From the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy, It's Retro Nerd Girl with a film review for you.
Today I'll be reviewing the movie Masters of the Universe released in 1987.
Starring:
Dolph Lundren, Frank Langella, Courtney Cox.
Directed by:
Gary Goddard
Genre:
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rating:
PG
Budget:
$22,000,000 estimated
IMDb Rating:
5.3
My Rating:
8.1
Synopsis:
This movie is the live action answer to the early 80's animated TV series, He-man and the Masters of the Universe. In this movie a hero named He-man, sworn to defend planet Eternia and the doorway to the powers of the universe, castle Grayskull accidentally travel with his band of Eternians to planet Earth in order to recover a cosmic key that will defeat his enemy, Skeletor and stop him from ruling the universe.
Enjoyment:
I liked it much more than the majority of people who have watched this movie. In fact, this is one of my favorite movies.
Master's of the Universe wasn't the movie I wanted or expected, but I still enjoyed it and watch it several times a year if I can. The tone of this movie is quite darker than fans expected, now devoid of it's bold color fans were accustomed to on the animated TV show. And even though it wasn't realistic to repeat that, the filmmakers went in a completely different direction creating a more darker alternative universe with an apocalyptic feel. I actually enjoyed that difference. In many ways the dark concepts were both creative and foreshadows what live action hero movies would eventually become, a vast departure from the original work.
Pacing:
It's an hour and 46 minutes long. That's not too bad. It starts out very action packed but then nearly stands still as soon as the characters are placed on Earth, New Jersey to be exact. There were a few unnecessary scenes and jokes that could have been deleted and not even change the story one bit.
Story:
The story revolves around Earthlings Julie and Kevin. Eventhough their story is interesting it wasn't in line with what the audience expected. As well, the movie had too many characters and suffered from not really knowing how to tell a story about the Eternians. It was marketing to kids for new toy sales, but ignored the things that made the TV show's audience fall in love with it. They missed the mark. The funny thing is that the actual TV show has the exact formula needed to make this film a success.
Challenge:
Skeletor is one of my favorite characters in this film. If you are not familiar with the 80's animated TV Show, Skeletor is an evil sorcerer who is hell bent on ruling Eternia... and the universe. Many critics expressed that they felt the character was "over-acted", but I feel he was extremely entertaining.
To be honest, Skeletor is a psycho who has not only just come into power, but is afraid of it being taken away. He has lost his mind. When one of his men beg for mercy he replies, "I am not in a giving vain this day." which is a modified line from Shakespeare's Richard the 3rd who suffers the same psychology. They are both deformed, unmerciful and afraid of loosing power feeling denied of it for so long. He's crazy and it's fun watching a character like that, because hopefully in our real lives no one acts like this guy. I thought Skeletor was more accurate to the TV show than any other character and the most entertaining, for me.
The character is so obsessed with having it all that he never gives and inch to his followers. It's laughable how many times Skeletor says the word "mine".
My second favorite character in this movie is Blade, who is one of Skeletor's mercenaries. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but when he's there he brings a sense of excitement to the screen. You don't get to know much about him except for one line he says just before he fights He-man, pretty much saying that he's dreamed of the moment that they could duel each other. And it's just enough to make him stand out among the crowd of challengers. It makes you wonder how far back does this rivalry go.
Blade is a part a team Skeletor calls a "curious quartet". These are mercenaries sent to retrieve He-man and the cosmic key on Earth. We have Karg, Sarod, and Beastman.
Beastman was a disappointment for me being a fan of the TV show. Beastman played a bigger part in the show, being able to control animals, and even was a sidekick for Skeletor along with Evil Lynn. He's character that is mainly in the movie for nostalgia because he just grunts as if he's just a beast who understands men. His role is greatly diminished.
Evil Lynn is one of my favorite characters from the TV show, and likewise in this movie. Originally, the role was offered to Sarah Douglas, who even looks exactly like the cartoon drawings of Evil Lynn. She turned it down and Meg Foster ended up playing the role... and she plays it well, but totally different from what I expected. Her take on the character was captivating.
The animated character was over the top, vile and loud always cackling and bellowing out to someone. You always got the sense that she would betray Skeletor at any point in order to get ahead.
In this movie Evil Lynn has her moments of rage and emotes evil since she has so little dialogue. She's very loyal to Skeletor even though he's not always nice to her.
In the TV show there was a tease that Skeletor and Evil Lynn has a romance going on and there is a hint of a possible romantic relationship. The producers of the show say that there was no romance between the two. However, there is a slight implication of a romance in the movie. There is a scene where Evil Lynn is giving Skeletor a report while sitting in front of him like a cat. What's up with that? Lol! I thought that was a cool addition and a nod to the fans.
Empathy:
He-man is hardly in this film as the star. In fact, if you didn't know about the TV show before seeing this movie, you wouldn't know that He-man is actually a prince that uses a magical sword to become He-man. They never explain this in the movie. In fact, he just appears to be a heroic soldier with no special powers. Much of He-man's back story is lost in this movie and some fans have taken liberties to create fan fiction supporting the movie to give his part a deeper significance.
He-man himself appears dirty and sporting a mullet instead of the golden blonde bob fans were accustomed to. He still looked good. They kept him all lathered up with baby oil to sport He-man's trademark muscles which I'm sure wasn't an easy thing to do throughout the entire shooting of this film. The actor playing him, Dolph Lundren, was criticized for his accent in this movie. The filmmakers thought about replacing his voice and I'm glad that they didn't. Personally, I thought he did a fine job.
He-man's comrades in the war against Skeletor is Teela and Man at Arms. It was nice to see them in the film for nostalgic reasons if you watched the show, but their parts were not substantial in this movie. There is a hint of a relationship between Teela and He-man, but it's so faint. LOL!
Gwildor is the inventor of the cosmic key and serves as the plucky comic relief here. For people who remember the show we know that he is a replacement for Orko, the TV show's blubbering magician. You can see him floating on the upper right of the screen in red. I suppose introducing Gwildor was good idea to avoid dealing with trying to pull off a floating character on a limited budget.
Julie and Kevin are two adorable teenagers who find the cosmic key and attract the attention of Skeletor's forces. These characters were greatly developed, especially Julie which seemed to dominate the film's direction. She is mourning the loss of her parents who died in a plane crash.
New Jersey's own Detective Lubic played by James Tolkan. The character is meant to be over the top and annoying, which provides some comedy during the film.
Technical:
Absolutely. I enjoyed the costume details, a few of the make-up treatments and the one grand set piece of Castle Grayskull's throne room that was used over and over. Hey if that was all that they could afford, ok, I'll take it.
The fight scenes weren't shot very well. They were confusing with weird close ups, smoke, and electric sparks. The budget just wasn't there to make the story more elaborate, but the little they had, they went all in. You can see this in the costumes, make-up and set design.
The make-up for Gwildor and Beastman. They are both really gross looking. And even though there are moments when Gwildor is adorable, there are more scenes where he's covered in mud and has gravy in his beard. Yuk!
At the end of the film's credits, Skeletor surfaces and says "I'll be back!" which ends in a freeze frame and fades to black. The extra scene was supposed to set the stage for the sequel. The script for "Masters of the Universe 2" became the script for the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme sci-fi action film Cyborg.
Performances:
To be honest, this movie has a lot of flaws, but I enjoy it so much. And to really boil down to it, my two main reasons for loving this movies is seeing my two favorite actors in this Dolph Lundren and Frank Langella. Dolph is a guilty pleasure, ever since Rocky iv. But I was one of those kids who watched the TV show and loved Skeletor and Frank Langella really delivers that over the top character to the screen for me.
Best Part:
Skeletor's monologue at the end of the movie. I can recite every word.
The Ending:
The ending is sappy and completely unrealistic, but it had me in teary town and smiling from ear to ear.
My Wish List:
I wished this movie kept it's story on Eternia. I would have love to have seen the live action view of Eternia's landscapes. In the show they are incredibly creative. I wished we could have learned more about it's mysteries, lore, and alien creatures. We could have learned more about Prince Adam and the core psychological differences between Adam and He-man if there are any. Is Adam He-man all the time, but pretending to be flaky, or is it the sword changes Adam into a hero.
I just wished that He-man had more of a personal moment for us to get to know him as we did with Skeletor. Just one scene with him talking about something personal. You do get the sense he's loyal to the sorceress and is a good guy, but it would be nice to know why... or what was his motivation for this. Just a little something. 2 lines of dialogue.
I wish Skeletor's eyes were blackened out to match the cartoon more. I know that part of the performance is in the eyes, but part of the mystery of what Skeletor makes scary and other-worldly. They could have achieved that with black-out contact lenses and darkening the eye socket area. I don't know, maybe it would look silly, but it's just a thought that always struck me about this movie.
I would loved to have seen how Skeletor take over castle Gray Skull and not have it just mentioned. The Sorceress is a powerful fighter, I would have loved to have seen her in action protecting castle Grayskull.
In Summary:
It's my guilty pleasure!
That sums up my review. I hope you liked it.
This is Retro Nerd Girl signing off!
Take care movie lovers! I'm off to the next review!
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