Review of Masters of the Universe (1987) by Aaron B — 24 May 2015

This film fails because of several different things. First off, the main character is poor. I'm not saying Dolph Lundgren is terrible, I'm saying it's a bad lead part. He-Man doesn't dominate the movie. He doesn't resolve the story. He's basically a supporting character.

Here's the thing. The story starts in the middle, without introducing any characters, which kills the franchise marketability because the superhero premise is based on the hero characters! We just get put into the middle of a battle without any world building, He-Man gets sent to earth, and then he and his group must aid this couple in protecting his transport device. This simple story, which would be fine if it wasn't a blockbuster superhero movie, is yet littered with plot holes.

The one redeeming factor of this movie is the villain. Skeletor, played by Frank Langella, is the one character that adds any depth to the narrative. Unfortunately, this is not capitalized on because the climax sequence is disappointing. Added to all of these flaws, the comic relief characters are very grating, and the effects and fights are quite poor. For me, it wasn't even terrible enough for a viewing of laughs - it would probably bore at a bad movie night. I recommend just passing on it completely.