I had never heard of dark crystal before they announced the Netflix series taking place in the same universe. I got curious and watched the film first and I am so not disappointed.
Few years after the first Star Wars and the first alien, special effects didn't look so realistic compared to today. But what they achieved visually is worth the 200 millions of CGI a film nowadays requires. Amazing designs and colours. There is a feeling of immersion, which I have rarely achieved watching films from early 80's.
The Story-telling is good and enjoyable once you accept this universe's basic rules, which are kind of dumb, but I'll give it a pass. This is a very enjoyable hero's journey before the era of comic-book movies and you can really feel that because everything in this film feels so honest and genuine. The film makers had really a lot of freedom and I believe there should be more films with such creative freedom in the 21st Century.
The film aged well, but you can see that the characters move and special effects are old, despite a clever use of the camera to hide it as well as possible.
An excellent surprise to discover this film, I had a great time!
Review of The Dark Crystal
