Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox

Fantasy action-adventure about the war-torn planet Eternia and the Castle of Greyskull which is coming under threat from the evil Skeletor who wants to take over the planet. A group of freedom fight...( read more  read more... )ers, 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 and company team up with two teenagers as they attempt to find the key and return home. However, Skeletor and his minions are soon hot on their trail...

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41% liked it

16,090 ratings

Critics

13% liked it

16 critics

PG, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Gary Goddard

Release Date: August 7, 1987

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DVD Release Date: October 23, 2001

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Stats: 2,123 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,123)


  • September 29, 2009
    I got very excited about this film when I was a child. I have still got every He-Man figure (apart from the yellow ?Evil? He-man). I don't have this film though and I doubt I will ever buy it, it?s too much of a disappointment still. I don't think I?ll ever get over how much they...( read more) changed the characters! Dolph Lundgren & Frank Langella were good though! Watch this music video instead! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ1u2_PopPk
  • July 11, 2009
    "I have the power!"

    Ok, this movie doesn't have any power... I'm pretty damn sure that most of us guys who are now in their thirties, have had He-Man action figures. I remember that I collected a lot of 'em. When I grew up, I did what every man had to do... I destroyed them. B...( read more)urned them to their plastic origins. But still, fond memories remained and when the movie came out, I was anxious to see it. Probably liked it then but now when I saw it can't say the same thing. This movie destroyed my last good memories of the He-Man universe.

    The cartoons that was aired on TV were, what I recall, fun to watch. A lot of good material that the movie could have based on. But no, the filmmakers had to fuck up that too. Why on earth did they have to put the Eternians to Earth? Why couldn't they give us what we want and do a decent script that would've focused on Prince Adam and his alter ego, He-Man. And were the fuck is Orko!?! What we (former) fans would've wanted is a major battle between the good and evil on Eternia, not some deserted US city.

    So, the story is crap but so is pretty much everything else. The acting is horrific and even my favourite Swede, Dolph Lundgren, couldn't save this film from failing. He does look like He-Man but he doesn't "feel" like it. The action is also one of the weakest parts of the movie. Very lame...

    Now we live in a time of remakes and reboots. Rumors of such a thing has been in the web for a long time. According to Imdb, next year He-Man should give it another shot. Will it work? Probably better than this one. But please, give us then what we want. A proper story with all of the good characters, cause there's a lot of good ones to choose from. Orko would be my choice...
  • July 4, 2009
    Okay, let's face it. We all have our own opinions on films. Some say the Godfather is one of the best films made. Personally i could name 10 films that easily beat it (Masters of the Universe isn't one of them by the way) but there are much better films out there. But despite our...( read more) professionalism when it comes to rating films, there's always a special place in our hearts for those really cheesy childhood movies that made on hell of a difference to our upbringing one way or another. Masters of the Universe is one of those films. Frank Langella, Skeletor, plays the part of He-Man's nemesis better than anyone else i could dream of. Dolph was perfect for the part of He-man. Sure there were some good old fashioned bad guys missing. And where was battlecat? I'll tell you where, at the bottom of the budget. At least we had Air Centurions and a damn sexy Evil Lynn. But above all, we had some bad ass lines in there. I think they done well with what they had. Even the tune is good (thanks for Rocky too Bill). If you don't like this movie it's cause you've got no soul. Masters of the Universe is a masterpiece in every way, shape and form. There hasn't been a bad guy like Skeletor (with the exclusion of Darth Vader) who was able to do the role justice. You probably grew up on a steady diet of westerns (that didn't include Clint Eastwood) and therefor have no imagination. If you don't like Masters of the universe then there's a good chance you don't like other classics like Big Trouble in Little China and other such masterpieces. In which case go back to watching so called classics and pick out another sweater from bland wardrobe and rot.
  • December 19, 2008
    Masters of the Universe is a lot like the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers movies. If you were fans of this stuff when you were younger, then nostalgia alone pretty much guarantees that you will enjoy this movie. If you don't have those fond childhood memories to fall back on, the...( read more)n Masters of the Universe may not be your cup of tea.

    I only have vague memories of He-Man and Skeletor from my childhood, so I'm not a fan by any definition. To me, this was just another cheesy 80's movie. I didn't particularly like the whole "coming to Earth" angle. The story would have been better served by staying in Eternia and not bothering with the lame couple and annoying police officer. Some elements seem to be stolen outright from Star Wars, the acting was hilariously over the top, and the backstory wasn't explained in a way that makes the movie accesible to someone who is unfamiliar with the plot. And let's not even talk about the horrible costumes.

    But if you're a general fan of all things Masters of the Universe, you don't need this review. This movie was probably made for the fans specifically, the rest of us won't even realize what we're missing.
  • June 26, 2008
    i like it
  • November 10, 2009
    The only thing that kept me watchin was young Courteney Cox. Relatively bad all round... Koodos to the make-up artist though.
  • August 24, 2009
    A middle finger salut to the cartoons...
  • August 22, 2009
    I actally liked this movie
  • August 18, 2009
    Horrible. Really horrible.
  • August 13, 2009
    I may have liked the cartoon as a kid but never really wanted to see the live-action version

Comments


  • moviesarethebest
    December 30, 2006
    People who control this page thingy.... You forgot that Courteney Cox stared in this movie as well please put her name on the starring list.
  • Superman1984
    June 3, 2006
    This is prolly the best movie i had seen when i was a little kid and i would watch it again. I love this movie. It is the best movie ever.

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Masters of the Universe Trivia


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