Stardust is a pleasant adult fairy tale about a young man who goes on a quest that tests his ability to love and his courage in facing those who are enslaved to power. Tristan Thorne (Charlie Cox) is a curious young man who works as a humble clerk in a shop in a small English village called Wall. He is madly in love with Victoria (Sienna Miller), the prettiest girl in the area who has plenty of others who are entranced by her physical beauty, including a conceited fellow named Humphrey (Henry Cavill).
One day Tristan and Victoria see a falling star that appears to land just over the horizon. He promises to bring it back to her as a gift to prove his love. She tells him he only has a week before she will become engaged to Humphrey. Tristan makes his way to the stone wall on the edge of town, which is believed to separate his world from a fantastical realm. Eluding the guard, he manages to break through to the other side, a place he learns is called Stormhold.
Tristan soon finds a large crater and the fallen star, who happens to be in the form of a beautiful woman, Yvaine (Claire Danes). She's a feisty young woman who has hurt her leg in her cosmic tumble through space. The last thing she wants to do is be taken by Tristan to his love interest. At one point, a unicorn helps her escape. But eventually she and Tristan begin traveling together.
They face a series of challenges along the way. Septimus (Mark Strong) is the scheming and ruthless son of the recently deceased King (Peter O'Toole). He's looking for a gemstone necklace that Yvaine is wearing in order to solidify his kingdom. Another evildoer is Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), one of three sister witches who want to be forever young. They need to get the warm heart of a fallen star to achieve their goal. Lamia uses black magic to do everything from turn humans into goats to pull her cart to creating roadside inns to trap unsuspecting travelers. One of the unfortunates who crosses her path and pays dearly is Ditchwater Sal (Melanie Hill), a curse-wielding sorceress whose slave Una (Kate Magowan) is someone Tristan is destined to meet. The biggest surprise comes when Tristan and Yvaine find themselves aboard a flying ship commanded by Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro), a pirate who is not what he seems to be.
Stardust is directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn based on a novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Charles Vess. The film admirably mixes humor, humanity, and the sense of adventure that propels all quest stories. Here Tristan comes of age in the magical realm of Stormhold and returns home a different person with a new perspective on himself and the one he loves. That, of course, is what fairy tales are all about: the spiritual process of transformation.
Special DVD features include bloopers, five deleted scenes, and a featurette "Good Omens: The Making of Stardust".
