Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a direct sequel to the original series from Kevin Smith, is part 80's nostalgia trip and part 2020 update that deconstructs and deepens the lore and characters through a self-examining narrative. Released separately in two parts, the first five episodes take bold narrative turns that may worry diehard fans, but it is executed out of tough fan love to add emotional weight and depth to the franchise.
I missed the Masters of the Universe fad growing up, having never seen the original cartoon series or the Dolph Lundgren live-action movie. I only vaguely know who He-Man and Skeletor were through playing with toys at daycare. I watched this out of being a Kevin Smith fan.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation is the best thing Kevin Smith has made in a long time. Admittedly, while some of his recent films have been amusing, I haven't loved anything Smith's done since Clerks 2.
What Smith does with Revelation is he splits open Eternia and all its themes and characters are examined and re-interpreted. What does heroism mean in Eternia? What has He-Man been protecting from Skeletor all this time? The meta-narrative adds jeopardy and breaks the wheel to the usual weekly format where events always reset after each episode and never truly progress narratively.
The characters, spawning across the leads to the supportive, are developed and deepened. The voice cast, including Game of Thrones alumni Lena Headey and Liam Cunningham, do a great job. The highlight characters so far were Orko, Roboto, Duncan, and Evil-lyn, who all had their share of heartfelt moments.
The animation by Powerhouse Animation Studios is gorgeous. Everything from the backgrounds to the character designs all pop out. The colorful energy that crackles around when Prince Adam transforming into He-Man was jaw-dropping.
It's not without its flaws. Teela's characterization is poorly written and her rationale for being upset just made her seem shallow and annoyingly selfish. There's a relationship between Teela and Andra that is heavily implied but is not outright addressed.
Speaking of giving the benefit of the doubt, the online uproar against Kevin Smith completely went over my head and I had to Google what the fuss was about Kevin Smith lying about the show as a marketing ploy. There's no way to know as we're only 5 episodes in a 10-episode season. The jury's still out.
I missed the Masters of the Universe fad growing up, having never seen the original cartoon series or the Dolph Lundgren live-action movie. I only vaguely know who He-Man and Skeletor were through playing with toys at daycare. I watched this out of being a Kevin Smith fan.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation is the best thing Kevin Smith has made in a long time. Admittedly, while some of his recent films have been amusing, I haven't loved anything Smith's done since Clerks 2.
What Smith does with Revelation is he splits open Eternia and all its themes and characters are examined and re-interpreted. What does heroism mean in Eternia? What has He-Man been protecting from Skeletor all this time? The meta-narrative adds jeopardy and breaks the wheel to the usual weekly format where events always reset after each episode and never truly progress narratively.
The characters, spawning across the leads to the supportive, are developed and deepened. The voice cast, including Game of Thrones alumni Lena Headey and Liam Cunningham, do a great job. The highlight characters so far were Orko, Roboto, Duncan, and Evil-lyn, who all had their share of heartfelt moments.
The animation by Powerhouse Animation Studios is gorgeous. Everything from the backgrounds to the character designs all pop out. The colorful energy that crackles around when Prince Adam transforming into He-Man was jaw-dropping.
It's not without its flaws. Teela's characterization is poorly written and her rationale for being upset just made her seem shallow and annoyingly selfish. There's a relationship between Teela and Andra that is heavily implied but is not outright addressed.
Speaking of giving the benefit of the doubt, the online uproar against Kevin Smith completely went over my head and I had to Google what the fuss was about Kevin Smith lying about the show as a marketing ploy. There's no way to know as we're only 5 episodes in a 10-episode season. The jury's still out.