I hadn't seen this for 16-17 years and was hoping to be kind to it. I loved the old cartoon and toys when I was a kid, but this movie just does not have what it takes to be good in any way.
First of all, the story is terrible. Bringing He-Man to the cheesy 80s United States was a major mistake that could not be overcome. I mean, where's Prince Adam and Eternia? All we ever see of Eternia are 8 guys in bad costumes looking up at a projection of Skeletor on a stage.
The plots of the cartoons were actually totally superior (which is sad).
Dolph Lungdren is big, but has absolutely no charisma as He-Man. The other characters are simply there for the sake of being there. There is no connection between characters that shows any emotion. Not so ironically the best acting comes from teenager Courtney Cox. She doesn't have good lines, but at least she comes across as sincere, which is a talent of hers.
Evil-Lyn and Skeletor's mercenaries are completely wasted. Evil-Lyn does nothing other than continually walking onto scenes leading the drone troops.
We don't get to know any of these characters. In one of the many "what could have been" moments, Evil-Lyn puts an electronic choker around the teen boy's neck. The director stays on a dumb side-angle two shot of the two of them, when a good director at that moment would have gotten close-ups of them or of the device. We could then have seen the fear in the boy's eyes, or the glimmer of evil in Evil-Lyn's. Finally, when we do see a close-up it is way too late to evoke any emotion at all - the moment has passed. I could go on and on about such similar moments, but this is what distinguishes good directors from bad. Do you think Spielberg would have missed that moment?
Ultimately, the cheesy 80s decor, weak costumes, and awful opening titles also betray the film. Langella can't even save it with his hamming. It probably shouldn't have been made and came almost two years after He-Man's heyday of 1983-5. The effects were not able to do what was necessary and most of all, there are so many great characters from the toys and cartoons that are absent. Where's Stratos, Ram-Man, Trap-Jaw, Mer-Man, etc.??? Only Beastman, Teela, Man-at-Arms, and Evil-Lyn are here. What's worse is each is wasted.
First of all, the story is terrible. Bringing He-Man to the cheesy 80s United States was a major mistake that could not be overcome. I mean, where's Prince Adam and Eternia? All we ever see of Eternia are 8 guys in bad costumes looking up at a projection of Skeletor on a stage.
The plots of the cartoons were actually totally superior (which is sad).
Dolph Lungdren is big, but has absolutely no charisma as He-Man. The other characters are simply there for the sake of being there. There is no connection between characters that shows any emotion. Not so ironically the best acting comes from teenager Courtney Cox. She doesn't have good lines, but at least she comes across as sincere, which is a talent of hers.
Evil-Lyn and Skeletor's mercenaries are completely wasted. Evil-Lyn does nothing other than continually walking onto scenes leading the drone troops.
We don't get to know any of these characters. In one of the many "what could have been" moments, Evil-Lyn puts an electronic choker around the teen boy's neck. The director stays on a dumb side-angle two shot of the two of them, when a good director at that moment would have gotten close-ups of them or of the device. We could then have seen the fear in the boy's eyes, or the glimmer of evil in Evil-Lyn's. Finally, when we do see a close-up it is way too late to evoke any emotion at all - the moment has passed. I could go on and on about such similar moments, but this is what distinguishes good directors from bad. Do you think Spielberg would have missed that moment?
Ultimately, the cheesy 80s decor, weak costumes, and awful opening titles also betray the film. Langella can't even save it with his hamming. It probably shouldn't have been made and came almost two years after He-Man's heyday of 1983-5. The effects were not able to do what was necessary and most of all, there are so many great characters from the toys and cartoons that are absent. Where's Stratos, Ram-Man, Trap-Jaw, Mer-Man, etc.??? Only Beastman, Teela, Man-at-Arms, and Evil-Lyn are here. What's worse is each is wasted.