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Rating:  -
Masters of the Universe is a sort of "lost classic" of the 80's. Almost anyone who lived through the 80's heard something about "He-Man" and "Skeletor"... and likely heard the phrase "I have the powwwweeeer!". That's Masters of the Universe for those not in the know.
This is the motion picture version of the franchise that brought us a hot selling line of toys, a hit cartoon series, and practically invented the modern notion of using a series franchise to sell toys and other offshot products. "Masters of the Universe has a simple enough plot. The Evil Skeletor has used a device called the cosmic key to teleport his forces into, and subsequenlty capture Castle Greyskull - and the vast cosmic powers which it somehow holds (why it has this sort of significance is unexplained). his arch enemy, the heroic He-man, has been teleported with his friends to the far off world of earth during the fighting and Skeletors forces now pursue them to capture the key and seal once and for all, skeletors place as supreme ruler of the land of Eternia.
But this is not a movie you will watch for the story of course. Even those who were fans of He-man may be dismayed to know that the movie doesnt hold firm AT ALL to the sorce material. Heman's famous tiger is missing. And his powerful sword is just a sword in the movie. Much of it indeed was thrown together and altered. You'll see bits and pieces of everything that was sucessful in 80's cinema throughout this movie. Many times it feels like you're watching a really bad version of Star Wars. Skeletor is made to resebmle the emperor from that more sucsessful franchise, and anyone who doesnt think gwildor looks like yoda is kidding themselves. The end scene of the movie practically mirrors the end of Return of the Jedi! Skeletor shooting lighting from his fingers telling heman to kneel, and finally being tossed down some sort of shaft to a firey demise... Im surprised the dont get sued! Not to mention the hover boards are certainly inspired from back to the future 2!
No you wont be intellectually or emotionally involved. What you WILL watch this movie for, is 1) Nastalgia, and 2) fun. The movie is full of fairly effective comedy and decent action. As far as cheesy 80's movies I loved as a kid go, this one doesnt make me ask myself how stupid I must have been to enjoyed it. The acting is also quite decent, although lundrin is no oscar winner. The character of Skeletor is given a very powerful voice and performance for a movie of this type (which was obviously aimed at young teen boys).
of course the problem is you cant take this movie serious... any movie with charcters named "he-man" and "man-at-arms" and has bad costumed man-creatures running around wearing plastic looking armor and fake looking weapons is bound to have problems keeping an adult audience from chuckling. This is compounded by the fact that Lundrin, while he at times puts forth a noble effort, cant deliver a very effective presence in a lead role. Not to mention everything seems a lot sillier when seen in the context of a subburban USA battleground.
But if you can let go of that and just watch this movie with a light heart for fun and for nostalgia, you'll probably enjoy it and find it to be a lot of fun and find a basic tale of good and evil, action, comedy and a half-way-decent attempt to make it a sort of "almost epic".
Rating: -
This movie, while not very faithful to the source material, is nevertheless an exceptional fun adventure. Both Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella are perfectly cast in the roles of He-Man and Skeletor. Lundgren is physically the best choice for He-Man. However, it would have been more fun if the director had stuck with the original idea of Prince Adam becoming He-Man. Frank Langella delivers without a doubt, the most impressive performance in the film. It is he who really carries the movie. Langella dominates each scene with his powerfully evil portrayal. Every line he utters and every scene he's in are not only memorable, but chilling as well. If this had been a more prestige film, he could've won an Oscar.
As for the story, Eternia has fallen under the iron fist of Skeletor and his minions. Using a teleportation device called the Cosmic Key, Skeletor has gained control over Castle Greyskull. He-Man and his companions must rally together and defeat their enemies before all is lost.
Certainly the film's biggest flaw is bringing earth into the story. The idea is interesting, but just doesn't work in terms of believablilty or practicality and ruins any chances of the film getting off the ground. One only wishes we could see more of Eternia.
Overall, this is simply a fun-filled fantasy. Don't expect this to be a masterpiece, and just sit back and enjoy it.
Rating:  -
I was a He-Man fan in the late 80's, so naturally I liked the movie as a kid. Bought it on DVD a while ago and it's not as good as I remember. Most of these reviews hit the nail right on the head: setting the action on Earth was a pretty lame idea. The special effects hold up pretty good, but according to the commentary, this film was a rush-job to cash in on the success of the cartoon, which might explain the absence of Orko, Battlecat and other characters.
Dolph Lundgren, despite his acting "talent," definitely LOOKS like He-Man, but gives a typically lumbering performance. In one scene, Skeletor commands He-Man to throw down his sword if his friends wish to see another day. After doing so, Teela says, "He-Man, NO!" Lundgren replies, "Teela, I have no choice. I do not want any more people to die." Skeletor says, "Well said, He-Man." Afterwards, you can almost see Frank Langella roll his eyes at Dolph Lundgren. Look for it.
Langella, as Skeletor, steals the movie. He gives a campy, terrific performance which gives some of the scenes a much-needed spark. Nothing more really needs to be said about him.
Warwick Davis is also entertaining as Gwildor.
The cinematography is good and the music score sounds like something that would be classic by now had it been in a better film, but overall, "Masters Of The Universe" is nothing really memorable. If you've never seen it, it's good for a rental, but don't buy it.
And, yes, that's Courtney Cox as the victimized Earth girl.
Rating:  -
While I was reading the other customer reviews of "Masters of the Universe" on this page, I was shocked at how many negative reviews there were. I absolutely love this movie! It is one the most fun movies you could ever see, and has been one of my favorites ever since I was a kid. When I was little, I had all of the toys, and watched the cartoon series religiously. Now I know that the movie doesn't stay true to the cartoon series, but you have to think of it as a seperate entity of a central idea. The makers of this film were trying to appeal to hardcore fans of the series, and also to attract new viewers to the series. In one review by Access Hollywood in the 80's this movie was hailed as "The Star Wars of the 80's" I believe that this movie is as good as Star Wars when you compare them as fantasy films. The special effects are great in this movie, when you consider the time that this movie was made. And they make a stunning transfer to DVD! This movie looks as gorgeous as it did when I first saw it in the theatre as a kid. I also love the acting in this movie. Frank Langella as Skeletor is simply fantastic. He gives a very theatrical quality to the character, and has just the right amount of sinister evil, and operatic intensity that he captures the character perfectly, without going over the top. In my opinion Langella deserved an Oscar nomination for his role, he was brilliant. As far as casting He-Man, the film makers had a quite a task on their hands, because He-Man is the ultimate super hero. Dolph Lundgren was a great choice. He had the ripped, muscular body, but could also do the fight scenes, and act as well. Other great casting was Courtney Cox, now Courtney Cox-Arquette from "Friends" where her character Monica Gellar is my favorite! Cox plays the Earth girl Julie, who becomes entangled in this battle of the cosmos. Also Meg Foster was brilliant as the evil warrior goddess Evil-Lyn. She was absolutely spellbinding. She captured the icy wickedness, and also sultry, seductive, evil beauty of the character. If I were a member of the Academy, I would have also given Cox and Foster nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Unfortunately until the recent 11 Oscar wins for the most deserving "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" the Academy did not honor fantasy films. "Masters of the Universe" was just a little ahead of its time. Don't pay attention to the negative reviews on this sight, this is truly one of the greatest fantasy films of our time!
Rating:  -
As a huge fan of He-man and She-ra, I was disappointed with this movie. The big problem- the setting! It was a big mistake to go with Earth. Personally, I wanted to see how the people live on Eternia. We could have also seen interesting creatures and learned about a new world. Some might want to claim lack of technology, but there were plenty of special effects films made prior to the computer animation we know today. If Yoda could be brought to life back in the first trilogy from 1981 surely someone could have made a realistic Orko. But back on the subject of MOTU on earth, they could have also made a more interesting storyline if they insisted using Earth. He-man's mother, Queen Marlena, is FROM earth! The movie team obviously had no problem making this a more ADULT oriented film by adding more violence and drama, so they should have gone all the way and made it even more dramatic. It would have been interesting to see had Marlena been with the group how she'd react to being reunited with her old family on Earth. It would have been a nice sub-plot. Another thing I hated was the costumes. He-man with a cape? Yuck. And don't get me started on Teela's outfit. Then there's the introduction of new characters as opposed to using our favorite ones from the cartoon. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking there were leftover toys that Mattel needed to sell so they pushed for the film to use these new guys.
Anyways, as a fan, I'll watch the movie sometimes when its on cable, but it was a disappointment then and its still a disappointment as an adult. The dialogue is cheesy and not in a good 80s way. The storyline lacks imagination, and one other thing to complain about...the laser guns! The people who made this film obviously didn't pay attention to the title--MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. There are good and evil warriors with specific skills and techniques they use for combat as any MOTU fan knows and for the characters to constantly use laser guns was just a slap in the face. Get this film if you're a fan one of the actors in it like Dolph, Courteney Cox, etc...but other than that, I don't find anything rewarding out of this film.
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