Psycho's Movie Reviews #60: Masters Of The Universe (1987)

Masters of the Universe (stylized as Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture) is a 1987 American superhero film directed by Gary Goddard, produced by Yoram Globus and by Menahem Golan and written by David Odell. The film stars Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, Billy Barty, Courteney Cox, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Meg Foster. It is based on the Mattel toy line of the same name and tells the story of two teenagers who meet the mighty He-Man, who arrived on Earth by chance from planet Eternia and now goes on a mission to save the universe from the mighty evil Skeletor, his nemesis.

Masters of the Universe was released theatrically in the United States on August 7, 1987. It was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $17 million worldwide against a budget of $22 million, but is now regarded as a classic cult film.

Plot:

On the planet Eternia, Skeletor's army seizes Castle Grayskull, scatters the remaining Eternian defenders, and captures the Sorceress of Grayskull, planning to seize power over the entire universe by the next moonrise. Skeletor's archenemy, the warrior He-Man, veteran soldier Man-At-Arms and his daughter Teela rescue Gwildor from Skeletor's forces. Gwildor, a Thenorian locksmith, reveals that Skeletor has acquired his invention: a "Cosmic Key" that can open a portal to anywhere by utilizing musical notes. The device was stolen by Skeletor's second-in-command, Evil-Lyn, allowing Skeletor to breach Castle Grayskull.

With Gwildor's remaining prototype of the Key in hand, He-Man and his friends travel to the Castle. They attempt to free the Sorceress but are overwhelmed by Skeletor's army and forced to flee through Gwildor's hastily opened portal, transporting them to Earth. The Key is misplaced on their arrival and discovered by two California teenagers, orphaned high school girl Julie Winston and her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan. While experimenting with the device, they accidentally send a signal that allows Evil-Lyn to track it. She then sends her henchmen Saurod, Blade, Beast Man and Karg to recover it.

Kevin, an aspiring musician, mistakes the Key for a synthesizer and takes it to a music store run by his friend Charlie. Karg's team arrives and chases Julie until He-Man rescues her. Karg's team returns to Grayskull where, incensed by their failure, Skeletor kills Saurod and sends the others back to Earth, with a larger force under Evil-Lyn's command. Unable to find Julie, Kevin is taken to Julie's house by Lubic, a detective investigating the disturbance created by Karg's team. Suspecting the Key is stolen, Lubic confiscates it from Kevin and leaves. Immediately afterward, Evil-Lyn captures and interrogates Kevin for the Key's location with a mind-control collar, before pursuing Lubic.

Julie and the Eternians release Kevin from the collar before they go after Lubic and the Key. They arrive at Charlie's store, but Skeletor's forces catch up with them and a pitched battle ensues. Evil-Lyn recovers the Key and summons Skeletor to Earth. Skeletor's forces capture the Eternians, and Julie is mortally wounded by Skeletor's lightning blast, which simultaneously erases the memory storage of Gwildor's Key. He-Man surrenders to save his comrades and is returned to Eternia as Skeletor's slave. Skeletor attempts to torture He-Man into submission, to make his victory complete, but He-Man refuses to yield. The moment arrives for Skeletor to receive the power of the cosmos, and declaring himself the Master of the Universe, Skeletor uses his new powers to force He-Man to kneel.

Back on Earth, Gwildor repairs the Cosmic Key and Kevin re-creates the tones necessary to create a gateway to Eternia. The group, including Lubic who attempts to arrest them, are transported to Castle Grayskull, where they begin battling Skeletor's forces. Resenting that Skeletor absorbed the power of the Universe without sharing it with her, Evil-Lyn deserts him along with the other henchmen. Skeletor accidentally frees He-Man, who reclaims the Sword of Grayskull, and they battle until He-Man shatters Skeletor's staff, removing his new powers and restoring him to his normal state. He-Man offers mercy, but Skeletor draws a concealed sword and attempts to kill He-Man; He-Man knocks Skeletor into a vast pit below. The freed Sorceress heals Julie and a portal is opened to send the Earthlings home. Hailed as a hero for his bravery, Lubic decides to remain on Eternia.

Julie awakens on the morning of her parents' deaths by plane crash. She prevents them from taking the ill-fated flight by taking their keys, and runs outside to find Kevin. Kevin confirms that their experiences were real, producing a souvenir from Eternia: a small blue sphere containing a scene of He-Man in front of Castle Grayskull with his sword raised above his head.

In a post-credits scene, Skeletor's head emerges from the water at the bottom of the pit, saying "I'll be back!"

Production

Development + Writing:

One of the original drafts from the script by David Odell (whose previous writing credits include Supergirl and The Dark Crystal) was reviewed in the third episode of the He-Man and She-Ra podcast, Masters Cast. The original draft included more time spent on Eternia and Snake Mountain, had Beast Man in a speaking role, and even revealed that He-Man's mother was originally from Earth, as per the character Queen Marlena from the Filmation animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, thus linking the two planets. Describing her character, Foster said that Evil-Lyn is not villainous, "she is just doing her job and she knows how to get results, even if it means being harsh." Langella agreed, calling Evil-Lyn a female more dedicated to Skeletor's cause than any man; she is obsessive around Skeletor because she is slightly lovelorn. The filmmakers considered having Foster wear contact lenses to mask her naturally pale-blue eyes, but decided that her natural eyes fit the character better. However, they did augment Foster's chest, fitting cleavage into the character's costume. Foster wanted the character to have a large hairstyle, rather than the short style featured in the film.

When offered the role, Langella said that he "didn’t even blink…I couldn't wait to play him." Langella cited his then-four-year-old son's love of Skeletor while running around his house yelling He-Man's battle cry "I have the power!" as the reason he chose to play He-Man's archenemy.

Soundtrack:

The musical score of Masters of the Universe was composed by Bill Conti. It was recorded by several European orchestras, chiefly the Graunke Orchestra of Munich (the only one to be credited on the soundtrack album) and conducted by a number of conductors, chiefly Bruce Miller and Harry Rabinowitz (Rabinowitz received sole credit). Conti did not conduct his score because it could not be recorded in the United States as "there was a musicians strike or something like that…So it went to various places." He and the score mixer Dan Wallin assembled the score from the various recorded takes, because there were problems with the orchestral performances ("We didn't have anything that went from beginning to end without a problem").

The soundtrack album was released on record, cassette, and compact disc by Varèse Sarabande in 1987; it was subsequently issued in an expanded version by Edel. In 2008, La-La Land Records released a two-disc edition with the complete score and the original album presentation; in 2012, Intrada Records issued the complete score (the entirely of disc one and tracks 1–5 on disc two) on one disc.

Release/Reception/Box Office:

Masters of the Universe was released on DVD October 23, 2001. A 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc was released by Warner Home Video on October 2, 2012.

Masters of the Universe received negative reviews from critics and holds a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Masters of the Universe is a slapdash adaptation of the He-Man mythos that can't overcome its cynical lack of raison d'etre, no matter how admirably Frank Langella throws himself into the role of Skeletor." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavourable reviews". Variety called it a "Conan-Star Wars hybrid ripoff" that is "a colossal bore." Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote, "If you liked the toy, you'll love the movie." Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a misfiring, underdone epic." Johanna Steinmetz of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film, while predictable and derivative, entertains audiences through its side plots set on Earth.

In a retrospective review, Glenn Heath Jr. of Slant Magazine called it a "jarring mix of corny screwball comedy and choppy action heroics." Chris Eggertsen of HitFix, in an article identifying the film's campy, positive qualities, called it "an objectively bad film with a big heart." Joshua Winning of Digital Spy wrote, "…beloved of '80s kids but scorned by critics, it's a high camp oddity that we should celebrate on its own terms."

Despite the film being panned, actor Frank Langella expressed to press that he loved playing Skeletor, and worked very hard to make the role as exciting as possible, remarking that it was a positive experience.

Billy Barty received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance in the film, but lost to David Mendenhall for Over the Top.

Prior to releasing the film, The Cannon Group touted Masters of the Universe as the Star Wars of the 1980s. Despite releasing alongside the height of the success of the toy line, animated series, and related merchandise, Masters of the Universe began as the third-highest-grossing film of the weekend in North America on August 7, 1987, earning $4,883,168, behind Stakeout ($5,170,403) and The Living Daylights ($7,706,230). The film quickly left the charts altogether with a North American gross of $17,336,370.

The film was released in the Philippines by Solar Films on September 10, 1987.

My Review:

"HEEEEEEMAAAAAANN!!!"

This is one of my favourite movies. It's a classic 80s fantasy film and does not deserve the hate. No it doesn't follow much of the cartoon, and frankly it is quite a terrifying movie for kids. Courtney Cox being chased by those 4 monsters is horrifying. Skeletor is played amazingly, I just think it was seen as a cash in and it's a shame because it's brilliant cheese.

Cute, imaginative and 80's. What's not to love? Dolph Lundgren is amazing, Teela and man-at-arms provide the nostalgia and Gwildor serves as an adequate replacement for Ordo. I regret ever not liking this for 1 second. I was a fair bit disappointed as any hardcore He-Man fan would be, but in the end this movie checks all the boxes as a MOVIE. Give it a chance and it will hook you.

In conclusion, I recommend you give it a watch; 6/10.