Masters of the Universe by Dolph Lundgren

I saw this on release in the cinema in 1987, I was seven years old and a He-Man fanatic.My mum tells me I loved it, and I did, but even aged seven I was able to recognise why I felt a small twinge of disappointment. Firstly, He-Man wasn’t in it very much. Then, Orko wasn’t in it, Skeletor didn’t look like he did in the cartoon and not many of his henchmen were present And the costumes were not true to the cartoon either.Fast forward 33 years and I can appreciate why Masters of the Universe and other films are not faithful to their source material. There are limitations that a child can not comprehend. This review is based on the viewing by the 40 year old me.I can understand why it was a flop. The opening titles and music are a total Superman rip-off. Skeletor’s foot soldiers are storm trooper clones and the assignment of goons to find He-Man is straight from Empire Strikes Back. Add an underwhelming lead and it’s a recipe for disaster. Recycled bits from movies passed.Dolph Lundgren’s performance is not totally emotionless, rather the bare minimum you would want in any TV show or movie. This is a shame because everyone else turns in fantastic performances. Frank Langella is so good as Skeletor it’s unreal. How he wasn’t awarded for it I will never understand. Then it’s a toss up between Evil-Lyn, Man at Arms, Teela and Gwildor. Cortney Cox, Kevin and the cop are next, with He-Man and Skeletor’s goons last.Special effects are seamlessly integrated with the backgrounds. I know nothing of cinematography, but it looks like blue screen is kept to a minimum and other techniques are used to make the actors look like they’re really doing what they’re doing.The story is standard fare that could quite easily have been spanned across a few episodes of the cartoon, maybe even one.Overall, the things I recall from seeing it on release are still the things that disappoint me about it now. But with the benefit of time to experience other masterpieces and flops I can safely say that this film did not deserve to fail. Time and technology has given it another chance and it seems like it’s totally appreciated now. It’s in my soul the same way Star Wars is and it will stay that way forever.My heart wants to give it five stars but my head says it’s slightly lacking, so it gets four stars. If I could go higher it would be 4.9.

Masters Of The Universe.Certificate: PGGenre: Fantasy/Action.Running Time 101 Minutes.US Import Region Free.Synopsis.On the planet Eternia, the dark lord Skeletor has taken over Castle Greyskull, imprisoned the Sorceress & begun draining the Sorceress' powers as he attempts to claim the powers of Greyskull.He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe & his companions: Man-at-Arms, his daughter Teela & a dwarf inventor named Gwildor finds themselves on Earth, by Gwildor's creation, the Cosmic Key, a device that can open portals that lead to anywhere in the galaxy, which Skeletor requires in his plan for universal conquest.But when the Cosmic Key is discovered by Julie Winston & her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan, both are unaware that Earth is about to become a battleground, as Skeletors vile minions arrive on Earth in pursuit of He-Man & his companions who are searching for the Cosmic Key so they can return home to Eternia & defeat Skeletor.Timelord Thoughts."I have the power", I've always wanted to say that.Despite being a box office flop upon it's 1987 original release ($17.3 million box office gross from a $22 million dollar budget) Master's Of The Universe has become a cult classic B' movie based on the cartoon & Mattel action figures the movie starring Dolph Lungdren & Frank Langella is a exciting, funny, scary, action-packed fantasy movie that's hugely entertaining despite cheesy lines of dialogue & campy performances.Dolph Lungdren certainly looks the part as He-Man (No dual role as Prince Adam here) & can easily handle the movies action & fight sequences, however his acting range is wooden as Lungdren speaks his lines instead of acting them & doesn't convey any drama or emotion during the dramatic aspects of the movie, thankfully there are only a few scenes in the movie that he's required to perform drama, but seeing Lungdren half naked, ripped & flexing his manly muscles as He-Man he certainly looks the part especially when he's kicking the bad guy's ass.Frank Langella gives a magnificent performance as the sinister Skeletor & completely steals the movie from Lungdren, Langella has said in interviews he loved playing the part & it clearly shows as he gives a brilliant performance even in the scenes were he's evilness chews the scenery & goes completely over the top & wants to rule Eternia & become the true master of the universe, Langella is simply mesmerising to watch in the role & I'd have loved to have seen him reprise Skeletor in a sequel which sadly never got made.Meg Foster oozes the right amount of bitchy wickedness as seductive sorceress Evil Lyn, Skeletors right hand warrior while Anthony De Longis looks menacing as Blade, Tony Carroll snarls frequently as Beast Man, while Pons Maar as Saurod & Robert Towers as Karg play lesser known villians but all of these characters add something fun & entertaining as Skeletors deadliest warrior's who are sent to earth to kill He-Man & his friends & retrieve the cosmic key.He-Man's loyal friends include the sexy Chelsea Field who I thought was very underused as the warrior Teela, Jon Cypher is ok as soldier leader Man-At-Arms & gives a competent enough performance but like Teela his character also feels sidelined, however the excellent Billy Barty is superb as eccentric wizardry inventor Gwildor who's a newly written character especially for this movie.The rest of the cast include Robert Duncan McNeill as musician Kevin Corrigan who mistakes the cosmic key for a synthesizer, Friends & Scream's actress Courteney Cox plays the nice girl next door in a early movie role as Kevin's girlfriend Julie Winston but her soap opera acting inexperience stands out like a sore thumb, Julie is moving away to start afresh after her parents recent tragic death while James Tolkan acts similar to the role he performed in Back To The Future (Strickland) who here plays the bumbling Detective Lubic who unwittingly becomes involved in helping He-Man in his quest to find the cosmic key.Director Gary Goddard paces the movie well & certainly knows how to cut together cool fight sequences & deliver adrenaline fuelled action scenes which pushes the PG violence in places especially the scene where He-Man is being whipped which would get a 12/PG-13 rating today, being a Cannon film produced by Yoram Globus & Menahem Golan I was surprised that the production values & set design were actually pretty good (Castle Greyskull in particular is well designed & darkly gothic design which oozes a eerie atmosphere) & look far more impressive than the other Cannon superhero movie Superman IV: The Quest For Peace which was released in the same year of this film 1987 which also bombed as bad as this movie & was the beginning of the end for Cannon financially.Overall Master's Of The Universe is a entertaining action packed 80's cheesy B' movie adventure that rightly deserves to become a cult classic, is it campy? Definitely, is the acting hammy? Occasionally but somehow it all adds to the films charm in delivering a enjoyable fun filled fantasy adventure movie that I easily recommend giving a watch.