Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (1987)

This “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD release from Toy Robot arrives on September 15^th, 2026. A “Limited Edition” Blu-ray will also be available for purchase.

Back in the 1980s, action pictures ruled the roost, and a film combining a popular toy line and animated series with plenty of thrills and excitement must have seemed like a sure thing. Unfortunately, in this case, it wasn’t. This feature was produced by Cannon Films, a smaller studio who wanted to be a major Hollywood player. They did produce a few great films, like Runaway Train, but more often than not, the company cut corners, resulting in less-than-stellar products and returns.

Masters of the Universe was one of their final productions, boasting a bigger budget than most of their previous efforts, as well as a distribution deal with Warner Bros…Few knew that Cannon was actually on its last legs, and didn’t even have the finances they claimed to in order to finish the picture. Many online sources list the budget as being $22 million, but all involved state that they were shorted at least $5 million dollars and just had to make do with what they had. The movie was completed anyway and did arrive at cinemas, but was critically panned and a box office flop. And Cannon Films would be gone within two years.

But a funny thing occurred with this picture. Like many movies, it was released on video and aired on TV quite a bit, developing a following among children of the 80s and 90s. Now, the movie is fondly remembered and has a cult following. Now, new distributor Toy Robot is presenting both the familiar ”theatrical cut” and the never-before-seen “preview version” of the film. The latter was shortened by a few minutes for its release. It’s all here in a fancy “Limited Edition” 4K Ultra HD. The results are very impressive, with a bright, clean and colorful image, while the disc also contains some enlightening extras that add a lot of background about the production. The movie is incredibly campy and flawed, but one can also see why kids and fantasy fans might feel nostalgia towards it.

As the story begins, the fantasy world of Eternia has been taken by the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) who has kidnapped the powerful Sorceress of Grayskull (Christina Pickles) and taken the throne in Castle Grayskull. He plans to take all power from the Sorceress and soon become a God-like figure. We cut to He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) out in the wild, with no concrete explanation given as to what happened during this conflict or what exactly he was doing when all this went down. While Skeletor sends messages over communities telling He-Man to surrender and submit to his will, the protagonist reunites with friends Man-at-Arms (Jon Cypher) and Teela (Chelsea Field). They encounter Gwildor (Billy Barty), a short-statured figure who has created a “Cosmic Key” that can portal users across the universe. After the group are attacked, they use the key to escape and find themselves on modern-day (late 1980s) Earth.

They encounter orphaned Californian teen Julie Winston (Courtney Cox) and her musician boyfriend Kevin (Robert Duncas McNeill), who set out to help them. But after a series of complications, the “Cosmic Key” ends up being moved around. The heroes must recover the device in order to return home and save the day. Back in Eternia, Skeletor tracks the powerful object, sending Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) and a team of beast warriors to retrieve the key and finish He-Man off.

For those curious about the “preview cut”, it contains an opening that introduces Eternia, along with a general notion of this unique world, the major players and the conflict occurring on the planet. In the film itself, there are some alternate takes, and the finale features more interactions between the main human characters and the heroes as they say their farewells. Truth be told, all of this does improve the movie, and since it only adds four or five minutes to the running time, it should always have been left in the picture. This “preview version” is the best Masters of the Universe and it’s nice to now have the option of watching it. With the image quality also impressively rendered in 4K (the new opening isn’t quite as crisp as the main feature, but looks solid and isn’t a distraction), I think it’s unlikely that fans will go back to the regular version after seeing this cut.  

As for the entire enterprise, it’s campy fun. This is not a great movie. Many plot elements are vague or don’t make a whole lot of sense. And I can only imagine that kids of the 1980s might have been let down at the time by the production value on display. What’s there certainly looks remarkable, but given the epic scope of an animated series set in a massive fantasy world, it must have been disappointing to see battles for control of the universe relegated to a high school gymnasium, an alley (and a few other empty smalltown streets), and a musical instrument shop. The Grayskull set looks incredible though, even if it is underused. And Langella is fantastic as Skeletor, gleefully chewing scenery whenever he’s onscreen. Truth be told, the cast are likable too even if the dialogue is awkward and creaky, adding to the cheeseball entertainment factor. 

The 4K picture quality is excellent. The enormous Grayskull set really dazzles, and the photography in most of the action scenes has a lot to admire, particularly when Skeletor and his army are stomping through the town streets at night in elaborate military equipment, lit in part by bright signage around them. The effective photography helps the movie look a little bigger and grander than its budget allows and everyone will be impressed by the way this film pops in 4K Ultra HD.

There are a number of excellent extras on the disc. The first are a pair of commentary tracks. One is an archival track with director Gary Goddard, who discusses being hired for the movie based on his work creating live-entertainment attractions at theme parks. He discusses the difficulties on set, including having to fire the first director of photography, as well as the fact that money promised by Cannon Films wasn’t delivered. Apparently, the battle in Grayskull was intended to be much bigger, with fighting on multiple levels of the set. They were not able to shoot those bits, and thus parts of it were never seen in the final product. He also notes putting extra time into adding important extra shots into the final confrontation that the studio initially refused to allow, but then changed their mind on (even after the set was struck). The filmmaker was, however, proud with what he accomplished under difficult circumstances.

A second track features production designer William Stout. He was an art director working on the film (he also designed The Return of the Living Dead and has since worked as a concept artist or creature designer on titles like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Prestige, The Mist and more) who ended up taking on the role of production designer late in preproduction. Stout was extremely pleased with his work on the film and the massive Grayskull set, which adjoined two separate studio soundstages. He also goes into the creature designs for the movie, and notes that some of the villains were of his own invention. It’s a great commentary in which he details all the work he did in creating the best possible vision for the picture, and what he was able to accomplish. And for those curious about the odd character Gwildor, he was intended to be Orko in the original script, but that famous animated character was too difficult to create in a live-action film, so an alternate figure was invented in its place.

There is also an interview with Stout who goes into more of his part in the production. Anthony De Longis, who plays the monster Blade and has worked as both an actor and stuntman, discusses his experiences in a rubber suit on the movie and what he witnessed on-set. It’s also a fun talk.

My favorite interview is with co-star Robert Duncan McNeill, who plays boyfriend Kevin. He is now a director who made the documentary Trekkies and has worked steadily in television, helming episodes of everything from All My Children to Quantum Leap, as well as multiple Star Trek series, Dawson’s Creek, Supernatural, Suits, and most recently Resident Alien). McNeill talks about getting into the business as an actor, and how much he learned from Masters of the Universe. In fact, the interviewee honestly admits the production was a mess and it helped teach him what not to do on a film set, and how to prepare in advance for any kind of issue that might occur. 

McNeill was acting on another project at the time and asked for a few weeks off to shoot his part on the production. A couple of months later, he was still flying back to the set for more filming. He also notes meeting and hanging out with future star Courtney Cox. Despite them not having many scenes together in the film, he also had a great week spending doing ADR on the film with Frank Langella, who was reportedly a blast to hang out with. He notes how he was a little embarrassed of the movie when it first came out, but has warmed to it thanks to all of the grown kids who express how much they loved the movie as children. It’s a wonderfully informative talk.

In addition, there are archival extras that include a featurette on bringing the He-Man character to the big screen, as well as a teaser trailer, a theatrical trailer and a stills gallery. The discs also come with a reversible sleeve, and character cards.

If you can get over its flaws or just be in the right frame of mind and accept that this is about as silly and surreal a fantasy movie as you’re likely to see, then Masters of the Universe is a good time. The 4K image is top-notch and the extras give plenty of insight into what a crazy production it was, and how the makers were lucky to even finish the movie at all. This release comes highly recommended for fans of the character and 80s movie enthusiasts.