Hugely underrated movie - Masters of the Universe (1987) Discussion

[–] Cold_In_Space 12 years ago

I agree, especially about Frank Langella. His performance still stands out every time I watch the film again.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

I've been on this board off and on for a while now and this movie seems to have developed a little of a following over the last couple of years. It's not perfect, but really very fun for guys our age.

It took something we loved as kids - which really kind of blew - and made it a lot better. It's in the same vein as Star Wars or the old BSG.

I think everybody whose seen it loves Langella's performance. It is indeed menacing.

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[–] craiglowrie 12 years ago

It's a fun movie and reminds me of my childhood. I also saw it at the cinema, when I was 7. I remember that, by this point, He-Man and MOTU weren't as popular as they were a couple of years earlier, but I still liked them and was excited about this movie. Too bad the sequel fell through.

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[–] Hendry_William_French 12 years ago

"MOTU weren't as popular as they were a couple of years earlier"

I never got that. Did the 80s animated shows have a shelf life of only a few years before everyone turned on it or went onto something new? Seems strange. Can anyone with clear memories of the 80s tell me if this is true?

This movie came out only 4 years after the cartoon series debuted, and they said its popularity had already dimished? That was real quick. $hit, that ninja turles garbage is still around to this day.

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[–] Ultra_Nova 12 years ago

The problem was that they quit making the cartoon in 1985/86 (ending with the "She-Ra" cartoons). Many stations that had shown the cartoon stopped showing the old episodes by 87, so kids were not exposed to it as much as they were when the cartoon was popular. The other problem with the cartoon was that it only featured characters made between 82-86, so none of the new characters from the movie were ever shown in the cartoon. Young kids found it hard to relate to some of the new characters, who had no backstory for them. Other problems with the movie for kids at the time were that 1. the characters looked nothing like they did in the cartoons, and 2. the marketing budget for the film was low. Had the movie been better promoted by the studio, it would most likely have made more money.

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[–] Hendry_William_French 12 years ago

Thanks. I was like 4 in the very late 80s when I could first process cartoons, and by that time it seemed that all but TMNT were gone. I mean, I saw smidgens of transformers, real ghostbusters, he man etc but I could tell them and their toy lines were on the last round. I mainly got TMNT and a show called Dino Riders (like if star wars ever had an animated series mixed with dinosaurs). I was always a little pissed off with that. I wish I saw more of He Man when it was in its prime (as well as a few other shows like transformers).

I always thought it was weird those cartoons weren't around much anymore when it had only been 4-5 years since they debuted.

Now get up here and piss in the radiator

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[–] CapitanJusticia 10 years ago

I wish I saw more of He Man when it was in its prime (as well as a few other shows like transformers).

Oh man did you miss out!

It was truly a golden era for cartoons with such classics as Transformers, GI Joe, MOTU, Thundercats, Voltron, and to a lesser extent Silverhawks, Gobots, Bionic Six, Centurions, She-Ra, Inhumanoids, Wheeled Warriors, Dino-Riders, Dinosaucers, Bravestarr, J.E.M., Duck Tales, Defenders of the Earth, M.A.S.K., Sectaurs, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, The, Incredible Hulk,Galaxy High, the REAL Ghostbustes, The Littles, Ewoks, Heathcliff, Inspector Gadget, Droids, etc.

Best time ever to be a kid!

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[–] Hendry_William_French 9 years ago

It was truly a golden era for cartoons with such classics as Transformers, GI Joe, MOTU, Thundercats, Voltron, and to a lesser extent Silverhawks, Gobots, Bionic Six, Centurions, She-Ra, Inhumanoids, Wheeled Warriors, Dino-Riders, Dinosaucers, Bravestarr, J.E.M., Duck Tales, Defenders of the Earth, M.A.S.K., Sectaurs, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, The, Incredible Hulk,Galaxy High, the REAL Ghostbustes, The Littles, Ewoks, Heathcliff, Inspector Gadget, Droids, etc.

Yeah, I remember all those highlighted in bold to some degree. I also remember watching other cartoons of the 80s like Ring Raiders, Moon Dreamers, Rambo and the Forces of Freedom, Ulysses 31, Glo Friends, and The New Archies. In the early 90s there was a TMNT knock off called Toxic Crusaders that I watched, too.

The cartoons were indeed special back then.

I am Djour Djilios. could you spell that please? I don't think so. Try it with a "D".

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[–] MacDeth 12 years ago

Underrated indeed.

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[–] craiglowrie 12 years ago

In response to Lonestarr Winnebago, I was only 7 when the film came out and I can only speak for the popularity of MOTU in the UK(I am Scottish), but I can remember Thundercats being big in 1987 because the UK didn't get the toys and cartoon until late 86. The MOTU cartoon had ended in the US in 85 but they still showed it and then repeated it in the UK for years until 1990 when the New Adventures of He-Man started. I read recently somewhere on the net that the MOTU toy range was not selling as well in 87 and Mattel hoped the movie would revitalise it, which I guess it didn't because it finished the year after.

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[–] Maxx_the_Slash 12 years ago

People can say what they want about this movie, but at least they didn't depict He-Man changing back into Prince Adam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ5LpwO-An4
---
Opie & Anthony | Ron & Fez, XM 105/Sirius 206

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[–] CapitanJusticia 12 years ago

Another fan here! I also saw it in the cinema and remember how it came out just a little after the cartoon hit its peak. I was disappointed the movie was not more faithful to the show, but I realize that back then it would have been very expensive to make a movie that looked just like the cartoon.

I really hope they make a new movie one day, with CGI, something that would look like a combination of the Lords of the Rings movies and Conan the Barbarian (the Arnold version of course).

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[–] andy_needle 12 years ago

Hi!
I'm just watching this now and I'm not as inpressed with it as I was 20 years ago. *beep* I can't spell impressed. Anyway I think this is a really really good film. I was especially inpressed by the man who could whistle. Whistling is a good skill and this guy has got it in abundance! 5 stars! ! x

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[–] dan-willi84 12 years ago

Masters of the Universe is a great film. I think it was a shame they didn't do it true to the cartoon and set most of the film on Eternia. But I like what Frank Langella did with Skeletor and he made him a scarier and more realistic character.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] phoenixzero 12 years ago

I was a huge He-Man fan and was five going on six when this movie came out and I absolutely hated it because of how different it was. It might not have been so bad if they tried harder (especially with the script) to make it more faithful to the cartoon, treating it to an extent as a sequel to the cartoon, instead of basically ignoring it could have done wonders. Since this movie obviously had some inspiration from Superman and Star Wars (especially the music) they could have "borrowed" the opening scrolling text gimmick to explain where things were at and taken care of some of that along with a few passing lines of dialog and effort to use more characters from the series along with making the live action counterparts resemble the cartoon versions, to an extent. Too bad Cannon was just an awful company...

Of course this damn movie held up a lot better (bad/cheese effects aside) than the old cartoon did, my nostalgia was destroyed a long time ago when I found one of my old tapes with some He-Man episodes on it. Still not great or even good IMO but Langella and maybe even the music in its Superman/Star wars inspired (or damn near knock off) glory bring it up a couple points. It's another cheesy part of the 80s, 5/10 is totally fair and where it should be.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

Of course this damn movie held up a lot better (bad/cheese effects aside) than the old cartoon did, my nostalgia was destroyed a long time ago when I found one of my old tapes with some He-Man episodes on it. Still not great or even good IMO but Langella and maybe even the music in its Superman/Star wars inspired (or damn near knock off) glory bring it up a couple points. It's another cheesy part of the 80s, 5/10 is totally fair and where it should be.

I agree the cartoon is freaking terrible, but I think the movie is actually pretty decent movie. Recognizing how bad the cartoon is, I'm not sure how much substance I can put into you being bothered ithe movie not more like it.

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[–] phoenixzero 12 years ago

Because there's more to the source material/mythology than just the cartoon. My first paragraph mostly has to do with what probably would have made me like more back in 1987 but today I still think using some of it could have made for a better, more interesting movie.

Like I said, I HATED this movie when I was little because it wasn't like and didn't follow the cartoon's mythology and I'm sure that's the same for the majority of people that hated or still hate it. I don't hate it or even dislike it anymore and grew out of that a very long time ago, I can actually enjoy it for what it is now but I still believe it could have been better if they tied it in to the mythology.

That could have been done without going overboard, even MotU had/has a series bible that was fairly in depth that could have been used while keeping the same premise for the movie, they didn't need a bunch of the Skelator or He-Man flunkies that were made mainly to sell toys though that didn't stop them from making three of their own that were equally awful and not even useful for comedy relief and the one they did use the turned into a literal beast man, they didn't need Battlecat or ugh, Orko (though Gwildor is obviously a substitute there) or Prince Adam. Let's not use the cartoon as to why that was bad, it was an idea taken from Captain Marvel/Shazam, which Filmation also produced in animated form. It was poorly executed in the cartoon largely due to again, budget and Mattel's desire to use the same molds as much as possible, even for a character that was meant to be a teenager but for the movie it wouldn't have been needed or missed. They could have still made it feel like a continuation from the cartoon without being bogged down by it. I will argue that having next to zero background is worse, especially when wouldn't have increased the budget a single nickle to do so. Top it off, the original draft of the script apparently did tie it in more and there was at least intent on it being more faithful before they got cut out or changed.

I don't hate the original cartoon now either (obviously some here do) and I recognized a very long time ago how poor it was overall, especially from an animation (and some VA) stand point where it's largely unwatchable. It did have a few, (very few) decent stories (the specials were better) but most of the time the many bad parts kill it. Yes it was a poorly/cheaply produced 25 minute toy commercial (something it wasn't alone in) but it still had a mythology that could have been respected a more as it was for the vastly superior 2002 reboot of MotU that died a premature death due to mismanagement. Hopefully the new Thundercats won't have a similar fate though I don't think its fate is tied to a toy line like the new He-Man was. There's a 80s cartoon that held up a lot better, higher quality art/animation and voice acting didn't hurt.

Anyway, back on topic, what saves this movie is Langella and to an extent Tolkan with performances that turn it into being a decent piece of 80s cheese/cult classic. To me it's on a similar level as Howard the Duck though I would put MotU above it.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

Because there's more to the source material/mythology than just the cartoon.

What you mean that comics that were included with each one of the action figures? That's not so much depth as a marketing ploy.

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[–] phoenixzero 12 years ago

There were more comics than just the mini-comics that came with the toys and even today there's a comic series that's running for He-Man though it might be a limited run. The animated series was a marketing ploy, the movie was a marketing ploy to ultimately sell the toys, so what? The comics (there was more than just the mini-comics) offered additional stories and backgrounds, it being a "marketing ploy" is inconsequential. Never mind you ignored my bringing up the series bible.

http://old.he-man.org/cartoon/exclusivefeatures/exclusive-mastersseriesbible-intro.shtml

Anyway, I'm done because this discussion is pointless, especially here.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

Who cares about the "series bible"? The whole damn thing was nothing but a reason to make more action figures. Seriously, your'e acting like there was some kind of depth to He-Man's foundation. He's name is HE-MAN for God's sake. 90% of the supporting characters last names are "man" withi his power or skill also serving as his name. You can't get less creative/innovative if you wanted to.

Good, go. We that post on this board like this movie. If you don't you are welcome to say why, but to act all offended ebcause this movie wasn't like some sh!tty cartoon and comics is seriously lacking in common sense. The source material isn't any good to begin with.

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[–] industrailgas 12 years ago

He-Man fan here for over 30 years.

Were the included minicomics a marketing ploy? As an adult now, I can respond "yes", but it really doesn't matter. As a child, marketing was the last thing on my mind --- the (mini)comics were awesome because they weren't cheesy like the cartoons, and yes, they did add to the mythology and stirred conversation for decades.

For example, we first found out Skeletor was He-Man's uncle through the minicomics. The community also debated for years if Scare Glow's description of "Ghost of Skeletor" meant that he was indeed Skeletor as a ghost ... or... if it was a ghost that was in the possession of Skeletor.

At this point, the name "He-Man" is trivial. What makes Masters of the Universe special is the mix of technology and fantasy... and the HUGE mythology that embodies the property.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

I liked He-Man as a kid. I had as many action figures as the next kid. I also still like this movie to this day. It's a second-rate Star Wars, but I think it's a fun movie. So I'm not somebody who is simply going to dismiss and trash it; I have some sort of appreciation and attachment to the brand name.

But the brand name IS toys. It didn't start as story and evolve into toys, but rather are toys that evolved into a story. There's very little depth to that. Everything that was created was created to sell action figures. There's not even a show anymore, but there's still toys out there; because that's what the franchise has always been. Toys first.

That being said, it's a f-cking miracle I or anyone else likes this movie. The source material was crap meant to sell toys to kids. It's as shallow as GI Joe the cartoon. The comics were fun, but the cartoon was crap.

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[–] LaPfieffer92 12 years ago

i just bought this on bluray. i havent seen this film since i was a kid on TV. i distinctly remember the laser whipping and that skeletor used to creep me out, and some weird troll guy. but being a movie nut and especially action adventure, especially the older fun ones, i found out this is coming on bluray, and since i have an large HDTV and movies looks SO excellent on them, i had to get this. i knew it would be fun finally seeing it all the way through, but it was BETTER then i even remembered it! so much fun! i had a blast! i love star wars (who doesnt?) and this was in the same vein as that. since my childhood, ive kind of discovered all these great 80's actors like dolph lungren, who i recently saw in the expendables movies, and me and my mom watched this tonight. it was just so perfect! and the ending was touching and cute and im just glad it was so great of a fun movie! im on a kind of high from watching it, forgive my hyperness! and courtney cox was so cute! it was funny, it had the action, meg foster was awsome and frank langela kicked ass! its a classic of the 80's action and worth the 16 bucks i paid for the bluray dvd! if IMDB were up to me, this would be rated a 8.5, at LEAST, and those stupud boringass dark knight movies would be rated what this is rated now, a 5.1 (actually more like a 3.1 honestly). its true, todays crap gets the royal treatment while many of these older classics are left in the dark. very true, sadly.

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[–] Kuato_and_George 12 years ago

This movie is hokier than hell, but I think that's what we like about it. It's got that 80s hokey, but with a big heart feel, couple with a damn fine performance by Langella.

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