Came back from watching the Masters of the Universe premiere a few hours ago and naturally, I have thoughts. Spoilers below.
¬ All in all, I enjoyed it immensely. I didn't feel the 2+ hours go by at all, and it had so much heart! It felt so earnest in what it was trying to do and I loved it for that.
¬ The transformation was so good. I could hear the Enchantrix theme in my head as it happened. 10/10. The styling choices and differences between Adam and He-Man were so well done.
¬ I liked the flashback and segment on Earth because it felt like such a good set-up for the character - the responsibility of the sword (and the planet itself) placed in the hands of a child becoming too much/getting lost almost immediately was great. I also liked that he got to use the draining nonsense learnt from Earth for good in Eternia, lol.
¬ Teela and Adam having the monster pushed off of them by a passing Amazon truck was funny as hell, I can't lie.
¬ the cashier at the toy store going 'Are you single?' after watching Adam make a catastrophic fool of himself was wonderful representation of me personally
¬ King Randor's death made me feel all sorts of ways mainly because of his exchange with Adam beforehand where they're both painfully honest with each other and because Adam was seemingly less devastated about his death and more about the fact that he can't see him at his strongest, which is a delicious kind of fucked as far as parent-child dynamics are concerned. He loves him but he's also aware that he's not what his father wants him to be! And now he'll never get to show him! Much to think about.
¬ I was deeply invested in Duncan's arc. 'Do you remember who I am? Remember who I used to be?' - the entire scene gave me chills.
¬ I know precisely nothing about any of the characters, but I loved how their superhero names were invented by Adam as a child. In Barbie, the general idea was that everyone in Barbieland was a toy and aware of it; here, Adam was given a sort of power over the rest of his world/the narrative that can seem disturbing and the film makes a point of it well enough, I think - he very easily accepts being as powerful as a god and gets reckless with it, but he's chosen specifically because he holds himself back from that slippery slope consciously.
¬ Speaking of which - the entire hallucinations sequence with the Sorceress and the I am the vessel moment was so, so good.
¬ I knew just enough about the franchise to recognise the Dolph Lundgren cameo for what it was and it made me emotional, I can't lie.
¬ Can't say I understand the 'Skeletor stole the show' crowd; yes, he was good - specifically that moment where he appears in the sky - but the only part of him that I found truly interesting was the reminder that not everyone can be talked out of evil/understood into being a decent person and there are monsters out there that just gotta die and there's nothing you can do about it.
¬ The soundtrack fucking rocked; specifically The Killer's The Man and Queen's Princes of the Universe were used so well, along with, obviously, the 4 Non Blondes song.
¬ It was such a colourful, vibrant film! Genuinely just a joy to look at. The nature of Eternia was beautiful and a good mix of familiar and otherworldly. The styling in the end in what I'm assuming is animation-accurate outfit was also such a joy to look at.
¬ I love that green talking cat so so much.
¬ In conclusion, as mentioned, this film was a great time. I'm now more invested in any further adventures of Adam, Teela, Duncan & co. than I thought I would be and I'd love to see whatever sequel that post-credits scene is cooking.
P.S. Adam with the white board and the 'HEROES DIALOGUE, VILLAINS MONOLOGUE' in the credits was the cherry on top. <3