Stardust Review - Some Minor Spoilers

I finally saw Stardust last night, and I said I'd review, so here goes.

The movie was, in a word, delightful.

It deviated quite a bit from the book in places, especially in the end, and I have to say I think I like the movie better. One of the best things about it were the unexpected bits of humour that kept coming out. Stuff that wasn't really that funny in the book, but then you see it in the movie, and you're like, that was really funny, why wasn't I laughing when I read the book? In particular, the interactions of the brothers who are all trying to kill each other is hilarious, and there's this one great scene when Captain Shakespeare is bargaining with this guy, and the dialogue is just priceless. And speaking of Captain Shakespeare, Robert De Niro was suprising and wonderful in this role. And am I remembering things totally wrong? Cuz I don't remember Captain Shakespeare being a drag queen in the book... But even if it was a significant departure from the book, it worked well.

And you all know what I thought of the ending of the book. It was a total letdown, completely anticlimactic. The ending in the movie was totally different, and I think it worked better. They may have dragged out the final fight with the witch a bit too much, but still better than the book. And the ending was much more happily-ever-after than the book was. The book was much more bittersweet, which is fine, I like bittersweet. And I think the bittersweet ending suited the book, but the movie really did need a happy ending, which it certainly got in spades. In fact, the extreme happiness of the ending actually made me cringe, just a tiny little bit. But not enough to dampen my enthusiasm for the film as a whole.

So that's my review. Highly recommended. I actually wouldn't mind seeing it again. And that doesn't happen very often for me (not counting Harry Potter). So go and see it. I promise you won't be disappointed.