Stardust

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Sir Ian McKellan introduces us to the young "Dunstan" (Ben Barnes) who hops over the wall and encounters a young girl, enslaved by an enchanted chain. Neither are slow on the uptake, and into her wagon they go... Nine months later, a package arrives at their door and we meet "Tristan". Many years later, he (now Charlie Cox) proves to be a bit of a chip off the old block, and when told of his progeny decides that he, too fancies a trip over the wall. This time, though, he wants to fetch a piece of a fallen star for his love "Victoria" (Sienna Miller). On his search, he encounters the beautiful "Yvaine" (Claire Danes) without realising that she is the personification of the star and that both are now the targets of the nasty witch "Lamia" (Michelle Pfeiffer) who wants the star to restore her power. Right from the start, this film consists of an entertaining series of escapades with a strong, characterful, cast including a mischievous Peter O'Toole as a king quite content to see his children fight to the death for the right to succeed him; and Robert de Niro as the captain of a flying pirate ship notorious for his menacing and dastardly deeds (but who has his own not-so-well hidden secret). The story is engaging, sometimes quite amusing, and the visual effects - especially towards the conclusion - work well with plenty of chemistry between Danes and Cox. It's too long, there's no denying that, and maybe we could have condensed the first twenty minutes better, but Pfeiffer is a good baddie and there is plenty of action to keep it going. Not sold on the Take That song at the end (apparently, neither was Miss Pfeiffer), but it's still a well crafted fantasy adventure that I quite enjoyed.