Wow! Such a good movie.

Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely Fantastic

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I first watched this film in the 80's, as a child who was already a big fan of the franchise. I enjoyed the cartoon and I had a lot of the action figures and other toys. When I saw the film I was as happy as I was disappointed, before I go into that, and provide a review, let me tell you something about the film.A long time ago in a distant galaxy (sound familiar?), evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) is mounting an attack on Castle Greyskull, a fortress of goodness and power supreme. The castles protector, the Sorceress Christina Pickles), has been captured by Skeletor, and only He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), the sorceress's champion and defender of good could save the day. He-Man is currently fighting his way to the castle with the help of Man-at-Arms (Duncan) (Jon Cyper), and his daughter, Teala (Chelsea Field) - head of the kings guard. On the way to the castle they have an accidental meeting with Gwildor (Billy Barty), an inventor and locksmith. His invention, a cosmis key, has allowed Skeletor the advantage in his attack on Castle Greyskull, Skeletor is hunting him to prevent him from inventing something to rival the original invention, little does Skeletor know, he's already made a duplicate key. A fight ensues, and in order to save themselves; Gwildor uses the cosmic key and opens a gateway, taking the good guys to Earth. In order to return to Eternia, the good guys have to work with native Earthlings - Julie (Courtney Cox) and Kevn (Robert Duncan-McNeil), while trying to stop them; Skeletor has opened a gate too and sends his henchmen. Can He-Man and his friends get back to Eternia and prevent Skeletor from becoming the master of the universe? So then, first of all this is a decent fantasy - if you forget that the characters are based on cartoons, which are ultimately based on toys. The plot isn't that taxing or complex which makes it easy for a younger audience to follow, which will be run of the mill though, and familiar to older audiences. Other than Dolph Lundgren's acting as He-Man, the rest of the cast are conceivable and deliver well - notable mention to James Tolkan as Detective Lubic for playing a wise cracking hardened detective well. The choreography is generally quite cheesy and predictable, but it doesn't look stupid. The musical score by Bill Conti is actually really good, and Gary Goddard as director manages to push the film thematically and as a motion picture spectacle in a decent direction. The problems arise when you have a vested interest as a fan. I remember sitting in the theater thinking that He-Man didn't look right or sound right, the other characters didn't look or sound right, some characters and technology were made up for the film and didn't previously exist, and some were completely omitted. There were Stormtrooper like armies that Skeletor commanded (new and made up), there were characters missing such as Orco and Battlecat (albeit, these two would have been hard to execute as CGI character in the 80's). In fact, it's fair to say, the characters and places which did exist originally were just name sakes rather than a filmatic duplicate of what fans had come to expect. Writing all this makes me sound like an old fanboy with a chip on his shoulder about this film, but I truly enjoy it, maybe it's just nostalgia that drives that enjoyment but it's definitely not the worst film ever. To summarise, if you like fantasy films that look like a cross between Star Wars and Flash Gordon with a twist of Back to the Future technology, then you'll find some enjoyment in this. I've got to give it 7 out of 10, because "I have the power"... to award it that much ;) Enjoy!

The heroic warrior He-Man battles against the evil lord Skeletor and his armies of darkness for control of Castle Grayskull. I don't know how true on the animated series this movie is or the source material in general but i would be lying if i said that this isn't a good film. It's actually very fun and action packed, Dolph Lundgren was a perfect He-Man for the 80's and Frank Langella is perfect as Lord Skeletor. The battles are very good looking and the special effects for the time being very alive, Courteney Cox was also pretty good. Masters of the Universe is probably the Thor of the 1980's big tall, blond guy that opens a portal and comes to earth? ring any bells? This movie is so underrated. (A+)

I was 5 years old when this movie came out and I can't even count how many times I've seen this movie (to this day if I see it on TV I'll still stop on it).What makes it so special? A movie adaption of a cartoon I loved that stayed true with all their characters. Seeing Skeletor and his monsters was always kinda scary and Evil-Lyn was kinda hot I suppose.They did a excellent job of casting Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and seeing a young Courtney Cox is cool in retrospect.And to this day I still have that beat from THAT cosmic keytar stuck in my head.There are a lot scenes in this film that will stick to your head really. There is some type of awesomeness to these old school sci-fi films that were low on special effects and makeup but that made it seem even more real to a little kid.The movie is what it is, a cartoon adaption, but for a movie made in 1987, they almost got it perfectly right.

The 1983 cartoon series was entertaining enough, but pretty dumb. Its silliness is fun enough, but this film is actually more based on the action figures and the early minicomics that came with them. There's no Prince Adam alias for He-Man, and Skeletor is no comical villain. The costume design and makeup are very good, and the set of Castle Grayskull is excellent, a fortress celebrating both good and evil in its design. The acting is pretty weak for the most part (although to his credit, Lundgren definitely looks the part of He- Man), with the major exception of Frank Langella as Skeletor. His long winded speech during the climax is a highlight. Jon Cypher and James Tolkan are pretty good too.Not perfect, but I'd say it's the best thing to come from the MOTU series so far.