Masters of the Universe

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox, Meg Foster, Bill Barty, Robert Duncan McNeill, Jon Cypher, James Tolkan, Chelsea Field
Directed by: Gary Goddard
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 4

Summary: A warrior (Dolph Lundgren) battling the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) becomes stuck on Earth after traveling through a portal. He teams with a girl (Courteney Cox) to try and get home to save his people.

Review:

Tim: As a kid, I loved Masters of the Universe. For a while, I was a big fan of the He-Man cartoon, so it made sense that I'd enjoy the live action version. Even at the time and being very young, I think part of me knew this was a guilty pleasure. Looking at this movie again several decades after last seeing it, the flaws are very apparent. While this is a corny, hastily, cheaply made film, it still retains enough of the magic and wonder of childhood for me to not completely dismiss it. Yes, it's only a decent movie, but it's still quite entertaining.

The movie starts on Eternia and sets up the battle between the good He-Man (as an adult, I now recognize this is one of the worst names for a hero ever created) and the evil Skeletor. Those scenes are fine, giving this a cosmic, otherworldly vibe. Then, due to budget restraints, the action moves to Earth. While this was obviously part of a cost saving measure, I like the move for the story. It makes it more accessible, by taking these foreign people and bringing them to Earth. It makes the story more relatable, especially when an average girl and boy get caught up in the intergalactic struggle. As a kid, it created a sense of wonder- that you could be going about your everyday life, and bam- you get caught up in a crazy adventure. That part of the story was appealing then, and still is today.

The cast might not be great, but it's much better than you would expect for a film like this. Dolph Lundgren is a terrible actor, but he certainly looks like a real life He-Man. I loved the look, but every time he opened his mouth, I cringed a little. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this film was beyond fortunate to get Frank Langella to play Skeletor. Even underneath a ton of makeup, making him unrecognizable, he gives a shockingly good performance. I remember being certifiably creeped out by him. Even as an adult, I'm awed by his incredible villainous turn. He makes a terrific villain and is certainly the highlight of the entire film. His performance is light years better than the rest of the movie, and he elevates the film. Courteney Cox is fun to watch in an early role. She was more than serviceable in the role. I loved James Tolkan's performance- he was the most memorable when I recalled this film after having not seen it for a few decades. The supporting cast is fine and are different levels of average to bad, depending on how absurd their character was. Still, you'd expect a movie like this to suffer because of the cast, when that's simply not the case here.

I would never claim that Masters of the Universe is a very good movie- it isn't. The budget is too small, the subject matter too outlandish. However, even without the nostalgia factor, I'm surprised the movie is as decent as it is. The film features a strong villain, characters we can relate to, a cool fantasy gimmick with the key (and the sound it makes is awesome). It features some fine 80's special effects, and brings to life a popular toy and cartoon. All in all, this movie could have been a total disaster. It's not. I had fun catching up with this film and although flawed and silly, it's not a terrible movie at all.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



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