Stardust - Movie Review

Rating: PG – 13
Starring: Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Peter O Toole, Ian McKellen, Claire Daines, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller
Director : Matthew Vaughn
Genre : Adventure, Fantasy
Violence : Moderate
Profanity : Minor
Sex/Nudity: None
Recommended for: Dads & Kids
Age Groups: 13 +
Release Date: August 10, 2007
Run time: 128 Minutes

Stardust deals with a young man's quest to win the heart of the woman he loves. In order to prove his love he undertakes a journey to retrieve a fallen star far beyond the boundaries of his village in a mysterious and forbidden land. Based on Neil Gaiman's novel, the story is a magical tale of love and sibling rivalry. Brought to life with amazing special effects and with a talented onscreen cast, Stardust is set to leave both kids and parents starry-eyed.

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Tristan Thorne (played by Charlie Cox) lives in the English town of Wall. The town is built beside a magical wall that acts as a portal to the kingdom of Stormhold. Stormhold is ruled by a dying king (Peter O Toole) who has seven sons all plotting and vying to usurp the throne. In order to stop the rivalry and decide which of his sons will succeed him, the King hurls a ruby into the sky. The ruby knocks a star out of the sky. The king states that the son who acquires the ruby will succeed him on the throne. Tristan, a young villager, also sees the falling star and pledges to the love of his life Victoria that he will retrieve the star for her.

The movie manages to transport Dads and their kids into a fairy tale land with a story line that has traditional fairytale like characteristics. Like most fairy tales, there are witches, beautiful women, and a hero or prince who saves the day.

Kids will enjoy the fantasy theme woven around the love story. Dads might like the numerous twists to the tale. The humorous nature of the characters of Captain Shakespeare played by Robert De Niro and the ghosts of the late king's sons help to lighten the mood of the movie.

The key moral that the film tries to put forth is that true love is not always found where you expect. This is an excellent moral to promote abstinence in teens and can be used to broach the topic with your teen later. Dads can also draw on the subtle themes of gallantry, self-sacrifice and the battle of good vs. evil. On the negative side, dads could use the portrayals sibling rivalry and backstabbing to caution their kids.

The movie has some implicit sexual content and violence, earning it its PG 13 rating.

The lavish settings combined with the fantasy based storyline can provide an overall enjoyable experience for everyone.