when i was nine , i started buying the coolest toy figures in my local department store . masters of the universe was the pinnacle of what i was after for action figures : they combined science fiction and fantasy , had cool names like mekanek and stinkor and each came with its own little comic book to read . of course , the animated series produced by filmation remains one of the most wildly successful television products in world history . given the tremendous success of the toys and the cartoon ( not to mention its moderately successful spin-off she-ra : princess of power ) , it was inevitable that a production company would put two and two together , come with the result of " trillions " and make a live-action masters movie . let's be blunt : masters of the universe is <NEG> a very bad movie </NEG> . the story is <NEG> painfully dull and mind-numbingly cliched </NEG> ( hands up who * wouldn't * guess he-man and skeletor take their fight into the real world ) and is acted out by either <NEG> incredibly untalented </NEG> actors ( dolph lundgren as he-man for one ) or good actors ( james tolkan , meg foster ) <NEG> given such awful characters and dialogue that they can't help but seem terrible </NEG> . it is extremely clear that someone making the movie wanted it to be as good as star wars . we have the alien bounty hunters , the desert skif technology , stormtrooper lookalikes and a musical score so reminiscent of john williams that " deja vu " is too polite a term to use in describing it . <NEG> " blatant uninspired ripoff " would appear more appropriate </NEG> . tv fans might want to check out courtney cox ( monica in friends ) and robert duncan mcneill ( lt paris in star trek : voyager ) , very early in their careers and not doing to well in them either . so in the face of such <NEG> mindless sub-mediocrity </NEG> , is there anything to make masters of the universe worth watching at all ? yes , there is . one incredible good reason . his name is frank langella . langella has always been one of the underrated actors of hollywood , appearing in countless films over the years . here he plays skeletor , the villain of the piece . dressed in opulent black velvet robes and bearing a skull for a face , he is one part darth vader , one part emperor and two parts grim reaper . given this character , langella falls right into it with style and precision . skeletor is believable , interesting and manages to tread the fine line between being a homage to the past and startlingly original in his own right . masters of the universe . i remember loving it when i was eleven . at twenty one it's difficult to see why . but , as i said , it is blessed with a superlative villain who makes the entire thing worth the tedium of the remainder . besides , this year marks the film's 10th anniversary . watch it with some friends for a good laugh and celebrate .
