This movie had so much potential!! A brilliant cast, wonderful photography, and most important, a truly enchanting book as a basis--and its author, Neil Gaiman, was involved with production. But most of the magic was left between the pages of the novel. There are individually wonderful moments in this film--and Michelle Pfeiffer is completely irresistible as the wicked witch Lamia--but the movie is very uneven as whole.



The truncation of the end of the book, and the decreased role of the people of Wall in it, throws the film off balance. The interpretation of Captain Shakespeare is unfunny, and his making eyes at a certain party in a final scene is ridiculous, and not in a good way. The revelation of certain secrets, although we suspect them all along, is made too suddenly, part of the reason that the end doesn't really feel as if it pays us off.



The movie is definitely worth watching if you like fantasy, special effects, are a fan of one or more of the actors involved, and won't feel cheated by what happened to the novel on the way to the screen. Do note that there are some really violent episodes which small children (and maybe some older folks too) may find upsetting, especially during the final scenes. More stardust might have helped.