Before 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' hits Netflix, here is a quick look at the 1982 cult classic it's based on
In 1982, when Jim Henson and Frank Oz created 'The Dark Crystal', the fantasy adventure movie took time in becoming a cult classic. With carefully handcrafted puppets and masterful storytelling, 'The Dark Crystal' at first elicited a mixed response, but over the years earned a reputation for itself – inspiring a couple of books, some graphic novels, and a cancelled manga.
A visually stunning masterpiece and a project that was way ahead of its time, Henson's 'The Dark Crystal' brought the magic of puppets to the screen in a unique way.
The movie is a fantasy adventure story about a Gelfling named Jen who is entrusted with the task of restoring balance to their world of Thra by fixing the titular Dark Crystal – a shard was lost thousands of years ago, and for these thousands of years, the evil Skeksis have been ruling the land.
Jen has been told by the kind wizards who rescued him (called urRu, more commonly known as the Mystics) that he is the only surviving Gelfling and it is his destiny to repair the broken crystal. But on his quest, he meets another surviving Gelfling, a young female named Kira. They join their paths to fight the evil forces and save their world.
Through the 93-minute long runtime, 'The Dark Crystal' takes us through the opposing forces that are born out of the breaking of the shard and how this division almost leads to the destruction of the world.
After the two opposing races split – with the evil, brutal Skeksis taking control and their gentle counterparts the Mystics retreating to the mountains – the Gelflings are caught in the crossfire. All of the elf-like Gelflings are destroyed by the Skeksis leaving only Jen, and as we later discover Kira.
Visually splendid, the good news is that the vast, massive fantasy universe of 'The Dark Crystal' wasn't fully explored in the movie – it gives only a brief insight into the world. This is something Netflix's 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' can take advantage of. The crisp narration, in the beginning, is just enough to give the audience an understanding of what happened, but that is set in a time period of a thousand years – the destruction, the overtaking of power, the ruthlessness of the Skeksis, and the prophecy coming into being, could be explored.
In fact, fans of the 1982 cult classic are already praising the final trailer for getting Henson's project right.
The 1982 film 'The Dark Crystal' is currently streaming on Netflix. 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' comes to the streaming service on August 30, 2019. The story of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance' revolves around a young, passionate trio who are determined to leave no stone unturned to stop the 'darkening' of the world.