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S4.E7: Masters of the Universe (1987) | Fantasy meets California w/ @journerywithacinephile The Average 227 subscribers
24 Plays10 days ago
The journey through our Sword and Sorcery Series reaches the center of the universe tonight! We are traveling from the high-fantasy realms of Willow and Krull to the neon-soaked, cosmic world of Eternia—which, for some reason, looks a lot like 1980s California. Joining us in the booth to navigate the cosmic keys and interdimensional rifts is our good friend David from Journey with a Cinephile! Together, we’re breaking down everything that makes MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (1987) a permanent fixture in the Cannon Films hall of fame. We’re diving deep into Dolph Lundgren’s physical presence as He-Man, the wild "fish-out-of-water" Earth sequences, and why Frank Langella’s Shakespearean take on Skeletor might be the greatest fantasy villain performance of all time. THE POWER IS YOURS! 🫵 On this show, your voice is the final word. We’re putting He-Man through the gauntlet of our official 9-category scorecard, and we’ll be reading your audience scores and live chat comments throughout the entire broadcast. Did the movie capture the magic of the toys, or was it a cosmic misfire? Tell us what you think! 👉 SUBMIT YOUR REVIEW & SCORECARD: [Insert Link to Bio/Review Form] 📚 WANT MORE ADVENTURE? Check out our horror and fantasy books on Amazon: 👉 https://a.co/d/bUtniBd 🎧 RECORD YOUR OWN QUEST WITH ZENCASTR Get 30% off your first 3 months of Zencastr Pro: 👉 https://zen.ai/theaveragereviews 📖 EXPAND YOUR LIBRARY WITH PANGOBOOKS Get $5.00 off your first purchase with code “TIMOTHYREADS”: 👉 https://pangobooks.com/TIMOTHYREADS FOLLOW OUR GUEST: 📸 David: @journeywithacinephile This is The Average, where the real review happens with your friends. #TheAveragePodcast #MastersOfTheUniverse #HeMan #Skeletor #SwordAndSorcery #JourneyWithACinephile #80sFantasy #CannonFilms #DolphLundgren #FrankLangella #MovieReview #CultClassic #MovieScorecard #LivePodcast
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Transcript
Anticipation and Series Conclusion
00:00:32
Speaker
Everything comes to he who waits.
00:00:37
Speaker
And I have waited so very long for this moment. Let her go. i don't think so.
00:01:19
Speaker
Welcome back to The Average. We are concluding our Sword and Sorcery series by leaving the planet Kroll behind and heading straight for the center of the universe. Tonight we're asking the big questions. Why is Eternia in a suburban high school? Why does He-Man have a cape? And how did Frank Langella deliver a Shakespearean masterclass while wearing a skull mask?
00:01:39
Speaker
That's right. Tonight we are breaking down the 1987 Canon Films epic Masters of the Universe. But before we call upon the power of Greyskull, a quick reminder. This is your show. The link in our bio is live. Now for you to fill out your official average scorecard. We want your scores on everything from Dolph's physique to the cosmic key sound effects, the Japanese synthesizer. Submit those reviews now and join us in the live chat and we'll be reading whatever you send us.
Chaotic Movie Experience and Production Challenges
00:02:11
Speaker
Now, let's be honest, this movie is an absolute wreck. It's a beautiful neon-soaked disaster that somehow managed to trade the sprawling vistas of Eternia for a California chicken shack. But despite the chaos, it's an absolute blast.
00:02:24
Speaker
It really is. And behind the scenes trivia is just as wild as the movie ah movie itself. Did you know that Dolph Lundgren actually did all of his own stunts? He was so dedicated that he reportedly refused to use a double for the sword fights. And then there's the legendary Frank Langella, who has gone on record saying that playing Skeletor was one of his favorite roles ever, because his young son was a huge fan of the toys. He actually rewrote many of his own lines to give the character that iconic theatrical weight.
00:02:58
Speaker
It's that weird canon film's magic. They were notoriously over leveraged and under budgeted, which is why we spend so much time on Earth instead of Snake Mountain. They even had to shut down production before the final battle was finished because the studio ran out of money. That final duel between He-Man and Skeletor, they had to beg for a small crew to go back and film it months later just so the movie had an ending.
00:03:19
Speaker
It's a movie that shouldn't work, yet somehow it's a permanent fixture in our 80s nostalgia hearts.
Navigating the Storyline with David
00:03:25
Speaker
To help us navigate this cosmic mess, we have a very special guest in the booth. He's a man who knows his way around a film reel and a fantasy quest. Please welcome our friend David from Journey with a Cinephile.
00:03:38
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me back for this ah this wild one. Yeah. I'm trying to think, what was the last movie you talked with us about? One that was way more bleak than this was a dark song.
00:03:49
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Dark song. That was a fun one. That was such a good for us to talk about. Yeah, that's right. Oh, geez. But, yeah, David, welcome to the show. we're glad that you're here to help us to settle the score on Eternia. All right, so let's get into this story. I got to be honest, guys. ah I've seen this movie twice now.
00:04:07
Speaker
Okay? Yeah, so this is not one that I grew up watching. This is one that I saw much later in life. And after two watches, i still have no idea what's going on in this thing. I still... we The story kicks off. We're in the middle of something already. Like, Skeletor's already won, basically, the castle. He's got the... the ah what a sorceress or whatever trapped and he-man's making a last desperate attempt and then he gets whisked away to earth and then the whole movie is a giant mcguffin quest to send him back to eternia to have this final confrontation did i did i get it about right yeah pretty much yeah it's very very very accurate Yeah, it's, this is what I mean by like putting this together. I was like, this is a beautiful mess. This movie is, i'm I just gotta say it up front.
00:05:01
Speaker
I think Howard the Duck is better quality than this movie. Oh yeah, i due to absolutely. both yeah They're both just disastrous fun. Like it's a ton of fun, but this is nothing high class at all. I am very excited for the new Masters of the Universe later this year.
00:05:20
Speaker
Oh yeah, i saw that they were coming out that. trailers awesome. so haven't seen it yet. That was actually when I put this on the list, I was worried David thought we were talking about the new one. So I checked the dates to make sure we we weren't too close to the new one. But I do want to revisit, maybe we'll revisit the new one when it comes out and talk about it.
00:05:37
Speaker
But what do you guys think about this
Debating Human Subplots and Viewer Assumptions
00:05:39
Speaker
story? What did I miss?
00:05:43
Speaker
I'm not sure you missed a whole lot, to be honest. I'm in the same boat as you. This is only the second time that I've seen it. I'm pretty sure I edited it to like my Netflix like DVDs in the mail like a long time ago, watched it. and like I was too young for the actual like toys, but my cousin had them, so I'd go to my grandmother's house. But I mean, outside of that, for this movie here, it seems more like they just kind of...
00:06:09
Speaker
bought the rights, did their own thing with what budget they could. And the only other thing I would say is that there is that subplot with the human characters, I guess, for a lack of a better thing with like how Courtney Cox is going to she's moving away. That's really the only other subplot with her soon to be ex boyfriend is doing whatever he can, like his last ditch effort to get her to stay.
00:06:35
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I grew up watching the cartoons when I was really when i was growing up in Knoxville, Iowa in like the late 80s. And yeah, the the movie definitely has a different feel than what you get from the the cartoon itself. But man, I used to love the toys. my My friend at the time, Willie Davidson, that I lived down the block from, He had all of the He-Man toys. He had Castle Grayskull. He had He-Man riding on Cringer the Battle Cat, you know, with the removable saddle and shit, you know. I'd always be like, oh man, let's play with those. They're so cool. ah You know?
00:07:07
Speaker
Yeah, good nostalgia. I remember when I came along in the 90s, finding those in like garage sale bins and all that. And they they were awesome. And I remember like we'll get to that when we get to cultural effect. But even growing up in the 90s, He-Man was still a big part of like kid life. I remember He-Man very much so. And I remember this movie, even though I didn't see it as a kid. too much action for my parents, but ah but I remember this movie because Dolph Lundgren was i pretty iconic as the physical embodiment of He-Man, even with the like terrible helmet hair. They even brought that. It's better than having a penis haircut. kind of Just about.
00:07:48
Speaker
But the the story is. ah Man, I don't even know what to say about this story. It is really, i feel like we are watching the final installment in a trilogy of films. Like we have arrived at the end of things here and it has a watching it. I was like, this has, um, return of the Jedi vibes with yeah throwing, ah why why can't I think of his name? Skeletor down the pit. I'm like, that's the emperor. He even has lightning hands. You know, uh, I got returning to the Jedi vibes and.
00:08:25
Speaker
I think that hurts this movie. i I want to slow, like this movie absolutely assumes you have been watching the cartoon and you know the toys by name because even some ah even some of the dialogue parts later, like when they introduce the villains who are hunting down this key, they're like, here's this action figure and then this one and all the kids, I can just picture the kids like, yeah, that's my favorite, but ah it doesn't work the same on screen. So, That was the vibe that I got too, though, is that it feels like they want you to, like, they're assuming most people had watched the show is what I kind of got from it. And that you're like, okay, so this is where they're...
00:09:08
Speaker
picking up right there where it's like, okay, this is the, like you said, the the Return of the Jedi, like, a comparison I think is spot on for it. It's that whole thing where this is the final act before you kind because I mean it's kind of similar to what like Transformers I think kind of did, where like, if you had watched the whole show, how that movie kind of plays, there's like,
00:09:27
Speaker
but The original animated Transformers. yeah Yes, yeah like the one from, like I think it's 85, where yeah you can watch that one without knowing any of that, where this one fails, I think, on giving you enough backstory where that one, you just got all that other extra stuff, and for this one, you're just kind of jumping in right there on that third act and being like, all right, let's let's roll with that, and then going back to the budget thing where it's like, we can't show you any more fantasy elements, so let's bring it to where we can afford Yeah, backlots in California.
Adaptation Comparisons and Sci-Fi Elements
00:09:58
Speaker
Yeah, it's fair to say all that because I mean, that's how probably I would have looked at it after if I'd been watching all the cartoons growing up and then seeing the movie. It's OK, we're finally seeing that end part of what's supposed to happen in the cartoon that we don't see.
00:10:11
Speaker
But still, it throws you off because it's like, well, I would have liked to have seen more of a in the film versus just that little bit of landscape with Grylldor and his little hidey hole and the inside of Castle Grayskull. the great eye part you know like where's the rest of it come on dude like give me more of that like we've already seen the united states and we know what that bullshit is and how much it sucks like it's supposed to be fantasy take us back more into the fantasy part of it please courtney cox though oh yeah child courtney cox in there i will say your child she was older than that but
00:10:45
Speaker
her Her boyfriend though just reminded me somehow of like ah like an 80s version of Chris Pratt. don't everybody else kind of got that feeling, but that's kind of what I got out of him. I'm like, dude, is that like his dad maybe? One of those weird Hollywood crossover jeans and gene installments or something? So many things to comment on about those two because I don't think their story serves, we can talk about that in the story.
00:11:11
Speaker
I'm not sure their story serves much. It's so weird. It's so random. Honestly, that we get this little bit of romance and then even her parents coming back at the very end. I'm like, what just happened?
00:11:26
Speaker
Eternia magic, master of the universe. I can do anything now. Yeah, it just didn't. That's a payoff that A, I didn't expect because it was such a, I was like, oh she has dead parents as a part of her character. Okay. It's, it's going to form a lot of her decisions and stuff.
00:11:42
Speaker
And no, they bring her back at the end. It's, it's okay. Eternity of magic. especially off of like a throwaway line where she gives her a little bit of backstory and then you undo everything.
00:11:53
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Because there was no development of that throughout. Like, Hey, this might, we might be able to save your parents with this. Right. There was no development of that through the story. It's just like, we're going to do it. we We can film that. They probably film that before the actual final battle. But when it comes to this story, i have to score it a two. Yeah.
00:12:15
Speaker
I think it's just okay. It's an okay story. That's actually the exact score I had too. All right. Well, like I said, there's the nostalgia factor for me because I grew up on it and I've seen the film so many times over the years. So, I mean, I went with a three on it. I mean, because it kind of had that concurrence from the animated series at the time.
00:12:37
Speaker
Okay. I'm glad you mentioned the animated series again because I thought of something earlier and now I remember it. ah Much like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Both of these have huge animated shows in the eighties and then a movie.
00:12:52
Speaker
And the difference with turtles, because I just saw the secret of the use was released in theaters for the anniversary. I just went back and saw it and it had like a little 10 minute documentary before from Kevin Eastman oh talking about it. And he was talking about when they started, they did their first comic book and they thought that was going to be it. That's why the first comic book ends.
00:13:15
Speaker
And that's the battle with Shredder. And then it got really popular and they wrote an ongoing series. And then they made the animated show. And then they made the movies. And he talked about each one of them, they approached as its own contained universe. That's why there's differences from one to the other. But that's also why the first Turtles movie doesn't assume you watch the animated show.
00:13:37
Speaker
it goes in and explains because the origin of Casey Jones is slightly different in each one. The origin of the turtle is April, how they encounter April, slightly different. And so I kind of wish Masters of the Universe hadn't had so much reliance on the show.
00:13:54
Speaker
But that that's my spiel. It's funny you bring up the turtles, though, because... Love the turtles. I actually was at the comic book shop a couple weeks ago looking around, and now that they're post-The Last Ronin in the series, now they've got TMNT Re-Evolution.
00:14:11
Speaker
So it's like a new set of turtles that they brought around. So I'm trying to catch up on that. I'm like, that's kind of cool. you so yeah Just a side note there. Yeah, I read the original... IDW comic book publisher has released the original black and white Eastman and Laird Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I bought that. In a hardcover. Yeah. Hardcover compendium.
00:14:33
Speaker
It's awesome. It's one of the nicest compendiums I've ever had. But... Turtle, turtle tangent aside. So talking about the character arc, this is okay. This goes back to Julie, who is played by Courtney Cox. This is the closest thing to a character arc that we have in this movie because He-Man is just He-Man from beginning to end, just running around.
00:14:57
Speaker
I got a plan. And then somebody, they talk about the plan, and then I don't actually see that plan unfold on TV. And that's it. There's action, and that's He-Man.
00:15:07
Speaker
But we have Julie, who, as we said, her parents died in a plane crash. She says it's her fault. And then while she's standing at the grave, that's where they find the key to send He-Man back to Eternia.
00:15:21
Speaker
And there's not much growth throughout that about what's going on. other I guess she realizes later that she's like, I don't have to move. she She does decide I can stay here. But it's just they're so focused on the keys and these action set pieces that they really miss the moments for character development throughout this.
00:15:44
Speaker
See, that kills me too because you know there's there's no differentiation or any kind of part where there you see there's Prince Adam and then there's there's He-Man.
00:15:56
Speaker
It's just He-Man. there's The whole time. There's nothing. There's no loss of power or regaining power. you know this It's just He-Man the whole time and no Prince Adam at all. They don't even refer to him as Prince Adam. It's just He-Man all the time. And it's hard to have any kind of arc when it's just him in that form the whole time.
00:16:14
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah Kind of going along with that, it is interesting because most people are coming into this to watch He-Man and like the He-Man characters, but he's really not even the main character because it's it's really that young couple who just aren't as interesting.
00:16:32
Speaker
cause like that i mean I came to this movie late, and the only reason I did is because i was like, oh i used to play with these toys. I really want to see this movie and to see what they did. And then it doesn't necessarily give me what I'm looking for.
00:16:46
Speaker
No, it's, I mean, i do think some of the action is pretty cool. Do you guys hear an echo of my voice? sometimes okay i i do i don't know how to fix that um damn technology if i stand back far enough uh sorry sidetracked um yeah you you are showing up for the he-man action and i do think some of the he-man action is pretty cool compared to the sword and sorcery movies we've watched like it's it's some fun sci-fi going back to crawl some sci-fi sword action it's it's cool stuff but
00:17:21
Speaker
Yeah, I was totally blindsided by the character of Courtney and her love interest because I wasn't expecting that in a movie about He-Man. You know, I didn't know much about this movie, but I knew about He-Man. And so going into it, I thought I was going to be watching Dolph Lundgren the whole time. And I'm sitting there as the credits are coming up. I'm like, Courtney Cox is in this. Who is she going to play? And then i'm like, oh, just this random worker at Kentucky Fried Chicken. key That's the other thing I love throughout the movie. They're pulling out the bucket of fried chicken from the fridge. They put it in the microwave, eating it. Yeah, I thought that was hilarious.
00:18:03
Speaker
When it comes to arc though, I mean, the, yeah, you got Julie in her arc with like not leaving and just wanting to stay in love her boyfriend or getting her parents back from what i feel like is them being dumped into an alternate timeline where her parents didn't die because of attorney and magic. But I think.
00:18:22
Speaker
The biggest arc here is is really Skeletor because he's plan after plan after plan for domination. He gets so close and he keeps saying, this is my destiny, blah, blah, blah, blah. only to for it to turn out that his destiny is to ultimately fail and get the shit kicked out of him and to be struck down. Ooh, you're making some good points here. Yeah, so that that's like I feel like that's the primary arc to focus on here is Skeletor's belief in him becoming the ultimate power, only for his fate to actually be to get fucking destroyed.
00:18:55
Speaker
Because Skeletor is the best character in this movie. Oh, dude, absolutely. He steals every scene. his ah Like you said, ah he's got the best character arc, and I didn't even think about it until you brought it up. Because I typically don't think about the character arc of being the villain. you know Even if you have a negative character arc in a movie like Joker where it ends poorly,
00:19:18
Speaker
That's still your, he's still technically your protagonist. So in this one, that you don't normally think about the antagonist, but yeah, I mean, I guess much like Return of the Jedi, we hit Darth Vader has a redemptive arc that you follow in that one. So that's that's a good point, Jonathan. Yeah, you could also view it as kind of like a DBZ moment, some Dragon Ball action, a golden Frieza form, and still getting the shit kicked out of him, getting dashed.
00:19:47
Speaker
I am unfamiliar with Dragon Ball Z. Oh, dude, Dragon Ball z is amazing. I love Dragon Ball z GT kind of was shit, but Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and then, you know, the Super Dragon Ball, that all that was pretty great, you know, yeah Battle of the Gods and shit, you know. pretty but But yeah, I feel like that Golden Frieza form action when Skeletor finally gets the power and he gets all gold cover, Ultimate Staff, and then He-Man's like, nope, fuck you, I have the power. Boom, eat bitch. yeah Yeah. I was waiting for that. I have the power moment. And then when it happened, i was kind of like, oh, OK, it was very lackluster. Yes, I have the power like, you know, this should be a little more fanfare. You had the power the whole time is from what I understand. I never lost the power and there was no focus on special sword. It's just he had a sword. He used it sometimes. Mostly was using a blaster.
00:20:39
Speaker
Just from the trailer of the new one, it looks like they got everything we're talking about correct. More time in Eternia. The sword looks awesome. We have the difference between Adam and He-Man immediately in the trailer. i'm I need to watch the trailer. I need to get on that.
00:20:55
Speaker
Oh, you haven't seen the trailer? No, haven't. i I found out the other day that there is one just at random. And then I was like, oh, shit, I should watch that. and i just It's going to get you hyped. it looks It looks good. Even my only concern is that Jared Leto is playing Skeletor, and he's a box office curse. soo As of late, yeah, for sure. and that That threw me off when I was looking at it. I mean, after when I was looking up stuff for this one, I was looking up the new one. Just be like, oh, who's playing what? Just to kind of compare. And i was like, oh.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah, yeah there's ah there's some interesting casting for the new one. And I will say, um he could do a good job, but typically he's known for crashing movies lately.
00:21:35
Speaker
But I do like that the person playing He-Man is kind of completely unknown. I've never heard of him before. I think that helps. No expectations. Just, what is this guy going to do Fresh take, fresh start. Yeah. it's it's honestly how i feel about like all these superhero movies lately like just hire an unknown and let them prove their worth with this character like you did when you started but anyways scoring the character arc i'm a two again i just think it's okay it's okay yeah that's where i came in as well was a two
00:22:08
Speaker
I gave it a three. All right. A middle ground. So music and sound design, i actually do think music and sound design is one of the high points for this film. ah Bill Conti, I think is how you say his name, he composed Rocky and The Right Stuff did this movie as well. So it's massive orchestral stuff. My big complaint, and it's reflected in my score, is the opening theme, the He-Man theme.
00:22:38
Speaker
Again, I'm not familiar with the cartoon, so it could be the same from the cartoon, but it reminded me of the Superman theme from the 70s films. I was like, are we about to go? Nope, nope. Like, it's very close to the Superman theme. It's different enough, but it reminded me of Superman. So that's my big thing on that. And then the Cosmic Key Synthesizer, I just thought was hilariously weird.
00:23:02
Speaker
It was the most significant thing when it comes to the sound design in the movie, aside from all the blaster reactions, you know.
00:23:14
Speaker
poking the cylinder, making, oh we're we're going to use it in our band. Okay. I did think that was funny because every time that the like villains are trying to find them, somebody starts messing with it. And I was like, this is, this is fun that we keep playing with this thing every time that they're like, all right, we need to wait until this happens. And it does. um And it's kind of interesting because Canon did Superman four. So I'm wondering if they got some of the rights and that's why the opening theme it sounds so similar. Cause I kind of thought that too, where it, It did feel very generic superhero movie from that era. Yes.
00:23:56
Speaker
It's bombastic. It sounds good. But I was like, it reminds me of other things. So that's problematic. But the music didn't do much for me. it was just there. Apparently, according to some random trivia found online, the score was actually very complex. And the original orchestra hired to record it couldn't keep up with the tempo.
00:24:18
Speaker
I don't know. Internet trivia. So I don't know. I didn't hear the complexity, but I also don't teach music. So I don't know. Fair. And the music for the cosmic key that we're talking about was written before the score. If you couldn't tell, by the way, it doesn't sound like it's part of the score whatsoever. but but That's kind of a good thing, maybe.
00:24:42
Speaker
Yes. So when it comes to the music, I'm a three. that's We're twinning it up here. Woo! Hey! Trifecta. Okay.
00:24:54
Speaker
All right. So then we go to the next one.
Budget Constraints and Unique Performances
00:24:58
Speaker
Editing and special effects. So for such a low budget, all right, this is when I was surprised. I thought this was a high budget movie you watching it.
00:25:07
Speaker
And... I just thought it was a messy high budget movie. And then I started reading after I finished it that like, no, they didn't even have the budget to finish it. They had to scrape together some dimes to go finish the movie. And I was like, oh, suddenly some of the choices make more sense.
00:25:24
Speaker
But also I'm impressed with what they did on the budget they had in 1987. There's some pretty cool action set pieces here. Just like it's, it's silly and it's very dated now, but like he-man sword hit an armor and sparks fly in. Um, it was consistently done. It looks pretty cool. The stunts were pretty cool. Them flying around on those little things looks rough, but it's still impressive. I'm like, Hey, you pulled that off. That looks good.
00:25:53
Speaker
Uh, The I'm trying to think of what the biggest one was. Oh, my biggest complaint when it comes is probably editing, because if you watch it carefully, they reuse footage a couple of times, especially at the beginning. So there's the scene where you see the people like the military marching over the rocks towards Castle Grayskull.
00:26:17
Speaker
And we see it one time with the people on the right and Castle Grayskull on the left. And then later we see it again and it's reversed so that the people are on the left and the castle on the right. So so they recycle some footage throughout the film cheating.
00:26:34
Speaker
Uh huh. And I'm like, oh, that makes sense when their budget's low and they got to try to pad the time. But this is actually an hour and 47 minutes is pretty long for this type of movie. Yeah. I'm surprised. And I felt that. So I'm going to put that in the editing because I was like, that seemed like the fight on the rooftop. I was like, that seemed pretty final. That seemed pretty final. We're, we're almost done here. And then no, there's a whole like 20 more minutes going on where we got to go back to Eternia and properly end it. So I felt that in the editing, I think the editing could have been tightened up.
00:27:06
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's fair to say. Um, I mean, i like the special effects, like when they're going through the portal action back and forth, you know, and when Skeletor and them are coming through onto Earth, you know, I enjoyed all of that. I thought that was pretty cool. And then, of course, all your blaster effects were pretty standard, but still still worked out pretty well and looked good. The grappling hook coming back through the portal, like snaking through and grabbing out that actually looked really impressive. I was like, that's cool. That's one of your coolest little shots in the film.
00:27:38
Speaker
yeah There was a lot of standard like pyrotechnic action from blasts and clashes and things. I mean, wasn't really anything too amazing on that. Yeah, I'll give them credit definitely for the sci-fi elements of it. is definitely, I wouldn't expect, especially knowing more about canon this time around, that they were able to kind of pull all that stuff off. And I mean, I even think the look of the characters to try to make them look as close to their like cartoon or action figure, like Beastman, I thought looked great. Like he just made me like chuckle every time I saw him. And I was like, that's awesome. Like, I love that. Like, that's just i like a nostalgia thing there. And I mean, the He-Man, like you, you have him looking exactly like I remember him looking. And I mean, The only issue I have with Skeletor is just that this movie was not made for HD, where I could like up close, I'm like, oh, you can see his nose poking through. like But I was like, you know what I'm not gonna hold that against it.
00:28:37
Speaker
This is one of those things where when they first made this, there there was no way people would know that we'd be able to see that now. Right. If we could have seen that on a box TV in 1990, it would have been pretty. I thought it was still pretty damn impressive. His cheeks and stuff. He really got some movement in there. I'm glad you brought that up because I totally spaced on it. And I just realized, I think, I think Travis is hanging out in the chat and I do have his scores. So.
00:29:04
Speaker
He scored the story plot a five, the character a three, music and sound design a four, and are we ready to score special effects or we have more to say on it? I think I'm good.
00:29:15
Speaker
I think I'm okay. Okay, so Travis scored the special effects and editing a four. I gave it a three. Yeah, if it was just special effects, I would have went four, but including the editing in I came down on a three as well.
00:29:30
Speaker
I felt good giving it a four, because not primarily because of the special effects, especially for it being 87. Yeah, I think that's I can see that. I think it's fair. i All right, the script.
00:29:43
Speaker
This is where I have to dog on this movie. This is... i've Time to Tim pick. This script is bad. Like, there is a reason some of the best lines are from Skeletor, and it's because Frank Langella probably wrote them himself. It is...
00:30:01
Speaker
It is awful. And that's kind of why I chose the opening scene that I put in that intro. There's just let her go. no like it's just there's like, fuck you. I don't want Yeah. Every scene is big action set piece. And then they go, well, what do we do now?
00:30:19
Speaker
This is the plan. Okay. And then they run off to the next thing. And that's the script. It's so... I don't want to say it's exposition heavy because there's not a whole lot of exposition going on, but there's nothing else going on. It's just explaining the scenario over and over and over again.
00:30:38
Speaker
Every scene, one of my favorite scenes of just like I laughed out loud at how rough it was um towards the end.
00:30:50
Speaker
when julie's character is like knocked out not feeling good whatever and her boyfriend runs off to get something and he comes back later and he comes back she's laying on the bench and he's like how is she and then the action lady i don't know her name goes the same and he's like okay and then just moves on to the next thing and it's just you're not even worried about her that much. Like it's so abrupt. And I can't blame the actors when your script is like that thin can't blame the actors. I think they did the best of what they could. Um, who there's man at arms. I who is the woman?
00:31:28
Speaker
Tila. Tila. It's woman in arms. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Sure. so looked Right at the camera. Fourth wall break for that scene. ah They had the worst lines throughout the movie just because their back and forth with each other was so mechanical. And i wish i can't I wish I could tell you every time that I was like, that was rough and it was funny, but i honestly just watch the movie because every time Tila and Man-at-Arms are talking, it is a mechanical dialogue of reciting the lines that don't really feel believable.
00:32:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard to push on those. But Gryldor was fun to listen to, though. he he was He was an interesting character. He killed it. We didn't mention him in the practical effects, but we should have. Oh, yeah, because the makeup and everything. And he blows the water out of his ears after falling on. And sprays everybody. He's like, oh, sorry. He's just a goofy little weirdo. I saw that. I was like, that's pretty cool. So that he was played by Billy Barty, who was in Willow.
00:32:36
Speaker
yeah he was in willow we talked we saw willow he was in legend oh hell yeah uh had quite a run for a while let me see oo i watched that movie all the he was a voice and rescuers down under he did ah voices for ducktales masters of universe he was rumplestiltskin in the 87 rumplestiltskin movie i watch so Oh, yeah. He was in Golden Girls. I love that show. He was in Golden Girls. That's an odd one to throw in there for him. Sci-fi fantasy. Legend, Night Patrol. like he
00:33:10
Speaker
He did a lot of good stuff. and I like that connection that we started this series with Willow when he was in that and now he's in this. but yeah I'm glad you brought him up. it's funny It's funny, too, because like when i when I got back from what I was doing earlier today to the hotel, um I was sitting there and i was kind of re-watching certain parts of He-Man, then I turned on the TV to take a break and then on was Your Highness.
00:33:37
Speaker
yeah and i was like man that would be a good movie for us to review maybe next year for for some sword sorcery stuff because that's crazy movie really really funny james franco and uh why can't think what's his name from eastbound and down danny mcbride yeah danny mcbride that you such a son of a bitch but funny as fuck man and like that's a wonderful movie that we could have reviewed for first oh source i want to like i want to side tracking here but I want to do sword and sorcery again next year because had a ton of fun with these three movies and there's a lot more to be seen so right there's so many good things on the table that we can be checking out okay back to the script though yeah get people I said my piece on the script
00:34:18
Speaker
Yeah, i don't really know if there's anything else that. It's kind of funny, the only other thing I was thinking of is there's also an earlier scene, like when he first finds the key and he wants to go take it to the one guy to see if he can like figure out what it is and potentially figure out how much it's worth.
00:34:35
Speaker
I was watching this with my sister and we both were like, she's about to leave your life forever and you're just gonna run to go check out this thing. why wouldn't you wait till tomorrow to go check this? Because Pree Pratt's a dumbass. Old Pree Pratt going to see his buddy Charlie at the music shop. It's like, dude, tomorrow. But yeah, that's the only other thing I wanted to bring up where it does seem pretty thin to not make this little bit more cohesive. Oh, okay, yes. Going off what you're saying, it feels thin in like, there's just a lot of, and this happens, and then this happens. And lot of luck, plot armor, as like Julie has this weapon and she's supposedly in a ton of danger, but somehow He-Man magically finds her right before everything happens. And we have no idea, like, is he following the sounds? They never really get into that. And I was reading that apparently Dolph Lund, this was his second role.
00:35:35
Speaker
after rocky 4. oh really yeah so he had rocky 4 and then he went to this one and his english was still very limited which is why he doesn't have a ton of lines so still sounded good though yeah he sounded pretty good uh i'm not sure how great his acting was but it sounded yeah judge just stunned some more in this movie his action stuff was a lot of fun but yeah that explains why he-man himself doesn't do a lot of talking That is fair. Yeah, makes sense. Not really much I could add to that on the script, you know, because there's so many parts of it that are kind of campy and some of it just seemed kind of dumb and pointless as far as, like, pre-pret and Courtney Cox's action going on.
00:36:17
Speaker
um
00:36:21
Speaker
Yeah, that's about it, I also just think it's funny... um
00:36:30
Speaker
Another scene that came to mind while David was talking was after He-Man first meets Julie Courtney Cox's character and they're sitting down and he's like, we're looking for like this key that has some buttons on it. And she's like, i know what that is. Like just immediately knows after the most basic of descriptions. It's connecting the dots. Yeah. This is one where I kind of wish it was a little bit more of a modern sensibility where it's like, you're going have to be more specific than that. What are you talking about? But when it comes to the script, I did give this a one.
00:37:09
Speaker
That's actually the same score that I gave. It was a one. don't know. For 80s sci-fi action films, see it kind of fell into a certain kind of line for me. As far as what you would get for that time. So for me, I still middle ground. i thought it was OK, not horrible. So I still sat at a three on that.
00:37:27
Speaker
I'll let you have it, but I'll just say, like, comparatively, Willow is a masterpiece. Dude, way better. Willow blows this movie out of the water. So it's great that we have that versus this as a comparison for like sci-fi, sportton fantasy kind of thing.
00:37:44
Speaker
And then ah Travis gave it a three as well. So thanks Travis. on appreciate that bro Onto the acting. I already mentioned, i it's hard to, it's hard to attack any of these. I do think they're the standouts are Franklin Jella as Skeletor. He is,
00:38:06
Speaker
Excellent in like he is better than he deserves this movie deserves him to be he is great He has just a weight and a presence on film that looks like he is having fun and he is ad-libbing his lines He he does quote Shakespeare at one point in the film if you I think somebody commented that on our Instagram. He does quote Shakespeare and that line was ad-libbed by Frank. and um So those are those are some nice things. But also Courtney Cox was really good. Young Courtney Cox I was impressed with. And I was like, why wasn't she in more like she would have been great in like a John Hughes movie in 1987. Yeah,
00:38:55
Speaker
She got stuck with He-Man, but it's okay. She went on to do Friends and Scream, so she was set for life. but what if What if she had been put in Leprechaun instead of Jennifer Aniston? yeah Probably still would have ended up in Friends. Yeah, right?
00:39:13
Speaker
I, those were the two standouts for me. They, I think everybody else is a fairly, ah they're, they're nothing more than a meat delivery method for the, for the words. That's it. They're just there to speak.
00:39:27
Speaker
There's not a lot of, uh, and Gwildor. Bill Barty. Bill Barty is good. He does play that. It's one of the most recognizable, most memorable characters from the film is Gwildor, who was created for the film because they couldn't afford the budget of He-Man's other friends. Orko? Couldn't have any Orko? Like, bro, where the fuck was Orko, man? yeah so so That was your comic relief, but they had Gwildor instead, which is okay. Gwildor. Okay. Yep.
00:40:00
Speaker
ah What I would actually kind of include is Meg Foster as Evil Lynn. Oh! I forgot. it She's great. What I like about her is with her ability to kind of take on other people, that does help the story kind of bridge to things because multiple times she's able to...
00:40:20
Speaker
get something because she can confuse people about who she is. So I think that's something that I also wanted to give her credit. And she's always so interesting too, because of how striking her eyes are and how many movies people are like, yeah, we can't have that. So we need you to wear these contacts to kind of doll them down to a different color.
00:40:40
Speaker
Yeah. No, I'm, I'm glad you brought that up because I was spacing on it again, but I'm watching this movie and yeah, yeah, I was like, her character told me a lot about my taste. So I was just like, okay, okay. Yep, she was good. She was very good.
00:41:04
Speaker
Jonathan? i don't know. Like I had a brain fart. Are we still on script or we're on acting? We're on script. Okay. very no so sorry No, we're on acting. Sorry. Oh, we are. alright Okay. let's say So yeah, like with man at arms and Tila, the like, see it earlier when it came to script, you know, their delivery was a little mechanical, like you were saying.
00:41:23
Speaker
But overall, a lot of the more main characters we still had a decent performance from, even though you know the boyfriend, Mr. Pre-Pratt, as I call him, was kind of eh, kind of janky.
00:41:33
Speaker
Courtney Cox was all right. Kind of goofy, though, at that whole point where Evil-Lynn tricks her and gets her to come and take the key. And she just comes in and they're like, hey, would help us out. And she's just like,
00:41:46
Speaker
Yoink! out and they're like, what the fuck, dude? Just leaving them flat and cold, knowing what's at stake, and still let your dumb ass be tricked. And then like seeing that it's Evelyn like, no, no! That just kind of put me off a little bit. But it is what it is. Trying to be dramatic and all that crap. you It was fine. But yeah, definitely Frank Langella as Eskelator was one of the biggest performances of the film. And just, you know...
00:42:13
Speaker
Shout out for James Tolkien as Detective Lubick. Rest in peace. He passed away just recently. I saw that. was sad. I was like, damn, we're about to do He-Man, and he just passed away. And oddly enough, Tim, it seems like some movies that we review, some actors be passing away from shortly before we watch those movies. Like when we did Suspiria and the remake of Suspiria. the woman who played the dancer in the first one and then was like the the missing wife in the remake she passed away shortly before we did that movie now we're about to do this and here james tolkien passes away shortly before i'm like oh is there are we cursed here and that's the thing are we about to name out movies we're going review and people from it die so yeah so when we make the list ahead of time are we making a death list are we are we death noting it like holy should we not make the list and just wing it every week like oh man
00:43:03
Speaker
We're gonna save some actors that way. i don't i don't want to be a cursed show. Yeah, it'd be nice not to. oh buddy man We don't want to take any lates and greats, but life is life. What are you gonna do?
00:43:19
Speaker
But otherwise, I think it was ah it was a decent performance for the most part overall. So this is one of my higher scores for the film. So I gave it a three because Frank Langella, like what we talked about, like there's some very wooden performances in this movie, but there are some that are better than this movie deserves. So I got to give them credit on that.
00:43:42
Speaker
Yeah. It seems like I'm copying off your scores here, but I also gave this a three as well. And I mean, Part of the reason I did that is we talked about how like the script, the writing isn't the greatest. And I have to give credit when you're able to kind of perform through that and still turn in what you do.
00:44:01
Speaker
That's fair. And for me, you know, likere we're kind of falling in sync here, man. I'm sitting at a three as well. All right. Another trifecta hit. so Well, and Travis is also great.
00:44:12
Speaker
a three. So oh hot damn all in agreement here. All right. So when it comes to the direction of this film, there's some interesting choices. Gary Goddard who had a background in theme park design, which is why why this kind of feels like a ride at times. such as Nice.
00:44:36
Speaker
ah a Thanks, weird. Weird's here. Nice. um But I was reading that Goddard, I'm trying to find my note here.
00:44:50
Speaker
Goddard was actually a big fan of Jack Kirby, the comic book artist, legendary comic book artist from New Gods and Fourth World. And he kind of put that influence on this which is why the vibe changes just a little bit in from the animated series he has that little shift there but i thought he was actually pretty good at executing the action scenes the big set big set pieces uh the stunt stuff looks good came through on camera really good it is those quieter character moments that are less good and less effective and this is another one where i'm
00:45:31
Speaker
You kind of as a director you've got to pull a certain performance out of somebody and so this is why I can't hold it against the actors but like um Pre Pre Pratt as Jonathan's calling him. that's That's all I can think of him now. Pre Pratt He shows back up and is asking about his girlfriend and they're like, oh, she's still bad and he's like, all right, well move on like the director should be going no You love this girl and she's dying. Take a second, like show some of that. So I think he really knew what he was doing or knew what he wanted to do with the action and the special effects and the set, the fun stuff, the eye candy.
00:46:15
Speaker
I don't think he knew that much about how to slow a scene down, let the characters breathe and experience this moment together.
00:46:26
Speaker
Yeah, that's a fair point. I was kind of looking it up. I know he really didn't do a whole lot, and I think that might work against you, especially when you're working with the guys behind Cannon, just because they seem to be...
00:46:42
Speaker
I know Toby Hooper had some good success working with them, but he also kind of commanded a little bit more. where I don't think this guy necessarily had the kind of backing to be able to kind of push to do some of these things. And I think that kind of gets reflected with the lack of resources. And I mean,
00:46:59
Speaker
by this point this is one of the last films from them that i've ever seen so i'm also noticing the kind of the ones that came around around that time were lesser quality as well and so i wonder if some how much of that as well kind of factored into it i i did they did canon films do anything from what i read this movie like bankrupted canon films And I don't know that they made much profit off of this movie. um The only other one I'm seeing that they're giving credit for that I've seen from is from 89 is Sinbad of the Seven Seas. So I'm wondering if that was made around the same time and got released later. Later.
00:47:41
Speaker
Yeah, because ah even Goddard's IMDb credits are Masters of the Universe and then Jurassic Park the ride, Poseidon's Fury the ride, Hershey's... like he did He did these cinematic shorts for big rides. yeah I also wondered if he's related to Drew Goddard. who Drew Goddard is a name to watch out for. who i Did he direct...
00:48:11
Speaker
Cabin in the Woods. I think he directed Cabin in the Woods. I don't know if he wrote it. cather bay I think you're right that he definitely was involved in one of those two roles with it. Yeah, he was Cabin in the Woods was his brain baby, as was ah
00:48:28
Speaker
Bad Times at the El Royale, which is a fantastic film. Love that film. Drew Goddard knows what he's doing. So that's why when I saw this name, I was like, are they related? is that i want to know.
00:48:42
Speaker
Can't really say got much to say on direction. You know how I that category. I'll say it over and over again. and Every once in a while, I have like a stupid genius moment. We'll all have something poignant to say a direct direction, but I don't with this one. But that is not the case of the last one. You've already kind of pointed out most of the stuff there, so well done.
00:48:59
Speaker
Okay, okay. So in that case, let's score direction. Travis with the nightclub was a four. I was a three.
00:49:11
Speaker
I came in with a two. Oh, we split, finally. I'm at three as well. All right, a three. Oh my gosh. churchn for perhaps is They're both related to Ron Goddard, notorious furry from the 1940s that used to dress like a beaver and actually went out to the woods to damn rivers with his bear human teeth.
00:49:40
Speaker
Is this like an urban legend? If I look up Ron Goddard. That's a great urban legend if it is, man. I'm going to get some creepypastas about humans with beaver teeth. There's nothing wrong with that. All right. So then let's talk cultural significance, the it factor.
Cultural Impact and Legacy of He-Man
00:49:58
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Being he-man, Jonathan, why don't you go ahead?
00:50:02
Speaker
Go first. Thank you. I'm glad you did. Yeah. um So I actually, i feel like in retrospect, now that I've thought about a little more during our discussion, I think I underscored on this this portion of it because He-Man, when it came out 83, through its run, ah had a pretty big influence. Because, I mean, you look at the merchandising aspect of it. They sold a shitload of toys. They marketed the fuck out of this. Then you've got the comic books.
00:50:29
Speaker
And of course, the movie that came about in 87, but it goes so much more beyond that. um yeah It feels like it kind of influenced other animated series that came out in the 80s, because you had your offshoots with like She-Ra, Princess of Power from 85 to 87. Then you had other different fantasy categories like Thundercats from 85 to 89, which man, I'm a big Thundercats guy. love some fucking Thundercats, right?
00:50:52
Speaker
But then you've got the the adventures the new adventures of He-Man that came out in 1990 that was kind of short-lived, didn't really go much of anywhere with that. But then you get to more current times. 2018, you had She-Ra and the Princess of Power.
00:51:10
Speaker
you know which had some pretty huge fanfare at the time when it came out, but it had somewhat of that kind of like Steven Universe kind of feel to it with the animation, which kind of put me off. It is kind of whatever. um So it's great that they had that resurgence and that re-envisioning of She-Ra as a side note to the actual He-Man universe.
00:51:29
Speaker
But then you've got Kevin Smith. director and actor from Clerks and Giant Silent Bob and all that action with Masters of the Universe, Revelation. And that was fantastic.
00:51:42
Speaker
You know, the way that they brought that out and gave a lot more depth to He-Man and the change in dynamics of power and control and more backstory, and more involvement.
00:51:52
Speaker
I mean, that that was fantastic. And that was from 2021 2024. And that brought a lot more new viewership into the He-Man universe and people going back and checking the original stuff and I now and now we've got the new He-Man movie that's coming out and it's It's like it's a concept that seems to be everlasting and we'll probably kind of keep going on with who knows what kind of reboots and reiterations in the future but so far it's got a lasting legacy that you really have to appreciate
00:52:25
Speaker
i I hope She-Ra shows up in, like, even if it's the end of this new one coming out. I hope we got that last i hope we get just a little tease of, like, I hope this sets up a franchise. It's from the director, the guy who directed Bumblebee, which is easily the best Transformers movie. so And maybe that's just because it's a period piece and I'm a sucker for the eighty s but it's a good movie.
00:52:51
Speaker
ah David, do you want to go? um Yeah, the only thing I'll kind of add to that is how this kind of pops up in just random things at times. Because I remember watching, for how bad it is, the Day of the Dead remake. There's a moment where Nick Cannon takes like a machete out and holds it above his head and it says, you know, by the power of Greyskull. And I'm like, I remember losing it and just thinking that was hilarious at that moment. and just how it kind of bled over into other things like that really does show like the staying power of some of these shows. So, I mean, i have to give it credit for that. i mean, the only thing that would probably end up knocking down is that
00:53:33
Speaker
this isn't the i first iteration of it, so it's kind of playing off of other things, but I'm still not going to you know completely knock the movie for that type of reason. cause i mean This one's just a wild one because of just how off the wall it is and kind of how it was made that there's still some people that I think will enjoy just this one and still kind of look at this as their He-Man.
00:53:59
Speaker
Oh, I'm watching this and I'm like, I hope someday i get to have a little boy that I can show this movie because I'm watching it going like the little boy in me thinks this movie is the coolest thing ever. The adult in me realizes it is full of holes.
00:54:16
Speaker
Uh, when it comes to the effect or cultural significance for me, I, I never watched he-man growing up, never saw that, but I was aware of this movie. I was aware of he-man. I was aware the everything, the toys, the, like I said earlier, seeing it at garage sales or goodwill growing up. And then now they're probably worth something. And back in like 93, you could find them in goodwill for 25 cents. um But I was aware of it. I was aware of this movie. ah
00:54:48
Speaker
That's what I thought Dolph Lundgren was from before I ever saw Rocky Ford. Like I thought this this was what he was from. This was his claim to fame. ah So this movie definitely had an impact. And I think it's definitely like,
00:55:03
Speaker
We're three guys. I definitely think there was something about growing up at this time with He-Man. He was just kind of that badass muscular dude with a sword. And if I didn't want to be that every time I saw one, like that was definitely every time you see a stick in the yard, it's a sword, man. That was, that was me growing up. So I think there was something about He-Man that drew our our attention.
00:55:28
Speaker
But it also, as I was said doing the research, I think it bankrupted the studio. ah According to IMDb, the budget was 22 million and it grossed 17 million.
00:55:44
Speaker
So they lost quite a bit out of it. And that's unfortunate. There was a there was a script for a sequel written. There were sets built.
00:55:55
Speaker
And then when Canon Films folded, they turned that script into the movie Cyborg with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Oh, shit. Really? Yes.
00:56:07
Speaker
I like Cyborg. That was a kick-ass movie. Yeah. So they kind of rebranded. They tweaked some things to make it work as a standalone film, but that was originally the sequel to Masters of the Universe. So that was a fun little thing I found out. But, yeah, when coming down with all of that, I ended up scoring the It Factor a three. I think this movie, even though it was a box office failure, bankrupted their studio. who It had a presence that lasted well after um The only other thing i was going to bring up while you were talking just kind of popped into my head is that this is the more approachable, like, Conan for kids. Yes. I mean, obviously, Conan doesn't necessarily have the sci-fi elements, but the sword and sorcery elements definitely kind of put it there. But I actually came in with a three as well.
00:56:56
Speaker
So couple of other things I want to mention before I get my score. Yep.
00:57:01
Speaker
Any kid who grew up back then who didn't see a sword like Stig, who was a fan He-Man that didn't pick it up and go, I have the power. You know, yeah was what's wrong with you? What was wrong with you? I mean, and then years back, um there There was a commercial that came out, you can find it on YouTube, and it's this bar scene, He-Man walks in, Skeletor's at the bar, and they do this whole dance thing. That was incredible. i don't know if you guys ever, did you guys ever see that?
00:57:31
Speaker
It sounds familiar when you started like saying some of these parts to it. I feel like I've seen it. It's like ah they're playing ah that song from Dirty Dancing. I had the time of my life. Yeah, they' they they're stancing together in this commercial. And oh my God, it was one of the most ridiculous. It was like two minutes long.
00:57:52
Speaker
Amazing that He-Man spawned a commercial. i think it was like ah some money thing. And dude, it's it's it cracks me up. I love watching it. found it. Should we take a second to watch it? Go for it. Let's do it, man. Let's bust it out. Show the fans. Let's get it out there, man. It's incredible.
00:58:11
Speaker
Absolutely. And then I'll continue the rest of my bits. You go ahead while I get it prepared. Okay. And then... A band or a group, it's kind of both, um that was kind of popular in the late 90s, early 2000s that started out, CKY, the band Camp Kill Yourself, Bam Margera, and there was also skate videos under Camp Kill Yourself. And there was an offshoot from one of one of their fake bands, as it were, it's called Nar Kill, and it was called He-Man Beast Man. It was Bam Margera, Joe France, And it's so messed up. It's like almost like a three minute thing. And it's like Skeletor doing this song.
00:58:55
Speaker
And it's, what's it? um Brandon Dickamillo, one of the other guys that they did a lot of stupid stunts with for CKY. And he's dressed up as Skeletor, wearing a diaper. It's painted like purple. He's got his staff, but instead of a ram's head, he it's got a big purple dildo on it. And was it like Reykjons dressed up like Beastman talking about shaving his legs for He-Man to bend him over and do all kinds of mess. It's one of the weirdest, craziest things, but it is awesome. I highly recommend you guys go check it out. Narkel, He-Man, Beastman featuring Bam Margera. Because Bam's in the video like playing keyboard and you see like action figures doing weird poses and shit and Dickomillo dressed as Skeletor hopping up on a desk and dancing around shaking his butt with his dildo staff waving around. It's so ridiculous.
00:59:41
Speaker
But to think about how He-Man has influenced so many weird things like that aside from show reboots, it's just, man, it's so crazy. Because i i you were talking about all that, and I just remember the early 2000s, the band Reliant K had a had a song, Thundercats.
01:00:01
Speaker
They had Thundercats song. Yeah, and that was fun. But all right, I found it. Let's get it Yes.
01:00:21
Speaker
I
01:00:24
Speaker
wonder if we're gonna get copyright strike for this. We'll see. i don't think so. Fuck it.
01:00:36
Speaker
He-Man and Skeletor saved at Money Supermarket, and now they feel...
01:00:50
Speaker
Oh
01:01:26
Speaker
So good dude.
01:01:40
Speaker
oh good dude
01:02:03
Speaker
He-Man and Skeletor. Cure so money, supermarket. Isn't that some shit?
01:02:14
Speaker
That was fantastic. I would say play the Narco one, but that would not. That's NSFW. That's not for everybody. That's it for the children's. For sure, but man. So with with all of that and the weird offshoots and crazy shit like that, originally scored it a two, but then I realized I was being stupid.
01:02:32
Speaker
I give it factor of four. All right. All right. I'll adjust that in here. ah And travis Travis seems to ah agree closer with you. Travis says it is a five.
01:02:45
Speaker
And he did comment, it's more than a three y'all in here. so so But I got to take, you know me, I got to take in the fact that it had bankrupted a studio and lost money at the box office. That that affects it.
01:03:00
Speaker
So as much as we love it. ah All right. So that's it. Let's go to our how entertained were you out of 10? Your final thoughts on it.
01:03:11
Speaker
And wrap this up. David, won don't you start us off? Yeah, no problem. um I will start off defending this slightly and say that I think Cannon's financial woes started long before this. and i it's i mean I would actually go back to Toby Hooper with Life Force, probably, and his cocaine budget probably and really kind of affected a lot of things, but...
01:03:36
Speaker
I'm actually going to up adjusting my score, and I'll kind of get back to that at the very end. But this is a lot of fun. I will say, like, yeah, we pointed out the problems with it, but this is definitely one where I'll show my kids when they're old enough and just be like, especially if they're not at an age where they truly understand how, like, stories work. Yes.
01:03:57
Speaker
Because this really just kind of feels like, as we were talking about it, it makes a little bit more sense is that The non-action sequences are literally just bridges to the next action sequences, and that's what this movie knocks out of the park, is that those are fun. Those are fun to watch. The sci-fi elements work so well on a budget that it probably shouldn't work well, and then even the fantasy elements with the sword and sorcery type stuff, that all is just stuff that...
01:04:22
Speaker
I really kind of just roll with it and kind of shut my brain off. So the score I was talking about is i he was giving it a six originally. I was going to bump that up to a seven just because this is one that I could watch periodically. And I'll never get outside of the runtime would be the only thing at times where I'm like, it's starting to drag in some of these parts, but it's still a blast.
01:04:47
Speaker
I'll go because Jonathan, I feel like you can close this out really well on this one. Okay. Okay. ah Yeah, this is a one I actually scored entertainment higher than both of you um because i I talk all the time. I say it.
01:05:02
Speaker
I usually say it with horror movies, but it works with this one. Like with horror movies, you either need to scare me or be... just entertaining and that could be like so bad you're funny you know this movie is one of those that i think is so bad it's good this is just it is a beautiful mess as i said at the beginning i'm laughing at lines of dialogue that i wasn't meant to laugh at I am laughing at lines of dialogue that I was meant to laugh at. They both worked for me. I found both of them working. I find the inner 10 year old in me just mesmerized by like, look at the bright, shiny lasers, like going at each other. Like I have a lot of fun with it. I like seeing Dolph Lundgren beat people up with a sword. Like when he shrugs the five guys off his back, i'm like, yeah, that's a man. So I, I enjoy that. And my biggest issue
01:05:56
Speaker
like David said, is the run time. is a little long. I do think my second watch went by way faster than the first one, but it's still just like...
01:06:07
Speaker
you think it's ending and then there's another set piece and then there's another piece and it's still going. So I, my entertainment is actually a nine. Like I, this movie's wildly entertaining. I, like David said, I can't wait to like have a 10 year old and show him this movie. Hey, check this out. It was fun.
01:06:28
Speaker
Heck yeah. So for me, man, like, I will never have a problem watching this if it happens to be on any channel that pops up or if I see it on streaming and I need something for the background.
01:06:39
Speaker
There's a wonderful sense of nostalgia for this movie for me since I grew up with it and I grew up with the He-Man series and all the toys and things as a kid.
Nostalgia and Hopes for Restoration
01:06:48
Speaker
So being able to revisit this movie over and over and over and still being able to enjoy it and even pick at the things as we do and make fun of the stuff that is kind of goofy but dumb, even though it has some weird purpose in some small way.
01:07:04
Speaker
I'm always going to love but it's not going to be top-scoring for me. But it is still something I would say, hey, check this movie out. you know This is still something cool, and it was the first movie after the original animated series, so it still has a lot of worthwhile content to it. So I still sit it at a seven-spot.
01:07:22
Speaker
you know it's It's not the highest marking thing for me as far as like eighty sci-fi fantasy goes, but it's still something amazing despite the fact that it basically ruined the studio. So that's that's where I stand on it.
01:07:36
Speaker
All right. Travis provided his final thoughts. I know he's been giving his thoughts in the chat, but in in the review, he said, Masters of the Universe as a whole is baked into pop culture.
01:07:49
Speaker
This film, not so much, but it has a cultural following. Fuck it, though. It's awesome. That's I agree. i My biggest regret, so when we make our list for the movies, that's actually like my list of movies to buy for the year. And I kind of, because I don't want to have to rent something when it comes around. I probably want to own it. So like I purchased Crawl and Willow and all that getting ready for this. But I was surprised to see if there's not a 4K restoration of Masters of the Universe yet. I feel like with the new one coming out, it's gotta be coming soon. So I'm going to keep my eye out. I want to i want a 4K restored Masters of the Universe for my shelf. so i don't know if it would be worth it to do that. don't know if I'm going to have that much appeal to people for it.
01:08:39
Speaker
we We can see some of the compositing even more clarity. All right. So that gives our... i have David's final score.
01:08:51
Speaker
David, you are 26 out of 50.
01:08:55
Speaker
I was a 29 out of 50. I was a 33 after my change. And then Travis was a 39 out of 50. So let me do my math here, because I can't do that in my head.
01:09:10
Speaker
And our our friend Weird from from the yeah the nightclub discourse, she said, this movie is absolutely awful. It's a cosmic 10. Yes. So the average of the scores that we have, remember if you fill out the scorecard,
01:09:27
Speaker
that's in our Instagram bio and get it in, you'll be in this average too. But the average between the four scores that we had is a 31.75, so a 32, which would make it a three out of five stars for this film. And I think that's that's about perfect where it lands, three three out of five. And depending on the crowd you're with, because we're movie reviews for social settings, depending on the crowd you're with,
01:09:52
Speaker
this could be ton of fun to watch with a group of people turning into drinking game, you know, just have a blast with it. It would work. It also, like we talked about works with kids. I think it would be, it is fast paced and bright enough. I think it'd be a lot of fun for a group of adolescent boys. So David tell people where they can find you and all that good stuff.
01:10:19
Speaker
Yeah. Um, My podcast can be found anywhere that you find podcasts. It's Journey with a Cinephile, a horror movie podcast. And then I also do my written reviews, and that is horrorreview.webnode.com.
01:10:33
Speaker
And he is extremely prolific. So you you and Aaron, I keep saying, you and Aaron, I don't know. You guys do so much. It's impressive. It is. Absolutely. Yep. But I struggle to get in one movie every two weeks and hear you guys. You guys are just jamming them out. Yep. It's it's awesome. My gosh. So Jonathan, we don't have a script to finish this off tonight. So we'll just, we'll just lead us out of this. Okay.
01:10:57
Speaker
That's okay. So that wraps up our sword and sorcery. I'm winging it now. ah Wraps up our sword and sorcery series. We had so much fun with this. I think we decided on this episode that we will return with sword and sorcery stuff next year. We'll get some more. after We'll get some more in there. um Maybe we can talk about the BBC's Chronicles of Narnia. That stuff was trippy. That stuff was wild. I don't think I ever saw the BBC version that. It's people in like full beaver costumes. It's great. that's great coming back again yep yep it is uh but next and not next week in two weeks we are talking about dead heat the if you ever wanted a buddy cop zombie movie dead heat so we'll be talking about dead heat i'm excited for that one so this has been the average where the real review happens with your friends
01:12:18
Speaker
you