The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Is a Stone-Cold Masterpiece
118 comments
·March 14, 2025dash2
globnomulous
Nicely put. I like Lauren Oyler's formulation of a related thought, in her review of a work by Otessa Moshfegh, when she refers to Moshfegh's "bored manipulation of the fallacy that the more unpleasant something is, the truer it must be."
https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affe...
Edit: and for the life of me I could never understand what anybody saw in that vile show "Euphoria." It seemed so obviously just to want to do nothing but luxuriate in its own vulgarity and graphicness and expected audiences to be very impressed by how big everybody's feelings are. Same for "The Power of the Dog," which was as unsubtle and uninteresting a melodramatic turd as I've ever seen.
Micoloth
To be fair-
I was agreeing very much with both parent comment and yours, until your edit.
I loved Euphoria.
> graphicness - Was it graphic at all? > how big everybody's feelings are - Were their feeling that big? > It seemed so obviously.. - Maybe obvious to you? This might say more about you..
I found it brilliant and at times ironic and self aware and very explicit about what its target is (I think it's very much for teenagers)
So i don't know if it is a good example of this trend at all.
Just to say how nuanced these things can be, i guess...
the_af
> The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult"
Oh, how I agree with your comment!
This is a bizarre trend I've also noticed. Also unfortunately helped with the "adult" monicker for anything showing sex, which is in reality generally more aimed at horny teenagers and so-called "young adults" rather than grownups.
fellowniusmonk
Another similar conflation is Serious with Somber. Taking an issue seriously can be amusing as hell, it all depends on what mood allows you to best explore the problem space, if you are serious about knowing or solving an issue you won't necessarily lock into a particular mood in that exploration.
ericmcer
Oh man yeah I hate this trend.
It has especially worked its way into popular literature. A books writing is at a 5th grade level, has almost zero depth, but then is full of sex and violence which makes it an "adult" novel. Authors like Sarah J Maas are almost comically bad writers but have achieved immense popular success using this setup.
guyzero
54% of [US] adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level - https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-s...
Not surprising that books like this succeed.
metalliqaz
Agreed. People just can't read. I think this is one of many upstream causes of the current political landscape. When faced with reading a corporate financial statement, any laws, scientific papers, municipal budgets, or even an article in WSJ or The Atlantic, people are unable to proceed. So a defense mechanism comes up: "it's all just lies, anyway." Then they go and find a tweet or watch TV.
metabagel
This may also help to explain why politicians who express themselves with a limited vocabulary can be surprisingly successful. And the implication is that other politicians should probably do so as well.
pjc50
America gradually reinventing the Japanese "light novel". Or even its own "pulp" tradition, which these days are only remembered for their cover art rather than any of the content.
7357
Can I mention Jay Kristoff as well?
FrustratedMonky
Also, maybe related.
Ultra-Violence is for all ages, great for kids.
One small shot of side boob -- OH NO, that is ADULT, porn.
chachacharge
Gizmodo and all of gawker media= useless waste of electricity
OisinMoran
Hard disagree with a lot said here. Watched both the film and this series (though haven't got around to finishing it yet) for the first time last year, and the series lacks a lot of what makes the film great.
The film has some interesting zen-like qualities like duality, and a more complex set of morals. The series just feels like most modern creations with a pretty bland right vs wrong.
The film is also almost entirely practical effects, which are incredible (the behind the scenes footage is amazing), while the series leans a bit too heavily on CGI in parts, which detracts from the action a bit (à la LoTR vs The Hobbit).
Given this piece I might go back to finish it now (and from another comment possibly upgrade my TV), but I still think I'll prefer the film.
donatj
If you have not seen "Princess Mononoke", I highly recommend it. I rewatched it recently and the people and creatures on both sides of the conflict are neither really good nor evil. Just two opposing forces with different goals.
It offers a level of subtlety I have not seen often in film, particularly since Star Wars.
tmountain
Very common in eastern storytelling. Ghibli films are some of my favorite for many reasons, but I particularly love how they contrast ideas.
icu
I think Studio Ghibli's 'secret sauce' is the "Kishōtenketsu" or four act structure that makes Studio Ghibli special:
1. Ki (Introduction) - Sets up characters and situation.
2. Shō (Development) - Expands the characters and fleshes them out.
3. Ten (Twist) - Introduces a new element or change.
4. Ketsu (Conclusion) - Shows the outcome and connections between elements.
In contrast Western films usually follow a three act structure:
1. Setup - Introduces the hero, often stepping into the unknown, and establishes the initial conflict and sets the stage for the story.
2. Confrontation - The hero faces mounting challenges and conflicts, often involving threats to innocent people or community. Stakes are raised and the story progresses to a conclusion.
3. Resolution - The story culminates in a climatic confrontation between the hero and the villain. Some sacrifice is usually paid, the hero triumphs, justice is served and order returns to the community.
I grew up on Disney and the three act structure, so when I experienced Studio Ghibli for the first time with Princess Mononoke it felt very different, fresh and more mature. While I don't necessarily love all of Studio Ghibli's catalogue, I do treasure Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso.
In the case of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, I highly recommend reading the manga over watching the Studio Ghibli anime.
OisinMoran
Yes, I have—it's excellent! I'm a massive Mononoke fan (and Ghibli in general, though I've still got a few I haven't seen)
thelaxiankey2
Somehow a lot of TV seems far more subtle (or at least nuanced) to me than popular movies. The Wire or Scavengers Reign are a couple off the top of my head.
jhbadger
Yeah, the whole point of the original is that the Mystics and Skeksis were both flawed societies (even if the Skeksis were closer to the normal meaning of "evil") and the ending unites them rather than having the Skeksis destroyed.
engineer_22
The Netflix show is a prequel, setting up the story of how the gelfling were wiped out
jhbadger
Right, but it still takes place after the Mystics and Skeksis split off from each other. The Gelflings were really just irrelevant bystanders to the real story even if we the audience see the story from their perspective in both the movie and show.
techterrier
Given it was so obvious that the team had bottled lightening with this creation, it stands as a monument to the failure of bean counter driven programming. Surely any creative person looking at the quality of this work would have kept this team in the groove. It's not like they didnt have the money.
They could easily have made the cash back on some reality thing that cost nothing but made bank.
ReptileMan
I mean they had to finance rebel moon, the idol and the electric state.
This is what I also hate about the gaming industry. If you have a team that works good - find something to do for them.
The guys behind Prince of Peria lost crown were brilliant in every aspect. And Ubisoft disbanded them instead of giving them time to get their footing. But we have a bloated AC:Shadows crap coming our way.
hibikir
A great game, but one that had a very poor product market fit. It might be better than most games of its genre, but it also had a much higher budget, and with that, a much higher price. People buy metroidvanias for 20 or 30, on steam. They released elsewhere, for $50. They didn't have to just be very good, but make Hollow Knight and the like look like relics, and they didn't. The closest thing at selling at that price was Metroid Dread, and it did only fine, not great, despite carrying a higher value IP.
They were always doomed by the budgetary limits, kind of like how the latest Indy movie was doomed to lose money unless it was as big as Avatar.
stevenwoo
The other handicap for The Lost Crown is Ubisoft always puts its games on sale at a steep discount in much shorter time window than other publishers so they have taught patient gamers to wait.
ekianjo
> The guys behind Prince of Peria lost crown were brilliant in every aspect.
You seem to assume that people want to keep working together forever. Gamesdev can be really intense and for a lot of devs the end of a game is the opportunity to part ways cleanly and try something else.
lsllc
I thought the Rebel Moon duology was a little so-so ... until I watched the directors cut(s). F-ing fantastic. If you haven't seen them go watch it -- so so so much better than the original release(s), different movies really, they even have different names: Chapter One: Chalice of Blood and Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness.
Really good stuff IMHO, I suspect it was the movie(s) Snyder actually set out to make.
hoofedear
I'm gonna disagree with the comments here and vouch that Age of Resistance is a fantastic show. It's what got me into the world of Dark Crystal in general. I saw the show first and then the movie, and I feel like the show perfectly setup the events that lead up to the movie. Even if the show unfortunately was cancelled before it could explore Deet's storyline, the creation of the Garthim, and the discovery of the Wall of Destiny. Sure, the rejoining of the UrRu and Skeksis is interesting, but it's certainly not the "whole point" of the movie/show.
duxup
I love the film. The film is a real masterpiece.
I'm struggling to get through the series. That ultra clunky opening narration is not a great sign and the world building and underlying plot feels shallow in the series.
I'd LOVE for more Dark Crystal content but I would like them to start over...
yownie
just so you know there are some graphic novels that accompany the new series.
sleepybrett
I do not agree w/ this in relation to the Dark Crystal series. But I see parallels in the Star Wars series Andor. Many will skip it because 'it's star wars', but it's a great series in star wars costume. The three people I've pressed into watching it came away with very favorable reviews.
There are some kinda deep cut star wars references that non-fans will miss. Mon Mothma the political head of the rebellion is seen only sparingly in the original trilogy and in rogue one (scenes were shot for her in the prequels setting her up as politically aligned with Padme and Bail, but they were cut) is a main character here. Other characters like Saw Gererra only appear in the clone wars series and Rogue One (a film for which this series is a prequel). However this didn't seem to effect my friends much only one of whom had even seen rogue one and the prequels, the other two only having seen the original series.
I'm so glad that it got a second season and am very excited to see it play out.
trentnix
If you liked the original, you should absolutely watch Age of Resistance. It’s not a masterpiece but it was clearly made by people that care about the original, its legacy, and its lore.
pavlov
I remember this was the first HDR program I watched on my new OLED TV back in 2019, and the experience felt like all my life I'd been watching TV with foggy sunglasses that had been suddenly removed.
It's a really beautifully shot show.
donatj
The first season of Westworld was this far me. Started it the same day we got our first HDR TV. Blown away.
donatj
How strange, the most positive review I heard from anyone I know was that "It ruined my childhood" and that it let's say "craped" on the source material. Mind you these are the nicest things people said.
I have not seen it nor the original film to be fair, but this is quite literally the first positive thing I have heard about it.
icu
If you're a sci-fi and/or a fantasy fan I really recommend watching the original film and the prequel in that order and make your own mind up.
I was young when the original came out so I found it good but scary. I felt the prequel was excellent and it left me wanting more.
These days I feel a lot of my youthful nostalgia has been vandalised for a quick corporate buck. Probably the worst has been Willow on Disney+.
There are so few examples of good follow-ups to nostalgic media. The only other example I can think of is Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
the_other
I found Blade Runner 2049 painful to watch. The story is ok, but the presentstion, with its reliance on memes from the earlier film, ruins it for me. Also, the principle malevolent force is vacant and tepid. The story would have been better without him. If they’d just set it in the same world, without trying to look and sound like thenold film-but-updated, I’d have liked it… but they brought back Harrison Ford just for nostalgia, and copied loads of the shots and music. Sorry, no, they didn’t copy those things, they ‘extended” them. Copied-but-bigger. The story might have stood by itself without pandering to the entitlements of fans of the ealier film and I wish they had been brave enough to make it more unique.
icu
I need to rewatch in light of your criticisms. I focused on the film taking on the theme of what makes a human. In light of the AI developments since the film's release in 2017, and Her in 2013, I wonder a lot about the ethical issues around a slave class of intelligence.
the_af
> There are so few examples of good follow-ups to nostalgic media. The only other example I can think of is Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
I know this is controversial, but I disliked Blade Runner 2049. It feels made by someone who just didn't get Blade Runner and was both copying it mechanically in parts, and improvising unfaithfully in others. (Coincidentally, I liked Arrival but the changes Villeneuve introduced to make it more "sentimental" ruined the reigned-in emotions in Ted Chiang's piece -- again it felt like he just didn't "get it").
I obsess about Blade Runner -- to me almost every scene is artwork, and the music is amazing. The plot? I mean, yes, there are plot holes aplenty, but I don't think this movie is truly about the plot, beyond the philosophical themes.
Blade Runner 2049 in contrast seems so cynical and shallow to me. It just didn't work.
PS: also, the insufferable Jared Leto. And the non-entity that is Luv. While Blade Runner has the best anti-hero ever in Roy Batty... and the best dying speech (vs Luv's "I'm the best!". Ugh).
ultimafan
I feel the same way about Villeneuve's last few movies, I don't think it's that controversial, I've had some people agree before. He seems to be very good at visual, audio effects, 2049/Dune both looked and sounded absolutely great at parts. But the writing, dialogue and respect for the source material is absolutely subpar, Dune part 2 was especially laughable and bad enough that the first time I tried to watch it I walked out halfway. It seems to be a trend in movies/shows that regardless of how alien the setting is everyone talks like how someone in Hollywood THINKS intellectual teenagers imagine themselves talking like when they've had several hours to think of a witty comeback to some situation. Too much snark, too many quips, too many jokes,it's like the idea of a movie taking a silly or absurd concept seriously for more than a minute without baiting a laugh from the audience is something to be embarrassed about.
domador
What happened to Willow?
moate
Did you not see the TV show? It had a bit of production hell (Jon Chu from Wicked was going to direct, and had 2 different people come in after him) and was very uneven, cancelled after 1 season. They buried it so deep it's not even on Disney+ anymore and it only came out in late 2022.
https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/willow (notice you can only see clips/trailer)
icu
I think it was objectively terrible, certainly I found it almost entirely unredeemable except for very few CGI scenes (the wizard magic wand training sequence if I remember correctly) and a very golden set piece at the end.
Disney then canned it and I'm pretty sure they removed it from Disney+ for a tax write off.
stuckinhell
Yea I feel the same.
tempodox
If you want to watch it:
https://archive.org/details/the-dark-crystal-a.-o.-r.-episod...
moomin
I don’t know if I’d go quite so far, but it is very good. The Chamberlain remains a piece of work, and Lena Headey sometimes feels like she’s still on the set of Game of Thrones.
tunesmith
I'm actually surprised to read the opinions of people who watched it and didn't like it. I thought the problem was always just that not enough people knew it existed, but if they watched it, they would have loved it. I guess I must just be in the camp of "who WOULDN'T want to watch high-budget puppetry for ten hours??"
devenson
I feel the same way about Farscape.
The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult", so let me take the chance to point out this common mistake. Horror films, Warhammer 40K and 2000 AD comics are all famously dark, but they're for kids or teens. A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Importance of Being Earnest are light but grown-up. It's a weird deformation of the past generation to think that being depressing makes you deep.