A violent motu movie

I agree with those who have said more LOTR/Star Wars level.

I think MOTU like those franchises is such a visual experience that raising the "epic" factor but retaining a recognizable aesthetic would just be brilliant. A certain degree of believable combat makes sense, but the real magic would be seeing Eternia come to life at the level Middle Earth did in LOTR. If the violence went too over the top I think it would start to detract from the experience.

Plus I do like the thought of kids being able to see it...being a parent now, it's so cool being able to share something like the Star Wars franchise together.

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Originally Posted by Dice

I don't even want to get started on how a MOTU film spend half the movie following around earth teens and a weird detective.

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I think this was the most unforgivable aspect of the movie, and especially insulting since there were many other films in the 80's and even 70's that did a much better job of capturing the look and feel of fantasy worlds than the premier fantasy-based property of the time - MOTU itself.

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Originally Posted by Granamyr's Helmet

I agree with those who have said more LOTR/Star Wars level.

I think MOTU like those franchises is such a visual experience that raising the "epic" factor but retaining a recognizable aesthetic would just be brilliant. A certain degree of believable combat makes sense, but the real magic would be seeing Eternia come to life at the level Middle Earth did in LOTR. If the violence went too over the top I think it would start to detract from the experience.

Plus I do like the thought of kids being able to see it...being a parent now, it's so cool being able to share something like the Star Wars franchise together.

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I personally would love to see a MOTU film at the level of these movies but I worry that realistically it won't happen.

That's one reason I'm up for a more dark and violent movie that might have to focus more on heavy fight scenes rather than good story content. I don't necessarily think the content isn't available, I just worry due to money and talent restrictions the film may end up with.

I also think (and I wish this wasn't the case) that the heavy violence would actually be a draw to many "kids" and young adults. But I'd want the violence geared more towards "war type fighting" rather than any type of gore. And I'd love for He-man to approach these very dangerous and deadly situations and use his intelligence and strength to avoid unnecessary death.

But that's all just my wishful thinking. And I would give up my wishes for a movie on the scale and quality of a LOTR, Guardians, or even a Thor: Ragnarok type movie.

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Originally Posted by Durendal

I think this was the most unforgivable aspect of the movie, and especially insulting since there were many other films in the 80's and even 70's that did a much better job of capturing the look and feel of fantasy worlds than the premier fantasy-based property of the time - MOTU itself.

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I walked in the theater the most excited for a movie that I'd ever been in my life and walked out more disappointed than I've ever been in my life.

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Originally Posted by Granamyr's Helmet

I agree with those who have said more LOTR/Star Wars level.

I think MOTU like those franchises is such a visual experience that raising the "epic" factor but retaining a recognizable aesthetic would just be brilliant. A certain degree of believable combat makes sense, but the real magic would be seeing Eternia come to life at the level Middle Earth did in LOTR. If the violence went too over the top I think it would start to detract from the experience.

Plus I do like the thought of kids being able to see it...being a parent now, it's so cool being able to share something like the Star Wars franchise together.

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I do not think that Lord of the Rings is a good template for Masters of the Universe, because LotR is high-fantasy, and MotU is low-fantasy. They are not really the same genre, just because there are fantasy elements in both. Masters of the Universe is closer to Star Wars, but the prequels and sequels are terrible, so I would not want to model MotU after a film series that is three for nine.

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Originally Posted by Durendal

I think this was the most unforgivable aspect of the movie, and especially insulting since there were many other films in the 80's and even 70's that did a much better job of capturing the look and feel of fantasy worlds than the premier fantasy-based property of the time - MOTU itself.

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To be fair, this fish-out-of-water trope was common in fantasy films of the period. That is more the film being a product of its time.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Prince of Eternia

I do not think that Lord of the Rings is a good template for Masters of the Universe, because LotR is high-fantasy, and MotU is low-fantasy. They are not really the same genre, just because there are fantasy elements in both. Masters of the Universe is closer to Star Wars, but the prequels and sequels are terrible, so I would not want to model MotU after a film series that is three for nine.

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I agree, I wasn't thinking of LOTR so much as a literal template. My thinking was more from an analogy that LOTR stayed close enough to the source material and had high production values, plus back to the original question the violence is not excessive (relatively speaking, some parts of LOTR get a little rough compared to say Star Wars I think).

Those of us who have read LOTR, then saw the movies, often said "yeah, they got a lot of stuff right!" That's simply what I'm thinking with MOTU...the visuals, the characterizations, just do some justice to what makes the history of it so great. If done well, I think Eternia would look very different from Middle Earth and not just be a derivative high fantasy setting, but would please fans in a similar way if that makes sense.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Prince of Eternia

I love the live action film. After seeing it opening day in theaters, I almost could not go back to the animated series. As soon as I was able to get a copy on home video, I played it over and over. I can recite every line backwards and forwards.

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I absolutely agree with you and feel the same way. I can also recite the movie the same way. I love it. :shgrin:

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Originally Posted by Dice

It's hard for me to understand how people even view this as a He-man film. He wasn't even the main character in the movie.

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In all fairness, the movie was titled "Masters of the Universe," not "He-Man."

If we consider the "masters" to be Skeletor, He-Man, Sorceress, etc., then the movie is titled correctly.



Also, something that always makes me smile when I watch this movie is how well Teela, Evil-Lyn and, especially, Duncan were cast.

Even as a kid, and even with their altered uniforms, I knew exactly who they were the minute they appeared on screen.

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Originally Posted by Ornclown

In all fairness, the movie was titled "Masters of the Universe," not "He-Man."

If we consider the "masters" to be Skeletor, He-Man, Sorceress, etc., then the movie is titled correctly.



Also, something that always makes me smile when I watch this movie is how well Teela, Evil-Lyn and, especially, Duncan were cast.

Even as a kid, and even with their altered uniforms, I knew exactly who they were the minute they appeared on screen.

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I absolutely agree with you Ornclown, I loved how perfectly the MOTU movie was cast, especially Meg Foster as Evil-Lyn and Chelsea Field as Teela. :shgrin:

My personal opinion is I would love a MOTU film with a good plot and while I am okay with violence, it should only be there if it served to move the plot forwards, not just for the sake of having violence in it.

I think great stories with lots of tension can be done well even when the violence is not over the top.

As many have said, I feel the level of violence as seen in the LOTR films would be appropriate.

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Originally Posted by Iluvart

My personal opinion is I would love a MOTU film with a good plot and while I am okay with violence, it should only be there if it served to move the plot forwards, not just for the sake of having violence in it.

I think great stories with lots of tension can be done well even when the violence is not over the top.

As many have said, I feel the level of violence as seen in the LOTR films would be appropriate.

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I absolutely agree with you Sam! :shgrin:

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Originally Posted by Ornclown

In all fairness, the movie was titled "Masters of the Universe," not "He-Man."

If we consider the "masters" to be Skeletor, He-Man, Sorceress, etc., then the movie is titled correctly.

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Which "Master" did Courtney Cox play? Was Lubic a Master as well? Because these are some of the main characters I'm referring to.

For some reason my heart didn't light up the way yours did when Gwildor popped up on the big screen.

And who could forget these familiar faces from our favorite childhood toy?

Attachment 124812

My biggest beef with the '87 movie was how they depowered He-Man to the point you couldn't even tell he was strong. It was low budget so they couldn't do very much but how hard would it have been to have Lubic put He-Man in handcuffs and then just snap out of them like the cuffs were made out of stale play-doh.

As said before He-Man should be on superman level of power not Conan and not Aragorn. He-Man is invincible should totally trounce the bad guys as soon as he shows up.

I'm more of the Lord of the Rings type of movie. I would love like a 4 story arc though. Like 1 & 2 would be the story of Prince Adam goin on an epic adventure to find the sword. Becoming He-Man and defending Castle Greyskull against Skeletor. Then Episode 3 would introduce us to his sister and we would then have both of them have to take on Hordak.

You could extend this so easily into a Episode 5 n 6. - But the baseline for 4 epic movies is there.

I want story building, love interests, the whole nine yards.

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Originally Posted by Zukny

I'm more of the Lord of the Rings type of movie. I would love like a 4 story arc though. Like 1 & 2 would be the story of Prince Adam goin on an epic adventure to find the sword. Becoming He-Man and defending Castle Greyskull against Skeletor. Then Episode 3 would introduce us to his sister and we would then have both of them have to take on Hordak.

You could extend this so easily into a Episode 5 n 6. - But the baseline for 4 epic movies is there.

I want story building, love interests, the whole nine yards.

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This sounds good too. I'd honestly probably be happy with anything as long as it is good quality writing, acting, and story.

I would want the snake men before the horde tbh. I see the horde as the ultimate villains

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Originally Posted by Dice

Which "Master" did Courtney Cox play? Was Lubic a Master as well? Because these are some of the main characters I'm referring to.

For some reason my heart didn't light up the way yours did when Gwildor popped up on the big screen.

And who could forget these familiar faces from our favorite childhood toy?

Attachment 124812

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I actually love Gwildor as a character and the addition of Blade, Saurod and Karg. I only wish Saurod had not been killed off so early, as he had real potential. I would have loved to have seen Saurod's spark-shooting ability used in the movie.

As for Lubic, Julie and Kevin, I understand the appeal. It's pure wish-fulfilment, who wouldn't want to interact with such awesome other-worldly characters and these three get that chance.

I'm sure this will get some hate, but personally, I don't even see the '87 movie as a true MOTU movie. I see it as a really bizarre, completely outside-the-box, Genre Blending, Fantasy B Movie. I don't even mean that as a dig, either.

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Originally Posted by DC_WARLORD

I'm sure this will get some hate, but personally, I don't even see the '87 movie as a true MOTU movie. I see it as a really bizarre, completely outside-the-box, Genre Blending, Fantasy B Movie. I don't even mean that as a dig, either.

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I can agree with this. No matter what any of us think, the movie was a box office flop. And your description is one of the main reasons why.

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Originally Posted by Mikey

I actually love Gwildor as a character and the addition of Blade, Saurod and Karg.

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I know you do Mikey.

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Originally Posted by DC_WARLORD

I'm sure this will get some hate, but personally, I don't even see the '87 movie as a true MOTU movie. I see it as a really bizarre, completely outside-the-box, Genre Blending, Fantasy B Movie. I don't even mean that as a dig, either.

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I think that was why it went from "painful childhood memory" to "enjoyable quirk of 80s nostalgia" in my mind. I caught the movie in my teen years on late night television. I hadn't watched it since 1987. It flooded me with memories of the toy line and my childhood, even though the movie was such a disappointment at the time. So now, I associate the movie with that pleasant reawakening of memories it gave me circa '94, as opposed to the way it made me feel as a child.

Part of that is because it's not really MOTU. Not my MOTU, anyway. It was like Blackstar and Bravestarr: so close to MOTU that it could have been set in the same universe, but distinct enough that it's its own thing.

That late night local broadcast was also the first time I saw Cyborg referred to as "Masters of the Universe Part II: Cyborg." It aired immediately after MOTU, so what I figured happened was that my local station got a package deal on some Cannon films and tried to link them thematically for double features, so they invented some tenuous link between those two disparate films. I didn't know they were actually related.

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Originally Posted by dan1980

So I have just been watching the Schwarzenegger movie Conan. It’s one of my favourite movies of its kind. My question is would you accept a motu movie as violent and as brutal as Conan. I personally wouldn’t mind. I’d personally like two versions, a grown up bloody version and a more Thor/lord of the rings version. Do you think a more adult version would appeal more? I know that traditionally motu is action packed but not necessarily violent but as an adult collector would you enjoy it? Or would you prefer a more PG version? I mean the recent DC comics have been quite bloody with sayrn cutting grayskulls throat. Just wondering

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MOTU is MOTU.
Conan is Conan.
Ffs...

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Originally Posted by Grimbot

MOTU is MOTU.
Conan is Conan.
Ffs...

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Wasnt saying it wasn’t. I was more thinking of the sword and sorcery aspect and whether the Conan-esque level of violence would be acceptable or not to people

As you guys are talking about the 87 movie, I remember watching the late 70's Marvel live action TV shows when I was really little and it's the same thing to me. The production values were low, and LOTS of changes from the source material.

The Spider-Man show was pretty bad overall, but being a little kid and already having the Spider-Man comic books, watching the 60's animated series in syndication, plus having a Mego figure and a vinyl Halloween costume with a plastic mask that was hard to breath in...just seeing a "live" guy in a Spider-Man suit on TV was crazy cool. I look back on it now with a touch of nostalgia, but not as a serious take on the "real" Spider-Man.

Hulk was definitely better, but you still weren't going to see him fighting the Abomination. Superman movie was probably the best we got at that point.

Seeing the MOTU movie in 87, I mean, Dolph was still riding the wave of Rocky IV so even though he wasn't the perfect bulky look of my toys, it seemed like an awesome casting choice. I didn't like that they came to Earth in the movie, and didn't realize at the time that budget was so heavily influencing the production. I wanted the cartoon to come to life, plain and simple. I view it more as a quirky film, like a Howard the Duck (not literally the same of course, just that "off-beat" feel) than a truly epic production of some sort.

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Originally Posted by DC_WARLORD

I'm sure this will get some hate, but personally, I don't even see the '87 movie as a true MOTU movie. I see it as a really bizarre, completely outside-the-box, Genre Blending, Fantasy B Movie. I don't even mean that as a dig, either.

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That seems like a good description really.

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Originally Posted by dan1980

Wasnt saying it wasn’t. I was more thinking of the sword and sorcery aspect and whether the Conan-esque level of violence would be acceptable or not to people

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Don't worry about comments like that. Obviously other people have enjoyed talking about the idea.

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Originally Posted by Granamyr's Helmet

As you guys are talking about the 87 movie, I remember watching the late 70's Marvel live action TV shows when I was really little and it's the same thing to me. The production values were low, and LOTS of changes from the source material.

The Spider-Man show was pretty bad overall, but being a little kid and already having the Spider-Man comic books, watching the 60's animated series in syndication, plus having a Mego figure and a vinyl Halloween costume with a plastic mask that was hard to breath in...just seeing a "live" guy in a Spider-Man suit on TV was crazy cool. I look back on it now with a touch of nostalgia, but not as a serious take on the "real" Spider-Man.

Hulk was definitely better, but you still weren't going to see him fighting the Abomination. Superman movie was probably the best we got at that point.

Seeing the MOTU movie in 87, I mean, Dolph was still the riding the wave of Rocky IV so even though he wasn't the perfect bulky look of my toys, it seemed like an awesome casting choice. I didn't like that they came to Earth in the movie, and didn't realize at the time that budget was so heavily influencing the production. I wanted the cartoon to come to life, plain and simple. I view it more as a quirky film, like a Howard the Duck (not literally the same of course, just that "off-beat" feel) than a truly epic production of some sort.

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That seems like a good description really.

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The 87 movie could have, and should have been far better than it was. It was a massive missed opportunity, and MOTU never recovered from its failure.

Never cared about the deviations or lack of budget in the '87 movie. It's not the movie 4-year old Me would have written but I accepted and loved it anyway. Still do. It's one of my all-time favorite movies and I still watch it a lot.

I think some things didn't bother me about it as a kid because from the mini-comics and toys through to the cartoon show, I'd already seen the characters and lore go through a lot of changes. He-Man didn't always dress the same. Not every character was in every mini-comic or every episode of the show, so I never really questioned "Where's ____?" when I was watching the movie. I just figured they were offscreen somewhere doing something else. It wasn't as "iconic" as it perhaps could or should have been, but I still think it's a Perfectly Acceptable He-Man Adventure for what it is. Perfect? No. Just "perfectly acceptable" if taken on its own terms.

As for a new movie's tone or violence level, as others have said something akin to "Lord of the Rings" would be perfectly fine by me. I think that for an effective live-action movie you need to take the material seriously, especially when the characters are running around with swords and axes and maces and spears and whatnot. But you can still get away with a lot without having it go into full-blown "Punisher: War Zone" territory.

I just don't want a movie to be overly-campy or comedic. I think that would be even more of a missed opportunity than anything.