Masters of the Universe

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")

So, this precious little gem, from the 80s, still remains a special gem in our minds. First of all, let me be clear, this is movie is bad, not the worst, but really bad and campy. I don't know how Cannon pictures took over the rights for this film, and how no other well-known, or larger studio didn't take the rights of something so popular. Really, He-Man and Masters of the Universe were quite popular and favorite show for kids (and to mention all that toys sales…), but was it a good idea? Was it necessary? Even for the 80s?

Now, the budget was ridiculously low, and the movie did not worked well at box office, but it has, even today, a loyal cult following. The story is funny, it's just a movie adaptation of some typical (not exactly) episode about a cosmic key that is wanted by Skeletor. Now, the story and directing, including script are cheesy, meant for kids of course, but when you get older, you realize how dumb that clichéd that was. They did not follow the original idea entirely, the characters do not look too much as themselves from the original TV show, they did not even put their original super powers, or special abilities, He-Man doesn't even have his Battle cat. So, that makes things disappointing. The acting is ridiculous, except maybe for Meg Foster… and of course Frank Langella… I'll talk about him soon enough.

I have to admit that Dolph Lundgren was a pretty good choice for He- Man, but, the guy can't act, and he looks pretty much older and they never referred to him as "Adam". Meg Foster was good as Evil-Lyn and I think she was a good choice and she put some of her charm and poisonous sexiness to her character… I vouch for her. This was one of the first major roles of Courtney Cox, thought she did not tried that much, nor her character was all that developed. Her boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeill) was just ridiculous. Other actors as James Tolkan (who played a cliché detective who waits his retirement), Neil Cypher (Man at Arms was not that special) was solid, Chelsea Field (Teela was not that much developed also, she was there to look good in her tight white battle-armor… ). I think that supporting actors as Bill Barty (who played Gwildor) was good. Though I also think that they made up this character, because they didn't have a budget for Orko. And also… Anthony Longinus was good as Blade, though he could do more fighting scenes with his character.

Now, for Frank Langella… what to say… Everyone who studies acting, want to become an actor, or is already an accomplished actor… must swear to Langella's performance here. I think that Langella saved this film. He was easily the best actor in the film. So this is a prime example of good actor, overshadowing all other actors. He just steals the entire show and he was glad about it, because his sons wanted him to play Skeletor. And look at him, that is the actor who had so much fun with his character and that would be a good advice to other actors… just have fun with it. Just like for example… Raul Julia in Street Fighter (1994).

The costumes and make up were not entirely bad, but the costumes could have been better. They could make them to identify more with the TV show characters. The costumes of Skeletor's storm troopers were too generic… too usual. The interior and exterior of planet Eternia was bad… it was just bad and unimaginative… So most of the scenes were filmed on earth. There are also people who thinks that this movie has gay overtones and make jokes about it… Really, some people can't notice something far more important in the film… Overall, I do recommend this gem, because it's a good, family fun, of course not to take for granted. And, yes… watch after credits.

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!

This bad lad turned up on Prime and brought me way back to Enternia.

Could not believe it's a 5.4!! This movie is pure gold.

The soundtrack is awesome.

Dolph is Dolph like in every movie.

Lubic should have been in the movie more, would have been an 8 if that was the case.

The movie bombed due to the budget. I had this bad lad on VHS and watched it well over a 100 times.

It's there with the goodies, Killer Klowns, Big Trouble In Little china.

You either love the full on 80s flicks that age great in time or you bring it down. Some great memories here and most important it's a good movie even in May 2024.

Forget the 5 it's a 7 You have the POWER.

I gave a groan when I saw the Golan-Globus name in the opening credits, but this movie actually turned out to be much better than I would have expected.

This movie may not appeal to die-hard fans of the animated series because of the liberties it takes with the established characters, but as a stand-alone work it's decent enough for what it's supposed to be. It thankfully doesn't take itself too seriously, allowing us to just enjoy it as the light bit of entertainment that it is.

Frank Langella is unexpectedly excellent as Skeletor under all that make-up, and it was fun to see Star Trek Voyager's "Mr. Paris" at a very young age here.(His first major role perhaps?) Dolph Lundgren is as unexpressive as usual, but at least he looks the part. And Beast-Man makes a good contribution to the cast of villains.

All in all, don't set your expectations too high and you will probably enjoy this fun piece of 80s pop culture.

Now if it would just come out on DVD!