Tag: Masters of the Universe

Film Review: Masters of the Universe (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Mattel Studios/Escape Artists/Amazon MGM Studios/Sony Pictures Releasing International)

By: Jesse Striewski

By all means, I should’ve known better (and perhaps I did but just didn’t want to believe it) to trust that Hollywood wouldn’t take yet another beloved childhood property and make an absolute mess with it. But of course, that’s what they almost always do, so why expect anything less with the new Masters of the Universe? I was really pulling for it too, and wanted to believe it could be done right this time.

It actually starts off promising enough; we’re introduced to the young Prince Adam of Eternos (a.k.a. He-Man, played by Artie Wilkinson-Hunt before Nicholas Galitzine takes over as the young adult version), struggling to earn respect from both his father the King Randor (James Purefoy) and peers while training to be a warrior under the guidance of the king’s general Duncan/Man-At-Arms, played by Idris Elba.

Things quickly go south once the evil Skeltor (Jared Leto) and his army attack and take over the Castle Grayskull, overthrowing the kingdom in the process. But with the help of the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) Adam is able to escape safely to Earth with the Sword of Power.

And that is where the film lost me. From that point on, it went from what seemed like would be a straight epic action-adventure movie, to a painfully executed slapstick comedy that just tries so hard to throw in another cheap joke each and every chance it gets, effectively reducing its characters to walking one-liners rather than the feared warriors that they should have been portrayed as. (Just look at the embarrassing performance from Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn here.)

That’s not to say there are not a few bright spots; Camila Mendes of TV’s Riverdale is always fun to watch whenever on screen. And a cameo from Dolph Lundgren – He-Man from the original 1987 film (which admittedly had its own flaws but still works far better as an actual adventure film than this mess here) is of course warranted. But as much as I kept wanting the film to get back on track (there are moments of hope for it to do so), it just continues to go further off the rails each and every chance it gets, each bad joke and clunky over-the-top fight scene seemingly getting worse than the last.

I was reminded of the cringy feeling I got while watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film from Michael Bay in 2014. It doesn’t care about or respect its audience in the slightest, but rather expects you to put up with any unnecessary nonsense it throws at you, all for the sake of those who are either completely new to the material, or have too short of attention spans to watch anything with actual substance. (I would’ve much rather seen something more akin to the recent animated Netflix series Revelation, which was much more faithful to the source material.) This is the perfect example of Hollywood getting it wrong again; judging by its box office intake so far, maybe they’ll actually listen to its core audience for once.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Series Review: Masters of the Universe: Revelation (Netflix)

By: Jesse Striewski

The latest Kevin Smith-created Masters of the Universe incarnation, Revelation, picks up right after the Filmation cartoon series ended in the mid-’80s. Yet many fans have already been critical of its strong use of secondary characters – mainly female – largely taking the place of He-Man/Prince Adam (voiced by Chris Wood) and Skeletor (Mark Hamill), who are seemingly killed off here in the very first episode, much like Optimus Prime had been in Transformers: The Movie back in 1986.

As someone who hasn’t personally kept up much on the franchise since I was indeed a kid in the ’80s (and not concerned by all things “canon”), I actually found Smith’s vision exciting and fresh. With so many endless attempts by Hollywood in recent memory to bring back beloved shows and movies based purely on nostalgia, the results are usually varying, and far too often disappointing. Yet I was fully invested in the first episode of Revelation, struggling not to keep watching the entire five-episode series in just one sitting when I had other things to get to.

Although the story lines are a bit easy to get lost in at times, the animation is nearly flawless, and the stellar voice cast – which also includes Liam Cunningham, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Henry Rollins, Stephen Root, Alicia Silverstone, Tony Todd, Justin Long, Lena Headey, Diedrich Bader, and long-time Smith collaborator Jason Mewes (among many more) – is top notch. Seeing characters like Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Stinkor, Tri-Klops, and Mer-Man battling on the small screen again brought back a rush of memories and emotions for me.

Overall, Revelation is a more mature version to the original series, more dramatic and violent, and with much less Scooby-Doo-like qualities, but still with the occasional silly moment thrown in for good measure. In short, Revelation is almost everything I’ve waited for for far too long now; a guilty pleasure from my childhood brought back, but with very little actual guilt attached.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars