Masters of the Universe (1987) Reviews

• Cheesy but Enjoyable Sci Fi Adventure!

  cariart2004-03-20

  I feel a bit guilty, reading some of the other reviews posted, but I liked MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE! Perhaps because I was never 'into' the cartoon series, I am more forgiving of characters or plot devices left out, and I certainly recognize that it is derivative of both STAR WARS and FLASH GORDON (particularly in Bill Conti's bombastic musical score), but there is so much energy in the film, such abundant confidence in the ultimate victory of Good versus Evil, and such a wonderfully campy performance by Frank Langella as rubber-masked Skeletor that I get a kick out of it, whenever it airs. Physically, no actor could be more perfect as the hero, He-Man, than ROCKY 4's Dolph Lundgren. At 6'6" (that's two inches taller than JOHN WAYNE, trivia fans!), with flowing blond hair and blue eyes, the 30-year old Swedish actor combined a Herculean physique (if Marvel Comics' "The Mighty Thor" is ever filmed, he would be perfect as the Thunder God), with a knack for weapons that would earn him the future title of 'King' of 'B' action flicks. True, his English was so poor at the time of filming that his dialog was kept to a minimum, but who watches this kind of film for dialog, anyway? Supporting Lundgren's He-Man is crusty veteran soldier, Duncan (Man-at-Arms), played by character actor Jon Cypher, who makes up for He-Man's taciturn nature by reminiscing constantly about a life in the military (with observations EVERY soldier has made, through history), and his daughter, Teela (pretty Chelsea Field, one of the busiest actresses of the decade), serving as a "Xena Lite" for the proceedings. Opposing the Forces of Good with the irreplaceable Langella is one of my favorite actresses, Meg Foster, as the sublimely wicked Evil-Lyn, using her piercing green eyes and barely suppressed sexuality to great advantage. With an array of the cartoon's more colorful villains in support of Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, He-Man has his hands full! The plot involves a tonal 'key', created by a dwarf, Gwildor (screen legend Billy Barty, in an initially irritating, but eventually endearing role), that can transport individuals wherever they desire. Stolen by Evil-Lyn, Skeletor uses it to capture He-Man's Castle Greyskull and it's resident Sorceress ("St. Elsewhere" alum Christina Pickles). With a hidden prototype 'key', Gwildor leads our heroes into the castle...where they are nearly captured by Skeletor, before the dwarf throws together some random numbers, and transports our heroes...to Earth. The 'key' is lost, as the four arrive on our planet, to be found by aspiring musician Kevin Corrigan ("Star Trek: Voyager" star Robert Duncan McNeill) who thinks it's a Japanese musical instrument! With girlfriend Julie Winston (future "Friends" superstar Courteney Cox, looking young and gorgeous), the pair are astonished by the musical complexities of the device, unaware that each time it is 'played', Skeletor is getting a better 'fix' of it's location. Eventually, our planet is pinpointed, and Skeletor leads an army of villains to subdue us, and capture He-Man. With great comic support by bald character actor James Tolkan (BACK TO THE FUTURE), as a bewildered police detective, some spectacular 'set' pieces (Skeletor's invasion force, backed by 'Darth Vader'ish music, is a highlight), and an ending that concludes that "ANYTHING is possible", MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is great cheesy fun! Certainly, the film is not a classic, but if you accept it on it's own terms, I think you might find it to be a lot of fun!

• Silly but Entertaining

  claudio_carvalho2017-06-18

  On the planet Eternia, Skeletor (Frank Langella) and his dark army overthrow the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull (Christina Pickles) expecting to acquire her power. He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), his old friend Duncan "Man-at-Arms" (Jon Cypher) and his daughter Teela (Chelsea Field) are attacked by Skeletor's soldiers and they defeat them. They also rescue their prisoner, the inventor and locksmith Gwildor (Billy Barty). He explains that he was lured by Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) that used his invention Cosmic Key to open the gates and seize the Castle Grayskull. He-Man and his friends retrieve the prototype of the Cosmic Key trying to release the Sorcereress but they are defeated by Skeletor and his army and Gwildor uses his key to open and portal for them to flee. They come to Earth but lose the key. Meanwhile Julie Winston (Courteney Cox), who grieves the loss of her parents in a plane crash, and her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan (Robert Duncan McNeill) find and activate the key, believing it is a foreign musical instrument. On Eternia, Evil-Lyn locates the Cosmic Key and Skeletor sends her with a group of mercenaries and soldiers to vanquish He-man and his friends and bring the key back. Will they succeed? "Masters of the Universe" is a silly but entertaining fantasy adventure film. The movie is a ripoff Star Wars, with the introductory credits rolling on the screen, the score and Skeletor's army, and Conan, with the strong Dolph Lundgren. The plot has silly moments, like Julie delivering the Key to her deceased mother or the comic attitudes of Detective Lubic. But "Masters of the Universe" is cult and entertaining for the fans. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): "Mestres do Universo – O Filme" ("Masters of the Universe – The Movie")

• A lot of fun! Some great performances as well...

  Sentinel-152005-07-03

  I first saw this movie way back in the 80's, and recently got hold of the DVD. I'm pleased to say I still enjoyed it as much as I did back then! While the decision to place part of the story in 1980's suburban America, planet Earth, was no doubt a way to keep the budget low, the end result is still a lot of fun, and the main characters manage to stay pretty close to their original characters. Naturally, though, I'd loved to have seen some more of Eternia instead. Unfortunately, the promised sequel never came to be. Frank Langella is simply brilliant; his bigger-then-life portrayal of Skeletor may be different from what they did in the TV series, but it works great. He commands every scene he is in, and his performance is powerful yet subtle at certain moments. Wonderful! By the way, be sure to watch until the end credits are over... Dolph Lundgren, while perhaps not quite the eloquent thespian Langella is, does make a formidable old-fashioned hero.

• Overwhelming fantasy about heroic He-man battling Skeletor in Eternia and Earth

  ma-cortes2010-08-03

  A corpulent hero named He-man , a veteran warrior (John Cypher), his daughter (Chelsea Field), a likable midget (Billy Barty) fight in Eternia against a vile villain named Skeletor (Frank Langella as a Darth Vader clone) in a fantasy/Sci-Fi about rebel forces battling for the sake of freedom and engaged in a life or death war with the tyrant leader of a far planet . They transport themselves by means of a mechanism that creates a time hole to earth in which nothing less the future of the universe is at stake . There they meet an intimate and youthful couple ((Courney Cox , Richard Duncan). Meanwhile , Skeletor wants to get a chance by destiny to receive the powers of Grayskull. This is a big-budgeted live-action rendition of the cartoon roles' feats in the ¨Star Wars¨ mold and characterized by He-man , Skeletor and many others . All of them blend together with wonderful and terrific special effects courtesy of Richard Edlund and special designs by Moebius .¨Masters of the Universe¨ is basically numerous spectacular fight-scenes with a tiny bit of plot movement, full of sympathetic dialog and flashy blasts of light and energy . It features stunted and disjointed action, as well as the hilarious but quite conventional characters fitting partially to animated series . The abundant breathtaking images , which labor mightily to reproduce the source materials in some impressive scenes and eye-popping look . After his nasty roles in in ¨Rocky 4 (85)¨ and ¨A view to kill(85)¨ , the Swedish muscle mountain Dolph Lundgren starred this film and followed by ¨Red Scorpion(90)¨ and ¨Universal soldier(92)¨ in his successful period during the 80s and early 90s . Lundgren has enough acting ability and charisma to play this kind of heroes . Based on cartoon and famous toys by ¨Mattei Inc¨ that proved to be one of the biggest of all time . The characters and story may aim a little more at kids than teenagers and adults. For comic relief is in charge of Billy Barty with his antics and jokes . Other support actors making brief appearance are James Tolkan and Christina Pickles as the imprisoned sorceress . The special effects are all they're cracked up to be and set a new cinematic standard for realistic realization . Action scenes have the zip and excitement you'd expect . The motion picture is well directed by Gary Goddard in his only realization , subsequently he dedicated to production and 3D . This would-be epic about ¨ Sword and witchery¨ is an entertaining romp through space and time .

• Great fun!

  Skeletors_Hood2001-10-03

  "I Have the Power!" For those of us who grew up in the 80's, that phrase is all too familiar. Especially for those who would rush home after school to watch our favorite strongman face off against the forces of evil that threaten the safety and security of his homeworld. For my money, it was never better than when He-Man faced off against Skeletor for the struggle for Eternia. I also remember the fantasies that I and my friends would have of traveling away to that world of magic and fantasy, to fight alongside He-Man as he defends Grayskull. It truly was a series that was out of this world. And now it's on Earth. When I first heard about a live action movie, (mind you, I was twelve at the time), I was overly excited about it. But I didn't get to see it until my late teens. And I must say that it was very well done, especially in its presentation. In fact it brought back those far away childhood memories of those late afternoons in front of the tv, or outside with the toys a make-shift Eternia setting with my friends. I'll grant a few things that were wrong with the movie though. There were times that I think the script was either badly edited, or just too rushed at certain points. I'm also not thrilled about them being on earth, but understanding budget constraints and the idea to make these characters more real than fantasy help feed into that decision, so I let that one go. I would have also liked to see more of the characters from the toys in the movie, but have no complaints that they made up a few cool characters, like Blade. The casting choices, I felt, were really good. Dolph Lundgren worked as He-Man, even though he can't act. He looked the part, and even pulled off the role. I could tell that he wasn't walking through the part, as many actor will do with character roles (right Mr. Clooney?). And Frank Langella the PERFECT choice for Skeletor. Langella managed to bring that character to life in a way that gave me chills. Skeletor is perhaps one of the greatest villains ever imagined, but the cartoon made him a cackling villain, who was more a buffoon than anything, therefore he didn't seem threatening. But seeing Langella make Skeletor more dark and evil put my faith back into the conviction as a great villain. You don't have to be a die hard fan of the series to enjoy the movie. It's great fun, imaginative, and it captures a moment in time. Don't scrutinize the movie because it's different from the cartoon. Look at it for what it is, and don't focus on its faults. It had the power to recapture my imagination, so its not all that bad.