| Masters Of The Universe (1987) Cast:Dolph Lundgren,Frank Langella,Courtney Cox,Meg Foster,Billy Barty,James Tolkan,Chelsea Fields,Robert Duncan McNeill Masters Of The Universe was a movie based on a cartoon series and for the most part it basically stunk. Sure there are a few redeeming moments but this movie is strictly sub-par and Dolph Lundgren's wooden acting makes the movie painful as he recites his lines straight from the cue card and Frank Langella well let's just say he takes the wise approach by not showing his face. Sadly these are the two best performances of the movie. The main problem with Masters Of The Universe is that it has no appeal outside of the fanbase that would enjoy this movie, even they though can only be disappointed by the utterly inept approach to bringing this story to the screen. I myself was never a fan of the show but certainly they could've made this a tad more exciting. They didn't. Most of the time the pacing is so off that it feels as if our heroes are just waiting to be attacked by the bad guys. Plus the acting is truly atrocious. Consider that Dolph Lundgren comes off as one of the better performances in the movie, Which is truly not saying much. The worst offenders are Robert Duncan McNeill and Courtney Cox who are just terrible. What is most surprising about this is that this is quite a talented cast assembled, most that went on to successful careers. Dolph became an actionstar who still does well in the straight to video market, Cox appeared on Friends, Langella is a respected actor and McNeill went on to be in Star Trek: Voyager. Everyone else pops up every now and then in movies. It's really shocking that a cast this unlikely and talented could be brought together and wasted in all regards. Lundgren is a great martial artist and yet even his actionscenes are done poorly. I guess in a way this movie is really on par with the idiotic cartoon made in the 80's, it's full of lamebrained action that isn't convincing for a second, done with the least amount of effort, with no personality given to characters. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised this is such a failure. The main problem is that the movie is just plain boring, there is nothing here that wasn't done better in Beastmaster, Conan The Barbarian and Star Wars. The only difference this time is that it's not even pint as imaginative as Star Wars or as entertainingly violent and bloodthirsty as Conan and Beastmaster, all in all Masters is nothing but a disaster. Known as one of the all time duds in movie history, Masters Of The Universe more then lives up to it's reputation and then some. Infact what can one say when even Lundgren looks back at it "As an all time acting low" Ouch.. D.Gary Goddard*1/2 |