Skip to main content

Guest Post - Remember the Masters of the Universe Movie by Rhys Thomas



Growing up He-Man was my hero, I had the action figures (or dolls as my father would call them), I had the sleeping bag, I had a subscription to the comic book and my Eternian name according to my the Masters of the Universe fan club was Rogar (pron. row-garr).

Despite all this or maybe its because of all this I remember being unbelievably disappointed by Masters of the Universe the movie when I first saw it; "that's not He-Man!" I recall thinking.

My problem was never with He-Man the character, in fact I always liked Dolph Lundgren in the role but more with the fact that they omitted most of the main characters and set the majority of the film on earth.

There was He-Man and Skeletor, the Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Evil Lyn and a cameo from Beast man but why not Mer-Man and Trap Jaw? Why not Stratos and Orco and Ram Man? What is the girl from the Dancing in the Dark doing in it? Most importantly though where was the mighty Battle Cat? The film does brush over most of these points with Man-At-Arms declaring to He-Man that he and Teela were the only ones left but that was never good enough for this fan club member!

Finally even at 8 years of age I knew the ending was a cop out!

Looking back at the film now I quite like it, I still stand by many of my childhood criticisms but I can now accept the film for what it is - a typical 80's slice of sci-fi.

I get the impression it was written as a generic sci-fi movie but the studio thought they needed a name in order to sell it, enter He-Man (or more specifically the Masters of the Universe as unlike the cartoon the movie doesn't actually bare the hero's name).

I'd summarise it as taking a fantasy universe and transferring it to America with an Alien encounter twist. Despite a gothic matt painting of Castle Grayskull at the start of the film all the interior shots look more like scenes from the Death Star, Skeletor's minions are reminiscent of the faceless emperial workers that are shown just as the Death Star explodes, Evil Lyn's henchmen resemble the bounty hunters hired in The Empire Strikes Back and Bill Conti's theme is very John Williams-esque.

Anyway enough whinging, this is a fast paced and exciting film that I think would have actually benefited from not having the Masters of the Universe baggage holding it back.

It has powerful imagery, some good special effects, well defined heroes and villains, a strong story and decent acting (by the main characters at least).

As mentioned earlier Dolph Lundgren plays the lead well, Frank Langella of Frost/Nixon fame manages to pull a performance out from behind Skeletor's mask, James Tolkan does his best Donald Pleasance impression as the meddling detective Lumic (Lumic/Loomis get it?), Courtney Cox isn't as annoying as you'd think and even Meg Foster is believable as the dastardly Evil Lyn.

If you watch this film expecting swordfights, kings and queens, magical lands and feeble alter egos you will be sorely disappointed but if you can ignore the fact that this is a tie in to the He-Man universe you may be pleasantly surprised, its far from original but its an enjoyable romp none the less!

writing for The Bearded Trio, Rhys Thomas

THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK
THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER
THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Did Paul Freeman Accidentally Eat A Fly In Raiders of the Lost Ark?

The Famous Indiana Jones Fly In Belloq's Mouth Scene.  Did It Really Happen? I've always wondered if Paul Freeman unintentionally consumed a fly in this scene in  Raiders of the Lost Ark ?  It's the scene where Indiana Jones shouts down to Bellosh...I mean Belloq and threatens to blow up the ark.  Did a fly go in his mouth? I remember watching this scene back in the early eighties and my ten year old mind thought he definitely had a snack while filming.  I recall talking about 'flygate' in my school playground at the time and the general consensus with my friends was that Freeman definitely had a sneaky snack. Paul Freeman talks about the famous 'fly' scene in an interview with TheIndyExperience.com  and settled 'flygate:' This is a bit of a dicey question so don’t get too upset. (Laughs) A movie’s always got bloopers in it, some have a lot, and some only have three or four. And the most remarkable blooper was right before the opening of th

Star Wars VII Movie Poster - Every End Is A New Beginning

Star Wars VII Movie Poster Just saw this Star Wars VII movie poster on Kyle Newman's Facebook fee d.  The poster is by  Lyndon Berresford and Paul Bateman.  I am loving this.  Who do you think the two characters are?  Lando and Leia?  Han and Leia's children? Have you seen other Star Wars VII movie posters?  Let me know. Rob Wainfur @welshslider

Explaining That "Weird" Cut In Poltergeist. Read The Missing Scene

Why Is There A Strange Cut In The 1982 Horror Classic, Poltergeist? If you're a fan of the 1982 Horror classic, Poltergeist then you will be very familiar with that "weird" cut in the movie.  It's 32 minutes and 47 seconds in to the movie and the scene is where Diane is explaining the strange phenomenon that is happening in the kitchen.  First, she shows to Steve a chair scraping across the floor all on its own then she does the same with Carol Anne.  Steve leans up against the kitchen wall and is completely shocked at what just happened.  It's at this point Diane starts to explain the sensation of being pulled and then...A very abrupt cut.  One moment we are listening to Diane and suddenly it cuts to Diane and Steve at their next door neighbours door.  Why the sudden cut?  It's on the VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and even the streaming versions.  Why does this awful and weird cut exist in the movie, Poltergeist?  Watch the clip below to see the cut: Well, the ans