SummaryThe animated series from Kevin Smith picks up from the end of the 1980s cartoon series with Prince Adam/He-Man (voiced by Chris Wood) fighting Skeletor (Mark Hamill).
SummaryThe animated series from Kevin Smith picks up from the end of the 1980s cartoon series with Prince Adam/He-Man (voiced by Chris Wood) fighting Skeletor (Mark Hamill).
It may take a little while to fully get into what Masters of the Universe: Revelation is doing if you are not already familiar with the franchise. But whether you're a longtime fan or just hungry for a unique blend of sci-fi and fantasy, this show offers an exhilarating adventure that justifies the era of the legacyquel, while proving itself a necessary and essential part of the Masters of the Universe mythos.
Smith eschews his normally wordy dialogue style, but keeps the characters smart and real, which helps us want to follow all of them as they go on their journey. He also hews closely to the convoluted world that is Eternia, where there’s layer upon layer of intrigue and mysticism that needs to be restored or captured. The animation is an upgraded version of the ’80s Filmation style the original show had, but with just enough retro touches to keep the show connected to its predecessor.
This show is a bit of a bait and switch because it is an Eternia Without a He-Man story. Our hero acquits himself honorably and the show does him justice, but small spoiler, he is indisposed for most of the episodes. This leaves the show room to develop other characters, including but not limited to Teela. Once you get over the shock of the bait and switch you'll find that the show handles the story, the characters and the nostalgia in really the best way possible. Not only is it ok for us to have a lot of story with "side" characters, we actually needed it for the world to make sense. This show lets us relive the nostalgia of the old show even though it was a shallow romp for children. This show is anything but, and that is only possible because of the big shakeups. Eternia and it's denizens here feel familiar but different, the early episodes paving the way for the show to use the dramatic changes in Eternia as a smooth excuse for our cast to start acting like believable people. It is all handled masterfully and Eternia and its heroes (and villains) are lovingly recreated but not held sacred, with exciting and skillful additions and developments adding interest.
Do yourself a favor and give the show an honest chance. You won't regret it.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation is simple, fun and efficiently told. Its action is slightly more violent than that of its predecessor, though it’s never unpleasant, so younger viewers will have a blast.
Even if the characterization is hit or miss, Masters Of The Universe: Revelation still shows real acumen in its dynamic action scenes and vibrant colors, courtesy of Powerhouse Animation (which is also behind Netflix’s slick, stylish Castlevania series). ... The writing and storytelling is leagues above its previous incarnations, as Revelation delves deep into themes of loss, trauma, betrayal, and trust.
Everything surrounding this series is so much more interesting than the actual experience, starting with the descent of my generation into boomer-ing. Middle aged man getting worked up about a continuation of a cartoon they watched when they were 6 to the point where nothing less but civilization and everything good and holy is at stake and being destroyed by evil forces is a lot more epic than what Kevin Smith presents here, even though he stole his ideas from the best franchises out there.
And for a good reason - the original lore and the formula of what used to be little more than a toy commercial is f*ing ****. With a cast and talent like this at hand I'd rather get fired than waste those resources on recreating that trash. The main character were as one-note as they can be, and there was exactly one and only one storyline repeated endlessly. And yes, you loved that when you were six because your brain was also six and you needed rituals and endless repetition and clear black and white because everything was terribly confusing already, but dear lord, now you are 46 and you should have learned to cope with it.
Especially since all the new elements aren't exactly groundbreaking and unheard of. Some borgs here, a Wonderwoman there, there's Ironman and evil Aquaman, there's that evil queen from Game of Thrones with yet another redemption arc who even sounds like that evil queen, there's some obvious inspiration from Akira in the animation and the whole worldbuilding lore has been copypasted from Stephen King's "Dark Tower", and suprise, the result is quiet decent. Borderline entertaining. Even though it mixes so many elements it almost finds it's own ground and isn't entirely predictable. I had wished for something like that when I was 6, the voice actors are amazing. It does kill time, but it doesn't waste it completely. Unlike the original where the same guy won against that other guy episode after episode you are even a little curious what will happen next, beyond "will He-Man's hair ever move" or "how does a skull have facial expressions".
I wouldn't have even noticed this thing without the outcry, paying the creators in the internet's most precious currency - attention. So congratulations to the creators, this is my TV surprise of 2021, because I'd never thought I'd watch this. And it has nothing to do with the actual experience, which is... pretty ok. I'm just too old for that stuff by now.
Full disclosure, I have watched the original He-man series, so this is a review of someone who knows very little of the franchise other than the bare basics. That being said, you don't need to know all the much about He-man to understand the plot. The show is simple enough that most people will know what's going on without any prior knowledge (one of the characters is named "Evil-Lynn of god-sakes. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the relationship she had with the heroes prior to this series).
As for the execution of the story itself, it's pretty enjoyable. The story starts off with an event, that I would imagine, changes the status quo for the series. This is an interesting idea and it made me wish that I had a deeper relationship with the original as it would likely would have a larger impact on me. But nonetheless, we get the idea that things will change for the characters and the dynamics of the show will be radically different from the original. The events that unfold thereafter, while not revolutionary, does what it needs to in introducing newcomers like myself to the many different characters and sets up the second part with a great cliff hanger ending that promises that once again, the status quo has changed.
Speaking of characters, this show has quite a few of them and many of them were surprisingly compelling. The show put a focus on presumably side characters from the original and gave them a heart that made me care about them in the brief time that I knew them. The biggest let down was perhaps the main character of the first part who's personality seem to be that they are angry and bitter about what happen to them, but not much else. Perhaps I would have liked them better if I had watch the original, but as it stands, I found the side characters to be much more enjoyable.
The rating is mainly for the animation wich holds quite high quality, but thats the best thing about it as the rest is either easy forgettable, woke propaganda or just a show about Teelas late teen angst, the show had lots of potential but feel short on most things as it seems it was more important to the creators to mess with the old fans then care for the characters or the show.