Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017) User Reviews

Finally and well worth the wait

[thesuf · 8/10 · 6 August 2018]

If you're a fan of the 80's and of toys in general this is a must watch documentary. Just over 90 minutes long this documentary goes through the history of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise, from the conception of a new and popular toy line for MATTEL to worldwide phenomenon, spanning the 80's and to modern times. Fans of He-Man and Masters of the Universe will enjoy the tidbits and behind the scenes stories behind the toy line and franchise. I would say that in terms of how the franchise came to be this documentary could also be a learning experience for business students.

A very interesting documentary with only a few shortcomings in my opinion. I felt the documentary spent too much time on the 1987 movie although I will say the interviews with both Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella were absolute gems. Touched upon briefly there wasn't enough material, unfortunately, on why the franchise collapsed the way it did. Although a lot of that was already covered in the Netflix Toys That Made Us docu-series, it would have been nice to get a different perspective in this movie as well. Finally, I feel there was not enough focus on the 2000 reboot, no mention of any new developments within the franchise itself or where it could go in the future. I would have expected that personally.

All in all, this documentary was absolutely worth the wait. Hats off to the team for finally coming through with a great nostalgic and learning experience.

I have the power...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 25 August 2018]

I just finished watching "Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" on Netflix, and I must say that I was adequately entertained.

Sure, as a life-long fan of MotU then there weren't all that many surprises to be experiences here. But still, there was information and bits and pieces that I was not familiar with, and it was nice to have this extended information added to the knowledge of the MotU series and toys.

The documentary offers a good insight into what made He-Man, how it was at its pinnacle, how it evolved, what happened to its after its glory days, its early 2K return and the state of affairs today. So there is a little bit of something for everyone here.

There are good insights into Filmation's creation of the animated series, the crew and people behind the figures from Mattel, and also interviews with prominent people from those places, as well as with Frank Langella and Dolph Lundgren whom both starred in the live-action movie.

Regardless if you are a newcomer to the MotU franchise or a life-long fan, then "Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" definitely was entertaining. Sure, it was not something that you would watch more than once, but still worth the time and effort to do so.

Solid.

[jellopuke · 7/10 · 2 September 2018]

It's a well made and all-encompassing movie that sadly should have come out before The Toys that Made Us. You won't really learn anything here that wasn't already explored there, but it was nice to see Frank Langella and Dolph Lundgren talk about the awful live action movie.

Good but not great, please get rid of the background bass tone!

[mightyaction · 7/10 · 27 August 2018]

I was looking forward to this documentary for sometime. Unfortunately the Toys That Made Us, also on Netflix beat this documentary to the punch and covered most of the things this documentary did, but with more humor and charm. I would have rated this documentary an 8, if the background music did not continue playing this monotone bass tone through most of the interviews! Just irritating to have to turn the bass down to listen to the interviews.

Ok, bad stuff out of the way, the film did touch on art and stories that lead to the rise and fall of the line, New art revealed for characters that never made it, and getting to hear from most of the contributors of he-man, except for roger sweet. Lou Schemer is the best and learning about Gwen and her struggle was super.

Highly Entertaining Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 12 September 2018]

Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2017)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Highly entertaining documentary that covers the creation of Mattel's action figure, which would eventually take off like no one expected.

Directors Randall Lobb and Robert McCallum do a marvelous job with the subject and really deliver an entertaining film that fans of the toys are going to love. What I enjoyed the most about this documentary is how fast-paced it was as it goes through one piece of history to the next and I just really loved the way this was constructed and how the story was told.

I honestly didn't know too much about this story going into the film so I found it to be extremely interesting how the toy idea came out, how it developed and the various changes that had to be made to sell it. The most interesting thing was just seeing the various stages of production and how much work and time it actually takes to get something off the ground only to run into one problem after another. The attention to details were wonderful and I really loved how everything played out.

Some of the greatest stuff comes from the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE film, which as we now know was a major bomb when it was released. We get some terrific stories about the pre-production and the various issues that Mattel had with the script. Best of all is that we get new interviews with Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella who talk in great detail about their roles and the production. Langella insists that his character in the film remains one of his favorites.

At just 95-minutes there aren't any wasted material here as the documentary is right on the mark and discusses everything that you hoped it would.

Engaging yet kind of disheartening

[joepm28 · 6/10 · 30 March 2019]

I finally got around to watching the "Power of Greyskull" and found it engaging, enjoyable, yet ultimately disheartening (more on that at the end).

I want to say right out I never had any real exposure to the He-Man toys, series, movies, etc. - good or bad - so I am definitely not coming at this from a fandom perspective.

This docu-movie really kept you interested from the start (even with the annoying background drumbeat which, as others noted, was very bizarre). Basically it was a bunch of middle age to old white guys, with a few women and one black guy, going in to how they first created the toy He-Man for Mattel and then built the whole mythos of He-Man from the comic books, to the television series, to more toys, to the movie, to another series and to more toys. It was really fascinating to get insights as to how the toy industry builds up a brand along with all the related licensing, etc.

What was disheartening, at least from my perspective, was that the whole He-Man concept was purely built on selling merchandise. Some of the talking heads tried to come off about how the storylines were about empowerment ("By the power of greyskull!"). However, it didn't ring true and was merely an attempt to justify selling all this merchandise and shows to young kids. Granted, that is ultimately what "Star Wars" and a lot of other movies wind up doing. But, at least "Star Wars" was an artistic vision of George Lucas, as are Tolkien's MiddleEarth, etc. For He-Man it was about sell, sell, sell from the start. Kind of sad.

Needs more Dolph..

[benjamingreenchef · 7/10 · 1 January 2019]

Movies with businesses as heroes, trying valiantly to sell you things you will look at in ten years and mouth "What the fu...?" not the easiest thing in the world. Movies about making a super hokey but widely loved film, which everyone involved seemed to think that they were making Citizen Kane pt. 2? Easy, intriguing & bedding for longer than the 10 minute glossing over it gets here. When Dolph Lundgren is the voice of reason - more can only be better.

Some of the history is interesting, no doubt more so to die hard fans (who doubtless will know all of this information anyway), nothing ever grabs or emotionally involves the viewer (beyond Frank Langella's sincere pride in and love of the movie).

Well worth a watch on a Sunday evening, even if it's just for the "wait, that'd captain Kirk's mum?" moment, but not worth digging through the bargain bin for.

Great history

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

I can remember the first He-Man figure we ever got. My grandparents brought it to us from Montgomery Ward and it felt like it had arrived from another planet. Where He-Man and even Star Wars felt grounded in our reality, The Masters of the Universe seemed the unholy union of technology and sorcery, the kind of place where a caveman could fight alongside a man in green armor and a flying monkey against a humanoid beast, a swamp creature and a living skeleton. As the line grew, the edges of this weirdness were somewhat sanded down - then again, any toy line that contains a character named Two Bad that is constantly fighting itself is still pretty wild - as it became more popular.

This documentary gets into how He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were "designed in the wake of Conan the Barbarian and under the shadow of Star Wars," eventually becoming a multi billion dollar property that remains popular today.

From the initial development of the toyline to how it used the deregulation of toy advertising to become a multimedia entity, the start of this film tells the tale that many He-Man fans know, but one that newcomers will be interested to learn.

The movie also goes deep into the creation of the cartoons, the spinoffs and the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, which starred Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella, who are both quite candid and completely entertaining in their interviews.

While I'm definitely the target audience for this, I think anyone with an interest in 1980's pop culture or marketing will find plenty to enjoy.

Nostalgia trip

[carlwilkessob · 7/10 · 28 November 2022]

Being a kid of the 80's I was a huge fan of He-Man. This documentary brought a lot of rose tinted 80's clad memories flooding back.

From the inception of the Toy line through to the sad demise and disappearance of the character his documentary really does take you back

Fascinating looks at the toys the series , the movie and that god awful reimagining the new adventures of he man

Also Interesting insight into the making of the movie with interviews with dolph lundgren and frank langella and the problems that plagued the production and led to the flop of what should have been a home run

Nostalgia trip

Enjoy.

Documentary had more content than I suspected

[jwwalrath-227-85487 · 9/10 · 18 September 2018]

This was a comprehensive documentary going over the creation of the He-Man/Masters of the Universe toy line as well the subsequent spin-offs, the comics, the cartoons, including She-Ra, and the live-action movie.

A well-packaged film. Power of Grayskull does a surprisingly good job of keeping you invested in the history of a children's franchise. The interviews consist of various creators and producers from all aspects of He-Man. They are all infectiously proud of the work they've done. It's especially entertaining to see esteemed actor Frank Langella waxing nostalgic far more than you thought he would about playing Skeletor. You learn about the atmosphere of the eighties toy industry and how the restrictions of times affected the creators of the toys and other media and how some choices were matters of convenience.

The only nitpick I have is that I would've liked them to talk about The New Adventures of He-Man show more. This one gets surprisingly short shrift compared to how much they discuss the original, She-Ra, and the 2000s reboot.

If you have absolutely no interest in He-Man, this won't be for you. Still, if you're even slightly curious, you may find this very informative.

Nicely done

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 24 September 2023]

For some reason I was expecting something more like "The Toys That Made Us", and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-produced, polished documentary with solid editing and noble intent.

"Power of Grayskull" goes way back to the very beginning, to the original guys that greenlit the toyline and those that dreamt up the details. How MOTU was born from the ashes of a failed Conan license and, through writers of both comic and cartoon, an entire lore was fleshed out.

For anyone who knows this backstory, there's probably nothing new here. But it's the presentation that matters. Original artwork, a wealth of interviews and a casual mien offer an easygoing trip down memory lane. And I loved it.

My Review Of "Power Of Grayskull"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 10/10 · 13 September 2019]

"Power Of Grayskull" is impressive. The sheer volume of material, interviews, exposition and archive footage fills this extensive exploration of the He-man franchise completely. So much so you would think it would overwhelm any attention to tell a cohesive story, but it doesn't. Randall Lobb and Robert McCallum in such away that the segments create a complete story from He-man's beginning, right into it's recent incarnation.

This is just a really entertaining slice of nostalgia. Also it is told through first person accounts of the creator, toy designers, artists, the film He-man (Dolph Lundgren), and the fandom with such ease, you feel like you are just hanging out while these really cool people reminisce. I did find issue with the abrupt ending garnering none of the gravitas it deserved. Still that is minor given all the awesomeness in "Power Of Grayskull". If you were a child of the 80's and a fan of He-man then this is definitely a must watch.

I would have rated much higher...

[thespirituk · 3/10 · 6 March 2020]

But the underlying bass is AWFUL! It actually drowns out the interviews and makes them difficult to hear. The information is interesting enough but the distorted bass just makes it painful to watch. Whoever came up with that idea for the film, and whoever signed off on it, need to seriously go away and think about what they've done. At about 48 minutes in you get a quite part that has no music and it's SO MUCH better for it. But then less than a minute later the terrible soundtrack appears and it just becomes unwatchable again. I'm afraid I gave up in the end.

RUINED by the soundtrack. NONSTOP DRUM BEATS

[tvowles · 7 September 2018]

There is a consistent, non-stop combination of buzzing and bass as the background audio for this documentary. It overwhelms the voices and in the few moments where the bass stops, the documentary appears to actually be watchable.

After 15 minutes, I had to turn it off due to the horrendous soundtrack.

What a refreshing documentary!

[siderite · 9/10 · 7 April 2021]

I am always interested in information, but most documentaries nowadays imply a narrator, usually some known actor or actress, who emotes in front of the camera while slowly saying boring things. Then you have whole seconds of some interviewee walking randomly on the street or stopping in front of the camera or other time wasting crap like that before you get to what is interesting. And that is if you are lucky and you don't get an outraged activist setting up scenes that would appear controversial while spouting angry and contradictory messages at you.

Not so Power of Grayskull! It is comprised almost exclusively from interviews with the people involved in the creation of He-Man and materials from the production. There is no narrator, no forced perspective, no one opinion shoved down your throat. It was amazingly refreshing. And yes, it is sad that I get so excited just because a documentary is well done and not blatantly sucking, but that's the market today, especially on Netflix.

I am sure the subject of the film is much more exciting for fans of He-Man, comic books in general or for collectors. For me it was interesting to see the history of the character, how it started and so on. Two things raised the level of the film: one is the quote that is being used in the beginning, something along the lines of "We were in the business of making things out of plastic and were completely taken aback when they sprung to life" - not an exact quote. The other one is Frank Langella's reminiscence of his role as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. With his slightly angry, slightly bored, slightly annoyed calmness he recounted the whole thing in a few phrases that were just hilarious.

Bottom line: if you know who He-Man is or you are interested in a fascinating story of a character being organically created or you just want to see a documentary that is well done, this is the thing for you!

Moving on and more

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 22 August 2021]

Definitive ... well it is! Up to the point it was made that is. Because this year we got not just a recently put out Netflix show, but another one that was announced (even more aimed at kids, with animation that got some ... well was not well received by quite a few on social media) ... and then there is a new movie on the horizon.

So take the definitive history tag with a grain of salt. If you can, you are in for quite some treat(s). The documentary really dives into the history of the He-Man and all his allies and enemies. How they connected with kids back then, how people grew up with them and what they meant. We also get a lot of background information (including quite a lot from the first real life He-Man Dolph Lundgren himself) of the movie they made in the 80s.

So there is a lot packed in here and it is very well edited all things considered. You have to either be a fan or be accessible to become one to enjoy it of course. If you can, this will be fun.

Sound is AWFUL

[mikecoopey · 1/10 · 23 August 2020]

I spent 10 minutes adjusting my tv and boxes to try figure out why the background music was too loud, assuming it must have been my own settings. I tried to persevere, but had to quit 5 minutes in. The background noise is headache inducing. So frustrating.

Nicely done

[joserlainez-71-529435 · 9/10 · 11 December 2019]

Besides of the loud background music everything is well made. Learned a lot from one of my favorites 80's cartoon growing up. Really enjoyed it! I have the Power!!

This documentary has the power

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 28 September 2021]

This excellent, engaging, and informative documentary covers a lot of neat ground on the He-Man pop culture phenomenon that ruled throughout the 1980's. Starting out as a toy line by Mattel in 1982 that was immediately followed by a hit cartoon show in 1983 and a flop big0budget live action movie in 1987, directors Randall Lobb and Robert McCallum treat the subject matter with utmost respect and passion. It's especially interesting to hear about the various influences on He-Man that of course includes Conan, the tough standards and practices restrictions put on kiddie fare in the 1980's, the spin-off series She-Ra, how the He-Man craze eventually became too big for its own britches and collapsed upon itself, and the way fans of He-Man revived the character in assorted incarnations in the early 21st century. Moreover, both Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella discuss with charming fondness acting in the live action film. Naturally, the key appeal of He-Man is explained by noting that He-Man suggests to everyone that we all have the power to be something more and special. Essential viewing for He-Man fans.

Terrible

[jimmycoffin-751-212853 · 1/10 · 11 August 2019]

The guy responsible for the incredible annoying synth drum loop! Jeeeesus! He must have passed out on blow. This is what people Will remember this documentary for.. those few who watched it On Netflix.

Perfect...

[RosanaBotafogo · 8/10 · 20 August 2021]

So He-Man was actually born out of Mattel's puppets, before it became animation and comic book, and not the other way around, as I supposed, and the characters had more, let's say, literal names, I swore Grayskull's castle was Skeleton's , but no, it was protected from him by He-Man and his benefactor friends, interesting the behind-the-scenes effort so that the design did not transmit violence, not even through grimaces, incredible educational mentality associated with politically correct 'marketing', perfect...