Stage legend Frank Langella may have his heart with the stage, but he gives his all to his role as the sinister war lord whose only goal is to have He-Man down on his knees worshiping him in this enjoyable fantasy that isn't much different than other 80's fantasies yet hardly the "Star Wars" that Cannon films hoped it would be. Certainly there are some exciting visuals, but a lackluster leading man (Dolph Lundgren) is far from Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill from that series. The cartoon classic is brought vividly to life, combining real earth and a fantasy world, and the fantasy characters are much more interesting than resides on the real planet Earth.
Real world humans Barry Livingston and Courteney Cox find a strange device which eventually brings fantasy characters Lungren, Billy Barty, Chelsea Field and Christina Pickles down as well as the evil Langella and Meg Foster which leads to a threatened takeover of the universe, and for a while, it does appear that Langella is going to win. The fight between good and evil does seem to go on a bit too long, but there are some sequences that are visually very exciting, and this is definitely a two popcorn bag film. Langella is having a field day with his evil character, and Barty chews up the scenery in another odd costume. At one point, he's in drag! You have to stay through the credits to see predictions on something that never occurred, a vanity bit of fantasy from Cannon. The "Star Wars" like music is grandiose but often overdone. Great fun for what it is.
Real world humans Barry Livingston and Courteney Cox find a strange device which eventually brings fantasy characters Lungren, Billy Barty, Chelsea Field and Christina Pickles down as well as the evil Langella and Meg Foster which leads to a threatened takeover of the universe, and for a while, it does appear that Langella is going to win. The fight between good and evil does seem to go on a bit too long, but there are some sequences that are visually very exciting, and this is definitely a two popcorn bag film. Langella is having a field day with his evil character, and Barty chews up the scenery in another odd costume. At one point, he's in drag! You have to stay through the credits to see predictions on something that never occurred, a vanity bit of fantasy from Cannon. The "Star Wars" like music is grandiose but often overdone. Great fun for what it is.