Labyrinth (1986) Reviews

Labyrinth es un filme polémico en más de un sentido de la palabra, y seamos sinceros, desde el comienzo a nadie le interesó la trama a la hora de evaluarla, porque es simplemente demasiado confusa y disconexa para que sea coherente. Lo que realmente importa es lo meta y los efectos especiales.

Las marionetas que hay dentro de este film hacen ver a cualquier CGI lucir más acartonado que juego de PS1. No sólo lograron hacer los diseños únicos, sino expresivos y con movimientos vividos. Hay veces en que pones en duda si es que no son reales. Mismo caso con los personajes, las actuaciones dejan que desear. David Bowie tuvo una cara tiesa cada que aparecía y Jeniffer Connelly no te daba mayor impresión que la de una ingenua de anime sacada de un harem inverso. Las personalidades de Jareth y Sarah tuvieron bastante carisma con lo peculiares que son aun con esas. Supongo que es más por la vestimenta y las esferas de cristal que Bowie hacía girar cada tanto.

Ya sabemos que el tipo era un cantante por lo que hay música suya cantada por él en plena película y aquí empezamos con lo malo de verdad. Me gusta el soundtrack, como no, pero no me gusta cuando interrumpen el curso de los eventos. Puedo saltarme esos segmentos y la cosa sigue idéntica. Pero saben, no es como que sea para crucificarle porque, como les mencioné, el guion es random con conveniencias por doquier. No importa que hará Sarah, automáticamente reaparece en el último punto donde se quedó por acción de un compañero que se encuentra por el camino. Por supuesto que dichos personajes son agradables con buena caracterización y excelentes diseños. Eso sigue demostrando que Sarah no pudo resolver este lio sin ayuda de los demás. Se siente muy predeterminado y fatalista, como si una deidad hiciera esto, y por deidad me refiero a Jim Henson, con el poder de la escritura.

Es más notorio al percatarte que las localizaciones están esparcidas de tal modo que no siguen una lógica. Entiendo que es parte del truco, es un laberinto que se supone se transforma a voluntad de Jareth. Sigo pensando que sería mejor si Sarah tuviera idea de lo que se encuentra en vez de reaccionar a cuál extrañeza ronde por esos lares.  

Sin embargo, no negaré que esto le da una identidad única que ninguna otra obra tiene, la unión de la música de Bowie, los seres fantásticos, el setting alíen, el poder de Jareth, hasta los goblins te dejarán una impresión no esperada. Que sea en esencia un isekai sin convenciones de ese género por ahí en los ochentas añade a la experiencia.

Aún con la aleatoriedad, el objetivo es muy bueno. La cantidad de tensión y riesgos que pasan los personajes es muy alta sin contar que difieren los unos de los otros. Además de ello, la película está repleta de escenas de acción y peligro. Hasta tiene segmentos que podrían considerarse de terror con contenido perturbador. Si por las emociones hablamos, esto es una montaña rusa. Eso se intensifica con que es una carrera para salvar una vida y la sanidad mental de la protagonista ¿Qué más puedo pedir?

Con respecto a lo que sea que quería transmitir, me ha gustado bastante. No soy muy dado a dejar pasar una obra porque tenga un mensaje, pero cuando ese mensaje hace que los personajes maduren emocionalmente, confronten sus miedos y valoren sus familias, las cosas tienen más peso.

El final, bueno, es muy extraño y tiene demasiadas ambigüedades (maldita sea, por qué los isekais que me gustan terminan así). De alguna forma Sarah derrota a Jareth con un mambo jambo respecto a que es un personaje de ficción o quien sabe que excusa se inventó Henson. El final no es tan bueno como pudo serlo si al menos hubiera cortado la conexión entre ambos mundos y que Sarah pudiera decir chao, chao a sus amigos. Tampoco estaría mal que expliquen cómo esta magia existe en primer lugar porque simplemente aparece de repente en la vida de esta chica, aunque tampoco aclaran eso así que al cuerno.

Aquello que me refería con lo meta viene porque es la última película de Henson y uno de sus proyectos más ambiciosos y apasionados. Diablos, el tipo dedicó su vida al arte de las marionetas y nos entregó este trabajo tan esmerado audiovisualmente. Por supuesto que eso no repara los problemas, pero que quieren que les diga, esto es lo que llamo un trabajo pasional e inspiracional. Aparte, es el único isekai occidental que he llegado a ver y me ha gustado del todo. Los personajes son queribles, los efectos magistrales, la imaginería sobresaliente y el atractivo elevado. Lo que no sabría decir es si se lo recomendaría a alguno de ustedes. Es demasiado enredosa y necesitas bajarle a tu suspensión de la realidad para siquiera considerarla mirable. En caso que puedas pasar esos inconvenientes, tendrás una de las películas de fantasía más divertidas que podrías ver. Ahora lo único que deseo es un remake a lo The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance y señores, que sería una experiencia de vida. 

Apartado visual: 10/10

estilo 2/2 (único y detergente)

movimiento 2/2 (fluido)

fondos 2/2 (detallados)

Cinemáticas 2/2 (cool)

Efectos especiales 2/2 (excelentes)

Apartado acústico: 10/10

Actuación de voz 2/3 (great)

Banda sonora 4/4 (Dance Magic, Dance)

Mezcla de sonido 3/3 (great)

Trama: 5/10 

Base 2/2 (interesante)

Ritmo 2/2 (ameno)

Complejidad 1/2 (algo)

plausibilidad 0/2 (nada)

Conclusión 0/2 (rara y llena de cabos sueltos)

Personajes: 7/10

Presencia: 1/2 (reactiva por las conveniencias)

Personalidad 2/2 (todos)

Profundización 1/2 (algo)

Desarrollo 2/2 (hasta el bebe)

Catarsis 1/2 (forzada, pero tienen)

Importancia: 8/10

Valor histórico 3/3 (clásico)

revisita 1/3 (difícil por su contenido)

Memorabilidad 4/4 (único y detergente)

Disfrute: 7/10

cool

Calificación: 6.5/10  

FOR THE HONOR OF DAVID BOWIE

Well this was the film what i choiced to watch for the honor of great David Bowie. He was talented and charming in this movie. Never imagined that he can act so well.
Such like Jennifer Connelly, who was talented as well and insanely beautiful like always.
The sets, backgrounds, practical effects and dolls were amazing. Masterful work i have to say. Very impessive and detailed. Love to see this kind of cinema, because you can see the movie makers talent and passion to their work in the screen. This is one of the reasons why i love movies.
Sound desing was also done well. Musics was catchy, performed and written by David Bowie himself.
I liked the story too. Very fairy tale-like and little bit thrilling too. Run against time to solve the labyrinth.
Good film.

Rest In Peace, David.

It is one of those 80’s classics I wanted to watch for many years. Eventually, I thought it was rather difficult to judge this movie. You can actually sum up this movie with the animated owl at the beginning. On one hand, it looked terribly cheesy and was not really convincing. On the other hand, more than 25 years ago, it was the very first attempt at a photo-realistic CGI animal character and, from this point of view, it was actually quite impressive. I mean, the story was decent but nothing really original and I never understood why in so many of those movies (see also ‘The Neverending Story’ or ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’), the main character starts in our world and, then somehow, travel to some fantasy realm. I understand that it is a probably a way to allow the viewers to identify themselves with the main character but it is a rather tiresome and boring gimmick since you have to wait for a while before the adventure finally get started. Furthermore, at least 3 times, they suddenly started to sing a song and I thought it didn’t match at all with the rest of the movie. Adding to this, those songs were really average even the ones sang by David Bowie. Concerning Jennifer Connelly, I was rather neutral concerning her. I mean, it was pretty neat to see her when she was very young but I can’t say I was really impressed by her performance. Still, I enjoyed most of this flick anyway. Indeed, the whole thing looked really awesome with some great monsters/goblins/weird creatures. Not only they looked great but the way they moved was also really impressive. In this age of CGI overdoses, it was really refreshing to see some physical effects. Like I said before, even though the plot was nothing really original, it was still entertaining enough. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

"I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."

Following the success of The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson's production company had to raise the bar for their next ambitious feature. Keeping in tradition with Henson's prior film, the state-of-the-art puppetry would be heavily employed to create a captivating fantasy world. Henson's eye for detail remains unsurpassed regardless of contemporary CGI that beleaguers modern fantasy films. The world of Labyrinth depicts an extensive cast of Gothic Muppets with a number of humans hurled into the mix. Mind you, the image of David Bowie with those nightmarish pants is even more frightening and eccentric than any of the puppets!

Labyrinth is one of those movies that one absolutely adores as a child, however the magic allows for a high standard of enjoyment as an adult. Personally, I never viewed this film as a child as I wasn't fond of the particular fantasy style. Unfortunately that image stuck in my mind for several years...and I'm extremely glad to have finally visited this magical and imaginative spectacle. We have Henson's artistic ideas with George Lucas as executive producer. On top of that, former Monty Python member Terry Jones carrying out the scripting duties. What is the result? A charming, adorable and frequently amusing production that is guaranteed to entertain a wide range of audiences. In addition to being an entertaining fantasy adventure, the film is abundant in lessons about growing up.

A young teenage girl named Sarah (an adorably youthful Jennifer Connelly) feels neglected and misunderstood by her surrounding family. To escape from the teenage angst facing her, Sarah finds comfort in her own fantasy world. One night, Sarah is left alone to baby-sit her baby brother Toby (Froud). Sarah is fed up with Toby's endless crying, and wishes for the goblins from her favourite book to take him away. Her wish is granted...and Jareth the Goblin King (Bowie) takes Toby to his castle. Sarah immediately regrets her wish, and desires to rescue Toby. If she cannot reach Jareth's castle in 13 hours, Toby will be condemned to a lifetime of existing as a goblin. To reach the castle Sarah must navigate through an expansive labyrinth filled with mythical creatures, goblins and illusions.

The screenplay for Labyrinth is permeated with effectively conveyed messages: be careful what you wish for, in the heat of the moment we can never decide what's best for us, and to never take anything for granted. These lessons relate to the target audience of children, as well as relating to teenagers and adults alike. In addition the film contains principles and attitudes in relation to growing up: Sarah is trapped in the uncomfortable phase between child and womanhood, i.e. she has reached adolescence.
Screenwriter Terry Jones is capable of inserting subtle humour into the film. As a former part of the Monty Python troupe, he includes numerous hilarious one-liners. The screenplay is only flawed for frequently becoming corny and cheesy. At times it's so lame one will cringe with embarrassment. But hey - it's aimed at children, so we can overlook this.

Jennifer Connelly was still extremely young when she starred in the film. Despite her young age, her acting is impressive.
David Bowie pulls of the goblin king extremely well. His prime talent is singing, thus his role calls for songs as well. I'm surprised the film didn't receive an 'R' rating on the basis of David Bowie's terrifying pants! Those pants are the stuff of horror movies!
The rest of the cast are either puppetry or actors wearing an elaborate costume. These creatures look surprisingly realistic. They have a practical screen presence and seem far more convincing than creatures made entirely out of CGI that grew common in the decades following the release of this film.

Overall, Labyrinth is an above average fantasy flick from the mind of Jim Henson. The special effects and puppetry are top-notch, there are some creative ideas, the 80s music is terrific and it's easy viewing. Children will easily find themselves immersed in this high quality of filmmaking. There are a small amount of technical flaws, but audience will still find themselves transported somewhere else during this wonderful fantasy adventure.

7.5/10

love dis movie

After being told how amazing this movie was year after year, I finally managed to sit through it. I like Neverending story better.

My brother and I watched this movie so many times on VHS that the audio at the beginning was all warped and off. But it leveled out as after the credits.

Sarah has wished her annoying baby brother away, and it's up to her to go into the labyrinth and solve a few puzzles, and avoid some dangers to get him back in a mere 13 hours.

Great music by David Bowie (who is perfect as the Goblin King), a very young Jennifer Connelly, and a cast of unusual and crazy puppets to guide her along the way.

Watch it through the second time to pick up interesting things in the background.