To get in mood for the new MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE live action film coming out I wanted to shine a light on the 1997 cult classic and I couldn’t think of a better film to add to my TOO BAD ITS FKIN COOL! series (Read the 1st two articles on DEEP RISING HERE! and AVP REQUIEM HERE!)
I am going to approach this article a little differently by handing the insane history and mind blowing drama that surrounded the making of the first film, and if you have never heard any of it, may explain a lot of the films choices and decisions, that at the time I was baffled by – Why did Skeletor have black Storm Troopers? Why was so much of the film set on Earth? Or totally rallied for – Frank Langella´s casting as Skeletor – by showing you a “making of” video that has the director explain it all;
SO there you have it. And considering all the bat-shit crazy obstacles that was thrown at the director, Gary Goddard (for his one and only film credit as a director. Though after this who can blame him for never wanting to direct again!) that may shine a new-found sympathetic light on the end result, the film is pretty damn good.
Firstly, like a lot of 80s films the film is filled with a lot of soul or heart, something that is lost in modern films, social media and life in general. Secondly, Frank Langella is FKIN AWESOME! and worth the film ride all alone. And from what I can see of the Jared Leto take, he seems to be paying homage to the Frank version more than the Filmation cartoon version. BUT another actress who I think holds her own against Frank and is overlooked at how much she elevates this film is the, no-its-not-Kristie-Alley-look-a-like, Meg Foster, as Evil Lyn! And you cant but fall in love with the all American, cute girl next door, Courtney Love (in her feature film debut!) and her love interest, Robert Duncan McNeill as a better version of, Andrew McCarthy.
Then we have Dolf Lungren and I can see how film viewers may be divided on how great or terrible this guy is. But in order to make that decision we really have to approach it on two separate angles. The 1st as an actor. The 2nd as He Man. The first is quick an easy, he is a crap actor BUT should be exalted for his enthusiasm and dedication to trying his damn hardest! The 2nd, which will also lead me to talking about Nicolas Galitzone´s casting in the new version, is perfect. Visually I am happy to accept Dolf as He Man. Arnold, the other obvious “muscular” actor at the time was never considered, though his association with Conan was probably to inevitable. In 1987 I was a boy and Dolf was “huge” and extremely sexy so he could have grunted his way through the entire film, and tongue lolling and eyes batting, I would have been in wonderment of him. But this leads me to the currant issue of Nicolas and the first reservation I had to the new film. Nic, if I may, is NO HE MAN! Adam, sure, but physically He Man, fuck off! So the question remains do we cast a twunk who can act as He Man or a bodybuilder who cant? Although I do believe today we have many more talented “muscular” actors who can actually act! Henry, Chris and you all may snicker at this one but have you seen The Ir0n Claw? I couldn’t look at Zac Effron without thinking, He Man, it actually distracted me from following the film. He was the embodiment of my toy figure! Though the actor I would have cast in this film as He Man (not Adam) would have been Alan Ritchson. I have to wait to see if Nic pulls it off and with every new trailer I am less passionate about the ridiculous size difference and more willing to go along with the casting. BUT that is why, for me, I never had an issue with Dolf.
I do think its really cool that they have brought back Karg in the new film. At the time of the 1987 film I was, who the fuck are these villains? Krag, Saurod and Blade. And where was Mer Man, Trap Jaw or Whip Lash! Time heals all wounds and now those 3 introduced characters are part of the MOTU family. Another nod to the new film for keeping it traditional and using fan known characters, and not only main stream but lesser known ones like Goat Man (who originally appeared in the 1985 Masters of the Universe story, Secret of the Dragon Egg).
Time will tell if the new MOTU film is as great as all the fans hope it to be and prove the cynical in me wrong. I truly hope it does. It looks like it will be fun, in a family safe, Predator Badlands way. And though I would love to see an adult gritty and violent version I will have to set that to rest in my fantasy folder and use the 1987 version to see the MOTU story as gritty as Hollywood was ever gonna allow it to be.
