Planet Eternia and the Castle of Greyskull are under threat from the evil Skeletor who wants to take over the planet. A group of freedom fighters, led by the heroic He-Man are accidentally transported to Earth by a mysterious Cosmic Key which holds the power to make Skeletor all-powerful. Once on Earth, He-Man joins alliances with two teenagers as they attempt to find the key and return home.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Kiddie Conan with a Dr Who budget
Comment: He-Man (Dolph Lundgren), his friends Duncan (Jon Cypher) and Teela (Chelsea Field), and a supposedly comical gnome-like creature must travel from an alternative universe, Eternia, to Earth in order to find "the cosmic key", a multi-dimensional skeleton key that will allow them to rescue their Sorceress from the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) and save Eternia. While on Earth they team up with two teenagers, Julie (Courtney Cox), who has recently lost her parents in a plane crash, and her boyfriend, aspiring musician Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeill).

I saw this film for the first time when I was about 6 and it was on in cinemas. At that time I religiously watched the He-Man cartoon series and had a collection of He-Man action figures, and thought the film was pretty cool, although, I remember being disappointed by the omission of many of the characters from the cartoon series, including He-Man's pet tiger, and it annoyed me that Skeletor didn't really look like his animated counterpart. Over 20 years later, I purchased this film on DVD just to see if I liked it as much as I did when I was a kid, and I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it wasn't anywhere near as terrible as I expected it to be.

For kids who grew up watching well written, big-budget adventure films such as "The Mummy", this film might seem a bit lame, but given the fact that it does have a relatively low budget and a cast essentially comprised of B-list (and C-list) actors, it makes the best of what it has. The writing's not great, but it's a fun film and the action scenes are pretty good. Not to mention the fact that it is interesting to see Courtney Cox as a "teenager" (although she was in her twenties when this film was made) and the whole idea of He-Man wearing little more than his underwear and a cape had me laughing for long after the film was over. Another advantage of this film is that it has PG rating, something that is very rare now days. There is very little in this film that could possibly offend, but it is also exciting and interesting enough so that parents won't fall asleep if watching it with their children. It's sort of like a kiddie Conan with a Dr Who budget.

Overall, "Masters of the Universe" has held up pretty well over the years, and should be enjoyed by both the children of the 21st century and nostalgic twenty-somethings.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: HE-MAN Un clásico de la niñez de muchos...
Comment: Masters of the Universe the Motion Picture, es una película de perfil medio en realidad creo mucha más expectativa de lo que la pelicula muestra; para mi lo mejor es la actuación de Frank Langella como Skeletor; muy soberbia irreverente y magistral; por su parte la trama es floja pero para mi es un grato recuerdo de mi niñez.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: 20 Years Later.....
Comment: When my son was young, he LOVED He-Man - so when this movie came out we couldn't wait to go see it. I thought it was pretty awesome back then. Now, I've bought it for my grandson. I don't know if I'm jaded or just more savvy - I still enjoyed the movie, but the story line was even hokier than the cartoon show - and poor Dolph Lundgren. He's awesome to look at but he can't act - his performance was pretty flat/deadpan. My grandson loves the movie, however, so I guess that's what matters. I strongly recommend this for 20-something parents who have known the joy of sharing He-Man with their kids!!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Ivan Drago Meets Dracula
Comment: As a child, I watched the cartton. I felt He Man was too powerful and that Skeletor was not smart or strong enough. Well, I feel the movie was a MAJOR IMPROVEMENT! Generally speaking, I don't like it when people try to make cartoons into movies. (It usually doesn't look right.) But here they avoided the misake of trying to make everyone look exactly like the cartoon. Also, while they brought back some familiar figures like He Man, Man At Arms, and Skeletor, they added some new characters like Blade.

While this is a fantasy environment, somehow we accept it as real when Skeletor marches into Grey Skull. Frank Langella (formerly Dracula) is PHENOMENAL as Skeletor. He makes him evil, intelligent, and scary. Yet through Langella's great acting, we still like him in a way.

We then meet our heroes He Man, Teela, and Man at Arms. They are not the stiff invulnerable characters they were in the cartoon. He Man is strong, but he does get injured from time to time. Dolph will probably always be known for his role as Ivan Drago. (The evil Russian Boxer in "Rocky IV" who killed Apollo and inflicted brain trauma that ended Rocky's boxing career.) However, in this movie, Dolph shows his abilities as an actor more. He gets the 1st end of the circle in motion when he tells Skeletor: "It was always between us."

Skeletor gains the upperhand, and our heroes escape by going back in time where they make friends. (one is a girl who lost her parents in a plane accident.) The movie drags at times, but not too often.

When an effort to capture He Man fails, Skeletor puts Evil Lynne into action. In a typically evil moment, Evil Lynne manipulates a girl's most vulnerable emotion. Evil Lynne is an interesting character. While she stands up to Skeletor at times, she knows how to manipulate the fact that he likes her.

Moving on, Skeletor's powers increase, and despite his evil, he is really likable. There is a huge climactic moment when He Man's and Skeletor's forces clash. While we probably know who will come out on top, there is something memorable about how He Man restates: "It was always between us," to which Skeltor responds: "Yes! Let this be our final battle!" While I feel it could have lasted longer, the final fight between He Man and Skeletor is well worth the wait.

While not a masterpiece, it is really well done.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: What was this about?
Comment: Am a big fan of Dolph Lundgren films... have quite a collection on DVD's, but this one put me to sleep. There may be some tie in with possibly a comic book series or something, don't really pay much attention to movies based on comic books, some series, or particular charactors, so can't comment on that aspect of it, but this particular title totally lost me from the beginning, and it wasn't long before I was snoring away. Maybe I need to give this one more chance, maybe a bit earlier in the evening, and hope that it will hold my attention better.

---