Stardust (2007)

At first startled glance, an all-star fairy tale set in a magical alt-world of witches, ghosts and pirates wouldn’t seem the obvious successor to Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Layer Cake. Having produced the former and directed the latter, however, Brit director Matthew Vaughn clearly wanted a change from his usual milieu of Mockney crims and designer violence. As much as you welcome his decision to spread his wings, though, his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 1998 illustrated novel strays close in places to being a failure – albeit an honourable one that’s sure to woo a small but staunch audience (the sort who lapped up earlier Gaiman adap MirrorMask).

Read the full Stardust review