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Stardust
Paramount Pictures

Stardust reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 66 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.5 out of 10
based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 110 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risque humor

Starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jason Flemyng, Peter O'Toole, and Ian McKellen

The enchanting tale of a fallen star who crashes into a magical kingdom and turns out to be no ordinary meteorite at all, but a beautiful, imperiled woman chased after by an incredible array of seekers who want or need her secret powers. From wicked witches to power-mad princes, from flying pirates to dueling goblins, each person who encounters the star has his or her own agenda, but they all desire just one thing: her heart. (Paramount Pictures)


GENRE(S): Adventure  |  Drama  |  Fantasy  
WRITTEN BY: Neil Gaiman (graphic novel)
Charles Vess (graphic novel)
Jane Goldman
Matthew Vaughn
 
DIRECTED BY: Matthew Vaughn  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 18, 2007 
Theatrical: August 10, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: UK / USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
Floating in on an airy breeze of dreams and true love, the lively adventure-romance Stardust offers that elusive quality summer movies are supposed to possess but rarely do -- total escape.
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90
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Imaginative and intricate, but it's also joyfully casual, maybe to the point of being a little messy in places. But even its flaws work in its favor.
Read Full Review
88
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
While it won't rival the Harry Potter movies as a cultural milestone, the luminous, irresistible Stardust is no less industrious at scavenging myths and legends and making something altogether new from the familiar pickings.
Read Full Review
83
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
If you have an ounce of romance in you, you'll sense your own inner Captain Blood emerge when Captain Shakespeare turns him into a dashing figure with a dangerous sword.
Read Full Review
83
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Danes doesn't quite fit into the mindscape – she's too bland for a human star – but Cox comes of age quite convincingly, De Niro is a hoot, as is Ricky Gervais as a slimy tradesman. Pfeiffer has a field day.
Read Full Review
75
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Its sensibility stays true to Gaiman's style: heroic, wryly funny, but bloodthirsty as great fairy tales can often be.
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75
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
It's the closest the movies have come in a while to the nudgy, knowing fairy-tale enchantment of "The Princess Bride."
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75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
There's less whimsy to be found here than in "The Princess Bride," but the film is likely to appeal to the same group of older children and adults that appreciated Rob Reiner's classic.
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75
USA Today Claudia Puig
Stardust lights up the screen with a splendid tale of heroism and romance.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Unlike "Pirates," Stardust is anything but a wretched mess. It's a charming and smartly plotted fantasy.
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75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
For audiences tired of summer sequels that grind through the familiar motions, Stardust provides a dizzying antidote.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
The film's merry, enthusiastic tone--set largely by Robert De Niro, playing a giddy transvestite sky-pirate to the hilt--is hard to beat.
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75
Premiere Glenn Kenny
Stardust is an eye-poppingly elaborate fantasy that's shot through with action-movie adrenaline and attitude.
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75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Stardust is that its most winning element is neither its delightful story nor its special effects but its sly sense of humor.
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70
Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman
Immensely winning and visually arresting adaptation of Gaiman's 1998 fantasy.
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70
Film Threat Michael Ferraro
Delivers on the action front, laughs, and some great visual splendor. The only real problem with this film is the running time.
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70
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Michelle Pfeiffer is Lamia, as deliciously evil a witch as the movies have ever invented.
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70
The Hollywood Reporter Sura Wood
Diverting and pleasurable to watch, Stardust, a tongue-in-cheek sword-and-sorcerers romp bolstered by a top-flight cast, is most adroit when it plays the fantasy straight rather than sending up the genre.
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70
Variety John Anderson
Sprinkled with tongue-in-cheek humor, fairly adult jokes and some well-known faces acting very silly, this adventure story should have particular appeal to fans of "The Princess Bride," but in any event will never be mistaken for a strictly-for-kids movie.
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70
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Stardust has it all: sweetness, magic, lusty wenches, evil witches, tankards of mead, a gay pirate.
Read Full Review
67
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Stardust in a nutshell: hardly great shakes, but better and more satisfying than it first seems.
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63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
an overstuffed, overlong epic with a tongue-in-cheek approach.
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63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Brings too much of EVERYTHING to the table: It's the cinema equivalent of a long, winding, run-on sentence.
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63
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's a film you enjoy in pieces, but the jigsaw never gets solved.
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63
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Thank goodness for Pfeiffer's Lamia, a harridan who's lived long enough to get the face she deserves and will do anything to hide it. She's a wicked delight.
Read Full Review
60
New York Magazine David Edelstein
It’s puffed up in obvious ways but disarmingly puckish in others. As that capering pirate, De Niro is god-awful--yet his gung-ho spirit wins him Brownie points.
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50
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
I'm a sucker for fantasies, but this one is so undistinguished and arbitrary that it left few traces in my consciousness, apart from the impression that the filmmakers resort to cruelty whenever they run out of ideas, which is often.
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50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Ponderously plotted, poorly cast, visually undistinguished and devoid of any real verve or charm.
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50
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
It's the big stuff that doesn't really work, at least well enough to be called special.
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50
Newsweek David Ansen
Aims for a "Princess Bride" mix of whimsy and wonderment, the sardonic and the romantic, with only sporadic success. Both visually and narratively cluttered, the film diverts more than it enchants.
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50
Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
This is just a silly movie about silly things starring famous people acting all silly.
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50
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Stardust has lost a good amount of its magic in the transformation from page to screen. It's the cinematic equivalent of getting a punch in the mind's eye by a bunch of faeries wearing the coolest Doc Martens this side of Florin.
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38
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Stardust certainly could have gone somewhere fun. But the magic and zip you need to get a blimp like this off the ground is scarce.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 110 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J P gave it a10:
Wonderfully entertaining, with a surprise turn by De Nero that had me rolling with laughter.

Steven J. gave it a9:
Delightful from beginning to end. Over two hours oftotal escape into another world. Well done.

Jakob gave it a10:
An awesome film that makes you smile all the way through.

Lucie D. gave it a10:
I thought this was a masterpiece, well cast, charming story (that flows beautifully) I can't believe that of could get bad reviews after trashy plots like pirates. Its just a romantic story in a magical world, great for kids and adults. don't miss it.

Rad K. gave it a10:
I absolutely loved this movie, too bad it didn't appeal to the american public, due almost entirely to poor marketing, and also a little due to very poor movie taste here (I mean just look at the garbage they put out just to make a movie). This film is a rare treat for the whole family. I showed it to my parents and they loved it as well.

Wessel K. gave it a7:
Ariel you took the words right out of my mouth. Nice movie not pretentious at all, just made to give you a good feeling and a smile on you face... it succeeds!

Eric E. gave it an8:
Very good fantasy movie. Fairly typical story line but it kept me entertained. With the star power it had was surprised it didn't do as well as I thought it would have.

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