Masters of the Universe
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Movie Reviews of Masters of the Universe
Movie Review: "Good Journey"
Summary: 5 Stars
I grew up with the He-Man cartoons. They used to be on early in the mornings before I went to school then sometimes it would change to the afternoons. I even use to have the action figures and Castle Greyskull. This movie is the adaptation of the original cartoon, He-man and the Masters of the Universe.
In the movie you have He-man (no role for Adam) played by Dolph Lungren (played Ivan Drago in Rocky 4, and Frank Castle in the The Punisher). Meg Foster, who you can't miss because she has those enchanting deep blue eyes, (from They Live) plays Evil-Lyn, and Frank Langella (Dracula, Superman Returns) is Skeletor. Courtney Cox (Friends, Scream) plays Julie the earthling. James Tolken (Mr. Strickland from Back to the Future) is the police detective on the Eternians tale along with Julie's boyfriend Kevin.
The movie starts out on He-man's homeworld of Eternia. Skeletor picks up where he left off in the cartoon. He is looking to rule Eternia and possess Castle Greyskull. The hitch is that Skeletor is actually victorious in taking the Castle. The sorceress is taken prisioner and Skeletor demands He-man to surrender as well. Skeletor was able to take the scorceress by suprise with the help of a magical key that was created by Gwildor (Billy Barty). Gwildor was seduced by Evil-Lyn who can change into whatever she wants as she is an evil scorceress. He-man was able to intercept Gwildor and he agrees to help He-man to right what went wrong. Skeletor finds out that Gwildor has another key ("the little worm has another key", said by Evil Lyn). He-man, Teila, Man-at-arms, and Gwildor try to rescue the Scorceress in Castle Greyskull until they get cornered. Gwildow activates the key and escape into the gate-----appearing on Earth. He-man and the Eternians try to locate the key that left their possession in transit and save Eternia before the scorceress is drained of all her power. Skeletor would be victorious.
On earth you meet Kevin who stumbles upon the key that the Eternians lost. Skeletor sends a "pitifull quartet", as he describes his soldiers (Beastman and other mercenaries). Will Kevin keep believing the key is nothing more than a keyboard full of musical tones? Will He-man and the Eternians be able to get back to their world and save the scorceress? Will Skeletor finally be victorious by taking over Eternia and enslaving He-man?
All of this equals great action and a pretty good storyline. The acting was great. Many critics slammed Frank Langella's performance as Skeletor but he made a terrific villian (remember Dracula 1979??). Meg Foster was as usual gorgeous yet dangerous. James Tolkan was pretty good as the comedic detective looking for Kevin (kevin called the police when Julie was missing). Detective Lubic didnt believe a word from Kevin until he meets up with He-man and the Eternians as well as Skeletors soldiers armed to the teeth. All in all this was a great movie that mixes action, sci-fi, and fantasy. It's not the blockbuster type but its a great cult classic for anyones DVD collection.
Movie Review: So Bad it's Good, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSERE has a certain ' Wessonality.'
Summary: 5 Stars
Somewhere along the line, while HE-MAN, the animated series/half-hour toy commercial was at its peak, some enterprising, self-proclaimed studio genius must have said, "Dolph Lundgren! He'd be a perfect He-Man!" The error lay, of course, in not realizing the differences between the two: one is a lifeless, two-dimensional caricature of masculinity; the other is a cartoon character.
So instead of a faithful adaption of the cartoon series, the producers offered this stripped-down rendition (scaled back, one would suppose, to accomodate the thespian abilities of its star). Lundgren -- blond, brawny and with a set of pecs that would give Dolly Parton pause -- plays the superhero locked in an eternal, epic battle with Skeletor, a power-crazed supervillain played by scenery-shredding "superham" Frank Langella. They move through the story, such as it is, as statically as their counterparts in the afternoon kiddie cartoon.
Langella, (made up to look like Jack Palance with leprosy), aims to take over the planet Eternia, a war-torn paradise ruled by the Sorceress of Greyskull Castle ("St. Elsewhere's" Christina Pickles, wearing what appears to be a chandelier on her head), but her champion He-Man opposes him with his mighty sword. The titanic battle is brought to Earth when a brilliantly grating little troll (Billy Barty) magically transports them to Colby, Calif., via his Cosmic Key.
Actually they were headed for another planet, but a stray power bolt (or perhaps a chintzy producer) altered their orbit. Why build an out-of-this-world set when you can just go down to the mall and shoot off sparklers? So Earth waitress Courteney Cox and her boyfriend Robert Duncan Mitchell are drawn into the otherworldly warfare when they happen to find the key, mistaking it for some sort of Japanese stereo speaker.
Director Gary Goddard had previously created mythical kingdoms for Universal Studios -- "Kong on the Loose" and "Conan." And let's just say he hadn't quite made the leap from tourist traps to feature films. The actors are basically on their own -- either hamming it up behind a mask ( Langella), or nearly numb (Lundgren). It sounds as if the Scandinavian-born muscleman had been studying under Stallone's diction coach, but he has a sort-of-sweet, shining charisma, grinning and glistening, wearing thongs and things and accentuating his hunkiness with plenty of grease. (It takes a lot of Wesson Oil to make a movie like Masters of the Universe.) Goddard later went on to direct the live action segments for the Terminator 3-D ride.
Over the years, Hollywood keeps threatening to remake He-Man. Please -- Make them stop.
Movie Review: Pure Fun For Fans Of The Series, Or Fans Of Fantasy!
Summary: 5 Stars
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!Movie Review: One of my favorite movies
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Master of the Universe. I'm 19 years old and worshipped the cartoon show. I did the see the movie when it premeried back in the 80's and have owned it on VHS for a long time. I was glad when I saw it on DVD two years ago and I'm so glad I own it.Masters of the Universe tells the story of He-Man. He-Man is the champion of Grayskull and it's up to him to stop Lord Skeletor and his armies from Snake Mountain from destroying the lands of Grayskull.
Dolph Lundgren was the perfect He-Man. He wasn't the original choice as He-Man as Orion wanted the part to be played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. I'm glad Arnold didn't get the part because Dolph was so perfect. He looked like the cartoon He-Man. He had the hair, the swagger, and the build. Dolph has always been a great action actor. This is one of the better films he has ever made.
Frank Langela is a perfect Skeletor. The make up and effects they used to make him look like Skeletor are fantastic. He has the swagger and personality that Skeletor protrayed in the cartoon and it's great to see it by a real person. It's a great sign of great acting.
I liked Courtney Cox a lot in the film. It was like love at first sight for me. It was great seeing her become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and it's awesome seeing her humbling start in a film like this. Julie is a great character for her and I can't think of anybody else I would have rather seen play the part.
I like the score from Masters of the Universe a lot. It was done by Bill Conti and it is good enough to rival a John Williams score. The brass in the score is fantastic. I'm a trumpet player and as one I dream about playing something like that medley.
The special effects in Masters of the Universe are great. They remind a lot of Star Wars. A lot of people have been critical about how much the blasters and stuff compare to Star Wars. To be a realist though why wouldn't you want to copy Star Wars one of the greatest special effect movies of all time. The ships and gateways and explosions are great in Masters of the Universe. If you like special effects it's definetly a movie for you.
I love this film. It's one of my all-time favorite films. I loved it as a child and I love it as a 19 year old young adult. It's a great film. It has action, humor, special effects and a great story. It's a must see for all He-Man fans. It's a great family film.
Movie Review: MOTU: Wore the old vhs out, so had to get it on dvd.
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, why are alot of you reviewers upset about this film taking most of its place on Earth. I mean, if not Earth, we'd be seeing nothing but people fighting in the desert. Becuase, that's pretty much what Eternia is, it's a desert type of land. So, in saying that, I think that Earth was a cool idea. Also, the interior and exterior of Castle Greyskull were very nicely done. The acting is a bit "meh," but the action is awesome, especially the whole hoverboard scene. Also, one reviewer was saying how the hoverboard scene was taken from Back to the Future Part 2, but, you're actually mistaken. I watched an episode of He-Man on Masters of the Universe Season 1 Part 1, and the bad guys were riding around on hover-like devices. So, I'm pretty sure the hoverboards were from the cartoon, not from BTTF 2. Also, the special effects were nicely done. EX: That laser-like whip that Blade had, the plasmic energy stuff that came out of Skeletor's hands, the cosmic key, the laserss from the guns, etcetera. Another thing, He-Man, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, Evil-Lynn and Beastman all did a good job looking like their cartoon counterparts. The Sorceress and Teela's costumes were a bit altered, but, still, they looked cool also. So, all-in-all if you really think about it, this movie did stay true enough to the cartoon, though it did have some alterations to it. The score, also, was amazing. That theme to this film really gives a heroic promise. I loved it. And, when Eternia was filmed, it looked like that of the cartoon. And, lastly, watch this movie on DVD, not on television or VHS, because the picture and sound quality are at its greatest when watched on DVD. I mean, it makes Masters of the Universe a 10X's better film when the pic. and sound quality is this awesome. But, even if you have the VHS, it's still an awesome film. So, make sure to watch it.