Masters of the Universe
by Gary Goddard
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Actor: Billy Barty, Courteney Cox, Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg FosterDirector: Gary Goddard
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Gary Goddard
Producer: Edward R. Pressman
Producer: Elliot Schick
Producer: Evzen Kolar
Writer: David Odell
Writer: Donald F. Glut
Writer: Stephen Tolkin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 106 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-23
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Masters of the Universe
DVD Review: Masters of the 80's Cheese
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, when I was a kid back in the early 90's, I worshiped this film. Why, you ask? Because I had never seen the cartoon. Not one single episode. I had more figures than I could play with in a day's time, but I had never seen the cartoon. In fact, I actually thought the toys were based on the film. I remember thinking 'hmmm...this guy with the blue body and crappy yellow and green face doesn't look anything like the Emperor-like Skeletor! And this red guy with the big claw hand wasn't even in the movie!' Anyways, I grew with this film and remembered it fondly. Fast-forward to 2009. I'm 24 years old now, and He-Man was a largely forgotten phase of my childhood. However, one day, at a garage sale, I run across a vintage Skeletor figure and something...changes. I was like "Hey, I used to have this guy!" Discovering that old gem was the seed that grew into the powerful tree of my renewed He-Man craze. I began devoting disturbing amounts of time online researching He-Man and everything related to He-Man. I began buying the old vintage figures and a couple of the 2002 figures here and there. I ordered all four boxed sets of the classic cartoon (and fell in love with it) and I'm currently buying the monthly releases of the Classics action figure line; a couple of which I bought here on Amazon when I couldn't get them from Matty Collector, like Faker and Webstor. During my He-Man rebirth, the live-action film also resurfaced and my love for it as well. As I eagerly awaited for its arrival in the mail, I hoped it would live up to all my old childhood memories. Perhaps it succeeded, but with mixed results. First of all, why in heck didn't it occur in Eternia? After building the fabulous throne room set, they spirit the film away to...earth...surprised? I am! Secondly, the Sorceress. where was the bird-clad (hehe) hottie from the cartoon? Why did they give us a crystal statue with a mummified face that looked more like Mumm-ra from Thundercats instead of the Sorceress? Next, Man-At-Arms. I loved the guy who played the part, he fit it perfectly, I just wish he had been a little tougher and had some fatherly dialogue and possibly a shred of character development. Next, Teela. I didn't much care for the actress playing Teela, I thought she was too..."fragile", even though she was tough as nails. I also didn't care much for the Space Teela outfit. Next, where the heck was Orko and Battlecat? I know, Billy Barty's character Gwildor was a cost-effective replacement for Orko, and I have nothing against Gwildor (poor Billy Barty was ancient at the time, he done excellent with all things considered), but it just wasn't Orko...I know it really wouldn't have been possible for them to be in the film in an acceptable way, but couldn't they have at least just mentioned them for fan's sake? *Sighs* Next, Beast Man. Why the heck did he look so much like Grizzlor? Why didn't he talk? Would it have been so hard to give him shorter, orange fur and an idiotic line of dialogue or two? It certainly couldn't have made things any worse! And as for the rest of the Bounty Hunter hacks, to the garbage can with Blade and Karg! I want Trap-Jaw and Mer-Man, blast it! Saurod looked kind of cool, but why did he have to be Saurod? With a little tweaking, he could easily have been Kobra Khan instead, a character all He-Fans are familiar with. Okay, maybe asking for Mer-Man is a bit much, but wouldn't we all rather have seen Tri-Klops fighting He-Man instead of the worthless Blade? Next, Skeletor's Stormtrooper/Cylon soldiers. If they had only had a different color scheme, they could at least have looked a little something like Horde Troopers, and that's a heckuva lot closer to the mark than worthless Cylons, isn't it? Next, Skeletor. Frank Langella done an awesome job, he got the best dialogue and really brought presence to it, and I understand they had to craft the mask to reveal some of that presence, but couldn't the mask have been more skull-like? To me it looked more like plaster instead of bone. Next, He-Man himself. First off, I love Dolph Lundgren. When it comes to the likes of Arnold, Sly, Van Damme and all the others, Dolph is my absolute favorite and I thought he was the best choice for He-Man. Of course he receives a lot of criticism for his role in Masters, but an actor can't save a worthless script, no matter how much talent he has. And when the powers that be are so bent to focus the writing all around Skeletor, what can one do? Just like Michael Keaton will always be the best Batman to me, Dolph Lundgren will always be the best He-Man, regardless of who may or may not play him further on down the line. I just wish he had used his sword more than laser guns and "powered up" more than once. All in all, I love this film, it holds a special place in my heart because of the impact it had on my childhood plus my revived love of all things He-Man. The plot could have been better, the supporting characters and things could have been better. I understand their deadline was tight, but I also understand their budget was quite large for that kind of movie in that day and age. I only wish the production had been more dedicated to He-Man and not the money He-Man was bringing in at the time. It's situations like this that call for Peter Jackson and time machines. But all in all, this is an enjoyable film and it's approached in a way that makes it fun for everyone, even if you don't know much about He-Man...especially if you don't know much about He-Man...the picture and sound quality of the dvd are good, director Gary Goddard is insightful (and a little sympathetic?) in the commentary and the other extras are nice as well. For the price, you can't go wrong with this dvd and it's worth it. Like it or not, He-Fans can't deny the existence of this film, we have to take the bad with the good. Good Journey!
Description of Masters of the Universe
PLANET ETERNIA AND THE CASTLE OF GREYSKULL ARE UNDER THREAT FROM THE EVIL SKELETOR WHO WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET. A GROUP OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS, LED BY THE HEROIC HE-MAN ARE ACCIDENTLALLY TRANSPORTED TO EARTH BY A MYSTERIOUS COSMIC KEY,WHICH OLDS THE POWER TO MAKE SKELETOR ALL-POWERFUL.Bestsellers in DVD
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