Movie Notes: The Dark Crystal
= 3 stars
Starring various puppets
Directed by Jim Henson
Synopsis
A thousand years ago, a mysterious dark crystal was damaged, bringing forth a rein of terror beneath the Skeksis, wrinkly dragon / lizards. Jen, a Gelfling, sets off on a quest to heal the crystal and save his fantastical world.
The Good
- Jim Henson’s imagination is in full force, resulting in some amazing creations that seem influenced from a careful combination of nature study and mythology. The Gelflings resemble elves, the Skeksis featherless vultures, and there are just too many other creatures and worlds to mention. Eye candy galore, and a reminder of what was possible before the excesses of CGI.
- Surprisingly dark in places, especially considering Henson’s usual Muppet output. There are some disturbing scenes like the Skeksis tearing clothes off of one of their own, and another where the Dark Crystal’s glow is poured into a captured creature’s eyes, draining it of “essence” and turning him into a zombie. This ain’t Fraggle Rock.
The Bad
- The main character Jen is rather a dud. Looks confused or in awe of everything going on around him most of the time.
- Slightly derivative of other movies, namely Star Wars and The Lord Of The Rings. Jen meeting the grumpy witch Aughra is quite reminiscent of Luke meeting Yoda (which isn’t helped that Frank Oz provided the voices for both crotchety gurus), and the Gelflings are very hobbit / elf like, especially in their weak position in relation to their evil overlords.
- The climactic surprise is pretty cool, but isn’t enough to sustain the whole plot, especially with such a monotone main character.
Conclusion
While I had fond memories of The Dark Crystal and enjoyed watching it again, especially for the imaginative visualization of an alien world, the simplistic plot doesn’t hold up so well. That said, it’s definitely worth a rental if you’ve never seen it before.
IMDB: The Dark Crystal
Wikipedia: The Dark Crystal
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%