Reviews: Labyrinth (1986) Movie Review
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Our review of Labyrinth (1986) dives into the story, the scares, and whether it truly delivers the horror fans crave.
Labyrinth (1986) is a British-American family adventure film filled with musical and fantasy. Director and co-writer Jim Henson (Sesame Street (1969), The Dark Crystal (1982), Labyrinth (1986), The Muppets (2011)) did a marvelous job executing this family oriented movie. My family watches this movie at least once a year and does not get tired of it. There are a few comedy moments in the film that will have your family laughing out loud. Labyrinth also has a few hidden messages about family.
Labyrinth revolves around 15-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly - Requiem for a Dream (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Blood Diamond (2006), Hulk (2003)) who landed herself in trouble after she wishes him away. Sarah was babysitting her infant half-brother Toby (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014)) who cries a lot. She was furious that he now has her treasured teddy bear named Lancelot and could not tolerate his crying anymore. She did not think anything would happen and wished for the Goblin King Jareth, who is a character in the play she is rehearsing for school to take Toby away. The Goblin King (David Bowie - Basquiat (1996), The Hunger (1983), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)) told her where Toby is and then took her to his kingdom.
Jareth refuses to give Toby back to Sarah, and the only way she can get him back is if she solves his Labyrinth within thirteen hours or else Jareth will turn Toby into a goblin. Will Sarah be able to solve the labyrinth with all of the obstacles that are thrown at her or will Toby become a goblin? The special effects were nicely done along with the costumes, makeup, sound, cinematography, editing and production. All of the actors, well except for Jennifer Connelly, did a phenomenal job with their roles and could not have been any better, even baby Toby, who was so cute and adorable. Jennifer Connelly acting skills in this film were not believable and unrealistic. I gave this movie a seven and not a higher score because it had a few plot holes, goofs, and the dialogue at times can be weary. Overall, it is an excellent family movie that every family should see at least once.
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Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Labyrinth Rating Scores
- Our Score: 7/10
- Overall Score: 6.78/10
- IMDB: 7.3/10
- MetaCritic: 5.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 7.7/10
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