Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe (1987) starring Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox and Robert Duncan McNeill.

Before...well some had told me it was an 80's classic. Others had told me that they should have left the cartoon well alone, particularly when they told them their initial idea was going to be too expensive. However I went into with fear and trepidation, with the knowledge that people were nervous about another remake considering how bad it was.

The world of Eternia is in the aftermath of Skeletor's (Langella) war on Castle Grayskull, which he has won after seizing Grayskull and the surrounding city using a cosmic key developed by the Thenorian locksmith Gwildor. The Sorceress is now Skeletor's prisoner and he begins to drain her life-force as he waits for the moon of Eternia to align with the Great Eye of the Universe that will bestow god-like power upon him. He-man (Lundgren) and his fellow freedom fighters attempt to stop him and in the process get sent to Earth, where they team up with two teenagers (Cox, Duncan McNeil) who help him stop Skeletor.

The plot of this film is a jumbled mess, and it is no wonder when this is the rewrite. The original plan for this film was for it all to be set on Eternia, however they decided that due to the large amount of creatures and characters that it would be too expensive to film. So the cut backs they made led the writers to reorganise it so that most of the plot was going to be set on Earth.

The plot is not the worst thing about this movie, that award goes to the acting. The acting in this film is truly awful. Lundgren is completely unconvincing as He-man, and one of the key problems of this is that he barely has any lines. The script is disjointed and clichéd. Considering the way Courtney Cox acts in this movie I am shocked that she got chosen for the role of Monica in friends.

To sum it up in a few words, this film is truly awful. Acting, plot, directing. Everything about it makes me regret I even watched it, and that happens with very few films. Generally I feel each film is made for a specific group, however with this one I am completely at a loss. Children would get lost with most of the plot, teenagers would find it cheesy clichéd and generally rather rubbish and adults...well you know how I feel about it.

This film was a waste of my time watching and I am glad to see the back of it. This slots in right next to Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Definitely one to forget!

★☆☆☆☆