it did not disappoint. I think the people calling it "the new Princess Bride" are stretching the truth a bit, as it was not on that level IMO, but it is a good movie for sure.

There is nothing particularly exceptional about the story; it's basically the same standard fairy tale we've seen before in countless Disney cartoons, but it manages to remain interesting throughout, and while it is certainly not as funny or charming as the Princess Bride it has a few laughs, and I think most people would walk away from it with a smile.

I didn't particularly care for the lead guy or Claire Danes, but they do the job well enough, and the rest of the cast is fantastic. Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Ricky Gervais are all excellent in this, and the majority of the minor characters are played equally as well.

A movie like this really needs you to care about the main characters to fall in love with it, and that is kinda lacking here, and there is also not really enough content crammed into the film itself, but it moves at a good pace, and apart from being extremely predictable and derivative, it is a lot of fun to watch and has some moment of genuine excitement. You'll pretty much know how it is going to end about 20 minutes into the movie, but it doesn't ruin the film really.

On the PQ side, it is not a show piece by any means, but it looks very nice, and it seems to be a solid transfer overall. There are quite a few scenes with brilliant color, and apart from some very minor grain during a couple of scenes, the vast majority of the picture quality is great. The film as a whole it a bit soft though unfortunately, the details are not particularly sharp and the effects don't really "jump off the screen" quite as much as they should. The color too while great looking it just a little off somehow. Like, at points, a girl will be wearing a dress so shockingly blue that you'll almost want to turn your color down to compensate, but at the same time her skin tone seems kind of washed out. The thing is, having not seen this film in any other format, I'm not really sure if these are flaws in the transfer, or simply the way the director intended the film to look. The whole movie seems rather soft with aspects that almost look blurred or desaturated, but I think they are intended to look that way...

The AQ on the other hand is outstanding, with excellent surround, tons of ambient noise, and explosive effects and music. The only reason I don't score it a perfect is that the levels are just way out of wack. I found myself adjusting the volume every few minutes as the music and sound effects were rattling the walls, but the dialogue was very soft. One scene in particular has the cast having a conversation on an airship during a lightning storm, and you can barely discern a word they are saying over the crashes of lightning. As long as you turn on some dynamic volume leveling or sit with the remote in your hand, the AQ is outstanding.

Overall, a great movie that I will definitely be watching again, but one that I could probably have upconverted to a similar level of PQ due to the style of the film. On a side note, I don't know if it was just the store I happened to buy it at, but it seemed really overpriced for what it is. I paid $34 for it using my 10% discount card at FYE, and that was including their release-week discounted price as well. I think the regular price on the tag was $39. For a strictly HD film on one disk with little extra features to speak of that seems pretty outrageous to me at this point. Wal-Mart is selling older HD titles starting at around $15 now, and I think Shrek 3 only released for $29. Why is this movie so expensive? It's not even dual format...

I mostly agree with your review except for 2 things. The first is audio. I really think this movie lacked here as I found the quality way below par. It sounded about as good as a regular DVD to me and I would only give it a 3.5/5.

I also think the movie should be rated a little bit higher also. Like most people I never really heard of this movie. That being said, there aren't very many movies that my wife, son and myself all equally enjoyed.

My ratings are:
PQ: 4/5
AQ: 3.5/5
Movie: 4.5/5

Good review. :thumbsup: I watched htis last night and enjoyed it a lot.

I like the gatekeeper, he was in Waking Ned Divine.

I like the gatekeeper, he was in Waking Ned Divine.
Yeah, no doubt. He was great, as were most of the minor characters like that. The dead princes, the pirates, the goatman, etc.. Definately the highlights of the movie. I liked when the farmboy got turned into the witches "daughter" and couldn't stop checking out his own rack, too funny...

**Possible spoliers below**
I mostly agree with your review except for 2 things. The first is audio. I really think this movie lacked here as I found the quality way below par. It sounded about as good as a regular DVD to me and I would only give it a 3.5/5.

I also think the movie should be rated a little bit higher also. Like most people I never really heard of this movie. That being said, there aren't very many movies that my wife, son and myself all equally enjoyed.

Aside from the volume levels of the dialogue being off, what was wrong with the audio? Everything sounded great as far as I was concerned; it was shaking my house when the star fell to earth...
I don't really understand the notion of saying that is sounded as good as a regular dvd personally... Maybe it is because the best my reciever can do is DTS, but apart from the source being a little less amped/more pure through HD, I generally don't notice a tremendous difference between the DTS through SD and the DTS through HD. Maybe my ears are untrained or my system is just lacking. Its a lower end Sony so that is entirely possible.

Anyway, as far as the movie deserving a better score, I gotta disagree wih you there.
4.5 would insinuate that the movie is nearly perfect, which is it certainly not. Apart from the fact that I figured out exactly how it was going to end in the first half hour, I never really believed that Triston was in love with the star, which is intregal to this type of plot.
Take like the Crow movies for instance. The reason the first one works so well is that you genuinely believe Brandon Lee is passionately in love with his fiance. The second movie fell apart because you never really buy into the guys love for his dead son, or give a rats patootie what happens to him in general. I felt kinda similarly in Stardust, I was more worried about certain princes and lesser characters then the leads. When Ricky Gervais's character bought the farm I gasped out loud, when they did the scene where your thought Triston had died I barely fluttered an eye.

I saw a huge editing mistake in one part as well. There was a scene where Michelle Pfeiffer's character (after aging dramatically) was using her ring to talk to her sisters, and she was suddenly young again, even though every other time she talked to them she appeared as her own age. I assume that was originally intended to be placed at an earlier point in t he film before she aged (again). I mean certainly nothing to pass on the movie over, but it takes away from its perfection I think. The ending too kinda bothered me; it was a bit abrupt, and while funny/heartwarming, I don't think it gave enough closure.

Stardust is a great movie, but I could name a dozen that I think are better in this genre, so I'm pretty comfortable giving it a 4.

Also, on a side note man, heh, call me crazy, but I don't think you need to quote my entire post when you are replying to it...especially since it is the topic of the thread...

Sorry, didn't mean to quote the whole post. I realized what I did after I posted, but I didn't feel like editing it.

I like the gatekeeper, he was in Waking Ned Divine.

Waking Ned Divine? Is that the same film that was just called Waking Ned in the UK? (about some lottery winner who died after buying the ticket)

can't wait for my copy of Stardust to make it to the UK. with it being Xmas it'll prolly take about 5 weeks to come from Amazon tho :(

Waking Ned Divine? Is that the same film that was just called Waking Ned in the UK? (about some lottery winner who died after buying the ticket)

can't wait for my copy of Stardust to make it to the UK. with it being Xmas it'll prolly take about 5 weeks to come from Amazon tho :(

Yup, same movie.

Great review! I agree with everything you said for the most part. I hadn't seen it in theaters either, so I'm not sure if the occasional softness is intentional, but it fits the somewhat ethereal theme of the story. I can't understand why it cost you so much. I bought it retail and it was $29.
The ending too kinda bothered me; it was a bit abrupt, and while funny/heartwarming, I don't think it gave enough closure.
I agree. If you haven't already, watch the deleted scenes as it expands upon the ending just a bit more. The bloopers are pretty good, if anything just for watching Ricky Gervais break character and crack up in front of Robert DeNiro.

I think that was a fair review, although I didn't think it was quite as good of a film as some of you. It was worth watching, but was really nothing special at all to me. It certainly was nowhere near as original, interesting, or funny as the Princess Bride. I mean, beyond the fact that both films are based on fairy tale themes, I don't understand how Stardust is being mentioned in the same breath as that film at all.

The Princess Bride was a very well written and often hilarious film, although it is nowhere near a personal favorite of mine. The calibur of the acting in that film was also very solid. However, in Stardust, the acting throughout was pretty flat and the dialogue was fairly boring as well. I thought DeNiro absolutely bombed as the Gay Pirate, especially. He just didn't pull that off at all, and it was so un-funny, it was embarressing. All in all, I think this film had a lot of potential but it really felt "off" in a lot of places. I don't think it will endure at all, as in 10 years time barely anyone will remember this movie.

However, it was a visually stunning movie in some parts, although not exactly a film your going to pull out to really "wow" anyone with the amazing PQ of HD DVD either. The sound, I found, was adequate but hardly ranks with the better HD DVD soundtracks I've heard so far. All in all, this was just another Ho-Hum HD DVD release, of which there has been MANY recently.

By the way, that old gate keeper also played Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He's been funny everytime I've seen his so far.

Fair enough, I agree with most of what you said, especially the Princess Bride comparisons. Princess Bride is certainly not in my top 20 movies or anything, but I definately consider it to be one of the better fantasy movies I have ever seen, and I do pull it out every few years and still totally enjoy it.

In hindsight, I think I have to agree with you on Stardust's mediocrity a bit more then I did before. I wrote the review shortly after watching the movie, and looking back it has lost a little more luster to me. I still say it's worth seeing, but if I didn't "collect" movies, I'm not sure that I would say it was worth buying.

I still say it is a decent film, and I wouldn't doubt that I'll watch it again eventually, but it is nothing I'll be pulling out every couple of years to repeatedly experience.

I apparently liked DeNiro's performance in this a great deal more then you did, but I could see why it wouldn't be for everyone, it was very over the top, almost tongue in cheek/campy, which I personally like quite a bit, especially in a movie that is so silly to begin with.

No argument on the PQ, the lackluster dialogue of the film, or the lost potential here, this could have been a great film, but its merely a good one...


I agree. If you haven't already, watch the deleted scenes as it expands upon the ending just a bit more. The bloopers are pretty good, if anything just for watching Ricky Gervais break character and crack up in front of Robert DeNiro.
Yeah, I intend to do that I just haven't gotten around to it yet; probably on the next viewing. If there are Ricky Gervais outtakes included I'd watch it for those alone; he was the best part of the movie IMO.

While on the subject of campy movies, I love your avatar/login btw; that is one of my favorite films of all time.

Thanks Noc, it's one of my favorite campy cult classic too.:thumbsup:

Finally had a chance to watch this and I loved it.

Bought it blind and a worthy addition the my collection.

On par with Princess Bride is a long stretch IMO.

-Brian

Finally got this from Netflix. Took forever. What a disappointment. It's Princess Bride meets Pirates of the Caribbean. And badly at that. DeNiro was embarrassing to watch, Claire Danes and the love interest had no chemistry, Michelle Pfeiffer's makeup was terrible, the PQ (3/5) was DVD-like and the AQ (3/5) was just OK.

Not sure I follow why "Princess Bride meets Pirates" would be a dissapointment, but you're entitled to your opinion. I personally don't think it was quite as good as either of those films are, but was still worthy of a watch in my book. Maybe I'm just starved for fantasy films...

I personally thought DeNiro was funny as all heck, but I won't argue about the leads having no chemistry, it was one of the main points of my review and one of the reasons I think the film doesn't work as a whole.

As for Ms. Pfeiffer's makeup being terrible, I don't know about that...
They managed to make a 50 year old woman look beautiful in some scenes and pretty convincingly haggard in others, which is all her makeup had to do really.

As I said in my review, I didn't think the PQ was anything to write home about, but I totally disagree about the audio, apart from the leveling it sounded great to me.

Definitely worth a rent ,but if you happen to be into this genre or fantasy type of film than it is a worthy addition to anyones collection..

I bought it blind on that assumption and I enjoyed very much so as did my little brother and nephews. Great family flicks are hard to come by

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Definitely worth a rent ,but if you happen to be into this genre or fantasy type of film than it is a worthy addition to anyones collection..

I bought it blind on that assumption and I enjoyed very much so as did my little brother and nephews. Great family flicks are hard to come by

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Very fair review! It's good, not great. Too many people compared it to The Princess Bride, which wasn't fair to the movie. It stands on it' sown as a different movie all together.

Very fair review! It's good, not great. Too many people compared it to The Princess Bride, which wasn't fair to the movie. It stands on it' sown as a different movie all together.

This is true it is its own movie and does not pretend to be anything else..

Since I have my little brother and nephews over so often I find it difficult to watch movies that they can tolerate and not bore of but also movies that are not too mature since they are only 6, 7 and 8..
Anyone who has a family or young ones knows what im talking about..

On a side note I wonder when the Princess Bride will make its way to the HD world.. I think it would be welcomed with open arms in the HD crowd...

I had my church small group over for a Stardust watching party. A number of them, who knew nothing about this movie, commented that it had the same feel as Princess Bride.

And I agree with that to a point. Both movies had a tongue-in-cheek approach to the humor, both stories were imaginative and different. Both had "feel good" endings.

Princess Bride would be a welcome addition to HDM, and I would certainly "double dip" for this movie.