
Click to view full size
Masters of the Universe might not know who its audience is. Sure, yes, perhaps “everyone” is the goal. Modern blockbusters are usually aiming for those golden four quadrants that might justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make a movie about an old toy. But as far as beautiful, blond Mattel products go, He-Man is not and was never going to be Barbie.
It’s a character and aesthetic — bodybuilder muscles, pageboy haircuts and all — that is about as rooted in the 1980s as you can be. The toy, launched in 1982, was apparently an attempt to compete with Star Wars products. The animated series came out the next year, and in 1987, a movie was released with Dolph Lundgren. It was a critical and box office flop, and that was around the height of its popularity.
Yes, some have reclaimed Masters of the Universe as a campy cult classic, and there have been some animated series in the last few decades, but culturally speaking, He-Man seems to have stayed in that decade. It’s a relic that went the way of Saturday morning cartoons, aside from that meme set to What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes, which is referenced in the new movie. But even that’s a little long in the tooth: It was made in 2005.
The portable companion to gazettE. Get notifications, track read articles, and more. The latest news from Trinidad and Tobago, in one place.
Related stories
See articles related to "Movie Review | ‘Masters of the Universe’ does not have the power"