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Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe

List Price: $12.98
Your Price: $10.38
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Power Here!
Review: First of all, let me say that I LOVE the Masters of the Universe/He-Man cartoons. So I rented this movie one time thinking it would be at least half as campy, and goofy as the cartoons. Wrong!

This is one of the few videos I have ever rented that I actually fast-forwarded through because it was so boreing!

Dolph looks nothing like the cartoon He-Man, and the Skeletor was absolutley HORRIBLE!!!! I don't know how this movie could be any worse. The acting is terrible, and so is the action.

This looks like an after-school special He-Man style. Don't waste your money on this one...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: HE-MAN this was supposed to be, not a bad StarWars RipOff...
Review: Why does Castle GraySkull look like a cheap copy of the Palace in the DarkCrystal movie, Why is He-man never prince Adam, Where is Eternia, and all of He-man's friends? He-man(who lives in and protects eternia and eternians) never fires a gun nor uses his sword on living things, so why did he in this movie? We tried to tell our parents that he wasnt violent (well) until that director got the job to make this movie, HE-MAN wasnt violent...But then came this movie, This movie isnt He-man, where is BattleCat, RamMan, TrapJaw, KingRandor, QueenMarlena,or for that matter where is Eternia?!! This movie even tries to be a RipOff of StarWars, but fails miserably, this movie should have been called "StarFight that didnt" a B-movie Title like "Masters of the Universe 2:the cyborg" became "cyborg" Starring VanDamme...But, still this is supposed to be He-man, and its still kinda entertaining in a "Wish it were He-man" way. so i gave it 5 stars for wanting to be He-man and being the only He-man released on DVD,Where are the animated Movies of He-man/She-ra:Secret of the Sword/X-masSpecial-DVD's???
Well,if you like corny, watch this DVD.
HE-MAN this was supposed to be, not a bad StarWars RipOff...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Just Plain Bad
Review: When this movie was released in 1987, the He-Man franchise was crumbling, in no small part due to the abandonment of Filmation's legendary cartoon.

If you're looking for the cartoon, please don't buy this movie. Filmation's contributions to the toyline (Orko, Prince Adam, King Randor, Cringer, and Queen Marlena) are gone for obvious reasons, and the new characters are even less inspiring than what Mattel was coming up with for He-Man and She-Ra. While the producers could have still done the Barbarian He-Man treatment, they obviously went for the quick and dirty "Star Wars ripoff" route that has doomed tons of movies before and since.

The plot (such as it is) is completely destroyed by the super-cheap shift to Earth (specifically Southern California, no less), and downright poor acting. Dolph Lundgren looks vaguely similar to the Most Powerful Man in the Universe, but lacks both the diction and the on-screen intelligence that made Filmation's cartoon version so popular. Some praise Frank Langella's performance, but it's severely lacking the sheer enjoyment that Alan Oppenheimer brought to the role. Series staples Man-At-Arms, Teela, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, and the Sorceress simply take up space, reminding us just how much personality Oppenheimer, Linda Gary, and John Erwin gave the characters.

With appearances by Courtney Cox (Friends) and Robert Duncan McNeill (Star Trek: Voyager), plus a faint connection to Cyborg (the lifeless Jean-Claude Van Damme film), this movie is better remembered for its trivia than its merit as a production.

How this got on DVD before Filmation's landmark cartoon is a mystery to me.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Oh, what might have been....
Review: This was the premise of a classic toy line and the classic cartoon that emerged from it: When the planet Eternia-think a futuristic Camelot-comes under attack by the demon sorcerer Skeletor in an attempt to abscond with the mythical Castle Grayskull and thus conquer the universe, Prince Adam, teenage son of Eternia's King Randor and Queen Marlena, discovers that he has been chosen by destiny to bear Grayskull's power against all who would threaten Eternia's safety. By raising the enchanted Sword of Grayskull aloft and shouting "By the Power of Grayskull," Adam is transformed into the superheroic swashbuckler He-Man, and proceeds to do battle with Skeletor...and to try and prove himself to his demanding father.

From that premise, Filmation created a terrific cartoon that, even though it had its share of '80s cheese, was rich and complex, deftly mixing Arthurian legend with sci-fi. At its essence, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE was a coming-of-age story set against a high-tech sword and sorcery backdrop. As such, it had the makings of a great movie. Unfortunately, the low-budget Golan-Globus team (which destroyed SUPERMAN IV) got their hands on it, and we the viewers got cheated. The essence of MOTU was trashed; the Adam/He-Man duality and everything it entailed was tossed away. Several critical characters, like Randor, Marlena, Cringer/Battle Cat (Adam's pet tiger), and the like were ignored. And finally, 90% of the character and set designs immortalized by the toys and cartoon were changed as to be unrecognizable. Only Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, and Skeletor's lover/servant Evil-Lyn emerged on film as being visually recognizable as their cartoon counterparts.

So what did we get in return? We got a shameless, low-budget STAR WARS rip-off. Instead of the myriad beasts, demons, and cyborgs that Skeletor employed in the cartoon/toy line, we got three beasts and a bunch of armored stormtroopers. Instead of getting a He-Man who captured the feel of the character, we got a wooden Conan wannabe who relied more on laser guns than on his sword. Instead of a story that spanned Eternia and carried the appropriate sci-fi/fantasy feel of the series, we got a story that took place primarily on Earth, complete with a crabby cop and two ditzy teens. Instead of having a skilled, experienced director at the helm, we got unsteady, pedestrian direction from novice filmmaker Gary Goddard (whose day job was designing amusement parks). Sure, we got some excellent FX work, a great Bill Conti score, and a terrific Castle Grayskull throne room set, but we also got bad costumes, a stupid Grayskull exterior that looks like a pirate ship, a plotless script that's all noise and no depth, substandard fight choreography, and really bad acting. Only Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher), Skeletor (Frank Langella), and Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) are well-acted in this film; Langella's theatrical performance in particular is the film's saving grace, and deserved to be in a much better movie. Otherwise everyone else in the cast stinks. Dolph Lundgren is a perfect physical match for He-Man, but the guy can't act and his awkward Swedish accent has been the butt of fan jokes for years. Everyone else is just too vapid, too bland, and just too unsuited for the roles to be any good. This film needed to be a big-budget affair with top-rate actors and a script that followed the cartoon closely, not a STAR WARS wannabe that fails on most levels. THE BEASTMASTER with Marc Singer was far closer to the spirit of MOTU than this film (and Singer's Dar looked and acted far more like He-Man than Lundgren's hero did), and is a vastly superior movie. Pretty sad that the actual MOTU movie didn't even come close to matching that level, isn't it?

To be fair, I initially saw this film when I was 9 and enjoyed it, but over time I realized how weak it really was, and how it could have been so much more. While I don't HATE the film, I don't like it too much, either, and it hasn't aged well. This summer, Mattel will relaunch MOTU with a brand-new cartoon series and toy line that retells the story of Prince Adam/He-Man from the beginning. Hopefully, if Hollywood decides to make another go at a He-Man movie, they'll use the cartoon as the baseline and get it right this time. As it stands, the 1987 film is an OK way to kill a few hours, but as a He-Man film and as a fantasy film, it just doesn't cut it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: race for the key of grayskull
Review: another recipe for great evening viewing the masters of the universe an movie of adventure action and an awefully good
old fashioned sword fight int the tale of good versus evil
as usual the hero kills of the enemies save the planet and
rescue the sorceress from being drained by the leader of snake
mountain and all for greed of dominating the powers of distroying
the very planet where you live in im all for it it`s fun i viewed
it 10/10 horarh it`s minging

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: race for the key of grayskull
Review: i thaught the movie was exellent the special effects was ace
better attemps of turning cartoons in to live action movies others tried an failed where this one pulled of in style and
the great coregraphed fights and action stunts like the blue
screen stuff like the air centorians fight sequence and the most
ellaborated sets and the state of the art special effects make
up is frightening like frank langella`s skellator effects make
up metamorphises i think an movie like this is great fun to do
superb direction from goodard who allso directed lost in space
masters of the universe is an great sample of how an movie should
been progressed cant wait to see it on region2 dvd version
i reviewed this movie a 10/10

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: bring the cartoon to dvd
Review: This is for James Bryant...the reviewer below. Alot of DVD's come with a commentary option....which can be turned off! Have you ever watched a DVD movie before??? Anyway, it has been a long time since i've watched this movie, but i remember it being an ok movie. The cartoon is much better. Hopefully they will be releasing the series on DVD soon.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Masters of the Universe
Review: I was really excited when I bought this movie until I watched the DVD.
Throughout the entire movie there is commentary from the director, you don't hear the characters voices, you only hear the directors voice, in order to know what is going on, turn down the volume, that is the only way to shut up the commentary and use the subtitles.
It would be a great movie without the commentary.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: New School Never Touches Old School
Review: I Have watched numerous He-man cartoons, maybe all of them. I have seen the animated movie. This is nothing like the cartton movie(which i highly recommend)or the cartoon series. He-man never transends time and goes back to Earth. Who the heck is that little dwarf guy. Since when does Teala wear costumes like that. As a scifi flick for someone who never watched the He-man cartoon, its pritty good. But it doesn't come close to the cartoon it was "based off".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'm a Die hard Dolph Lundgren Fan
Review: I'm a Die hard Dolph Lundgren Fan, and I love this movie. Its a classic and has several great actors in it. Some think it might be a movie for kids, but I love it and watch it almost as much as I watch Willow


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