The prequel to Jim Henson’s 1982 film has a nice retro vibe and is unexpectedly topical, but ultimately is a prime example of ‘Netflix bloat’
This is Netflix at its best and worst. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance treats a niche fandom to a luxury rendering of the world they hold dear, taking its time to build a mappable fantasy realm teeming with details that will repay repeated viewings and fuel endless nocturnal discussions. Few linear broadcasters would consider it and, if you can’t step fully into the series’ domain, you might soon think they had a point and that this is a gauche folly.
The new series is a prequel to the cult 1982 film The Dark Crystal. That was, in essence, Jim Henson and Frank Oz suddenly screaming in Muppets fans’ faces, handing them rotten darkness instead of clean fluff. Whereas the protagonist there was one of the few survivors of the kind, elvish Gelflings, battling against the patently nefarious Skeksis tribe, here Gelflings are still plentiful and are, apart from the clutch of intrepid heroes, unaware that the Skeksis are not benevolent rulers. So if you’re approaching this in search of escapism, be aware that it’s about an attempt to stop reptilian autocrats fully implementing a rapacious dictatorship.
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