Stardust

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. Derived from a Neil Gaiman novel, the story involves a wall separating a mundane English village from a supernatural parallel universe on the other side. This might have been interesting if the production were unified by a particular style or vision, but it’s nearly all filigree, including the decorative overload of stars (Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Rupert Everett, Ricky Gervais). At least Pfeiffer and De Niro seem to be enjoying themselves. Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) directed and contributed to the script. PG-13, 130 min. (JR)

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