Labyrinth

Labyrinth (1986)

Runtime: 101 minutes

Directed by: Jim Henson

Starring: Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie

From: Both Jim Henson and the not yet hated George Lucas

This movie is now gone from Netflix Instant, but I watched it Sunday night while they still had the film streaming. I had seen it only once before in my life despite being born in the 1980's. I explain it all in my Letterboxd review below:

I hope that there aren't too many people who strongly disagree with how I rated this. It has to be said that despite being born in 1981, unlike many people in my general age range I had only seen this once before; the reason for me checking it out a second time is that in a matter of hours it'll be gone from Netflix Instant. From what I remember when I first saw it many years ago, I thought it fine and nothing more; I now know my opinion hasn't really changed.

I can say that it was a very imaginative world and in this day and age I appreciate how everything-from the sets to the creatures to the effects-were done practically instead of CGI that would make it look not as real and tangible. I certainly did see the works of Jim Henson since I was very little. Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, the Muppets movies, and so much more. I did enjoy the wacky characters on display and what an imaginative world it was. It's 80's-riffic all the way but that was fine with me and I enjoyed how 80's the music was, especially the David Bowie songs.

And oh what a performance from him, between his singing, his big wig, and his overall look. I can understand why I've heard plenty of people in the past say that they enjoyed Jareth the Goblin King in a romantic way. I understand... and the incredibly tight pants he wore did not hurt either in that regard! I can say that the movie has riddles, most of them on the clever side. It reminds me that a modern day Labyrinth videogame would be perfect and if done right it would work.

However, there were some things that I was not so hot about. There are various story issues I could carp about, but I won't. I'll just say that there were story issues. Even if I hadn't seen some reviewers here mention it, more often than not Jennifer Connelly was more wooden than Pinocchio. The opening was rough until Jareth the Goblin King showed up. Sarah as a character was also pretty annoying too often. Still, I can say this is fine overall and I do understand how if I would have seen this when I was younger or I saw it more often, I'd probably also rate it higher and love it in a cult way like so many do.