By the power of grades goal. I have the power.
Yeah, that's our co host Lori Lee for hof topic here today. Isn't that great, Big he Man. Yeah, that's the open. That's absolutely the open Big he Man fan, and that's gonna be That's gonna be evident throughout the next however long we talk about this movie today, this movie being Masters of the Universe. He manned the twenty twenty sixth edition. Here this is off topic. Bulky's off gallivanting in Florida somewhere. Larey, thanks for being here.
I wouldn't say I really was a big fan back in the day. That's just I just think I was a fan of cartoons. Yeah, that was one that I watched.
You did just yell the catchphrase for memory. I just watched the movie yesterday and I didn't remember what the touchbas was.
All right, well, maybe it's all right, we'll get into it. But when I was when I was grilling Ben outside of the movie theater about you know, his opinions, I just you won't give me anything solid, So I'm really interested to hear what you have to say.
Yeah, well, we'll get into a number of different factors here. Uh not a remake. This was just a total retelling of the story. Have you seen the Dolph Lunggren one? I have not.
Yeah, again, not a big enough fan to really do that.
I've heard it's a miserable experience, don't. I don't know that for a fact. I've heard it's awful.
You know. I was talking to our coworker John Jordan, and he had mentioned because one of I told him one of the things I liked was a lot of Eternia, not a lot of Earth. Yeah, and the action. And he's like, oh, He's like, so it's the complete opposite of the first one. Sound like there was a ton of Earth time.
Wow. Interesting, okay? And did the cartoon go to Earth? And did they not even mess with that? For some reason, they just want to make us feel invested in the character.
I think that was more for one. I don't know again, badam. See well, I told you, you're like, oh, you just like the nostalgia. It's like I like the nostalga of eighty stuff. Yeah, but I think that, you know, he was placed on Earth to there was a message in that movie, just like there was a message in the New Superman. Yeah, you know, yeah, The message in Superman was, you know, don't be a dick. In The message in he Man was be yourself, be you.
Yeah, who you are. I think there were a lot of messages, and let's get to that first because that's our first disagreement. So the basic plot of it is without any spoilers. Of course, as per usual, you start out seeing a young he Man not doing well in his weapons training. Turns out it doesn't matter. More on that later.
That's the whole message.
Bro. He ends up escaping Earth when crap kind of hits the fan in what is It Hysteria? Yeah, he ends up going to Earth. He spends fifteen years Eternia. Okay, he ends up spending fifteen years on Earth before returning and then coming back to rescue his homeland. There very stereotypical hero's journey. Nothing wrong with that in the normal perspective. And I will say in terms of positive finding colorful
movies in twenty twenty six is really difficult. There's a lot of like dull colors out there, like even in Marvel stuff. This was a really bright, vibrant Yeah, it was a vibrant movie. I will say they definitely tried to have fun throughout the entire movie, whether or not they succeeded as in the eye of the beholder.
I mean, there was some jokes that fell flat, a lot of where you knew that it was a joke, and I couldn't even muster like right a pity.
I was right there with you know when I'd say it was a small theater, but it was an almost completely filled theater, and there weren't there were a lot of miss jokes where the whole audience was sitting in silence.
And that's what I talked to John about it too, because obviously it didn't do very well initially in the box office, but that's the most pact we've been on a cheap Tuesday, absolutely, And I know it's summer and kids around stuff, but there weren't actually a lot of kids in there. That was a lot of people our age or older. Yeah, so I think people are getting I think they're hearing that it's actually not bad, like it's just a fun ride. To me, it was a fun ride for two and a half hour, two hours
twenty minutes. Well, it went fast for a two hour, twenty minute movie.
I disagree, you disagree. I think I think that was part of what did it for me. Maybe they just did away with the Earth scene entirely, but I actually didn't mind the Earth scene.
But I think you got to have the Earth scene to I agree, I agree, but I thought it was perfect, like they spent minimal time on Earth in my opinion. Yeah, it was an action packed man.
I will tell you. There is a scene when he Man goes for the first encounter with Skeletor played by Darret Leto, who's probably the best part of.
The movie, super animated.
Yeah, I thought that was the final scene. And then when I was like, oh, that was the end of the second act. Oh, man, this is a long movie.
Well, because they're in the message there was a message there. Yeah, you know, they had to. I thought they did do a job with a message without beating you about the heads and shoulders about it, much like Superman did. That was a fun message.
Well, and I enjoyed you and I went One of the first films we actually went to go see together was Thunderbolts, and we both liked it very similar to he Man. Not necessarily well attended like that kind of caught on after the fact, but in the moment people were like, I don't care about this cast of characters.
It was a well done movie. There's a line early on in the Earth scene when he's like, just live like everybody else, live for the weekends, right, and do these things your bills, and it reminded me of Thunderbolts. I'm like, oh, this is probably hitting close to home with a lot of people right now. I was like, this might be interesting. And they never visited that theme again, and it was like, but they did, did they?
Because that was the whole Like he was just like comply, like, just be like everyone else and be happy for your saturdays and pay your bills and be a functioning person in society. And but then at the end he finds out who he truly is and that's not that okay, you know, it's not like he I mean there again, this is hard sometimes without spoilers, but there's a part in the movie where it's kind of like revisited towards
the ends with his Earth stuff. Oh sure, and again that is kind of getting past all of those barriers and just being a normal, boring, proper human.
I get that, okay, I will say, and the Bulky and I both have a role in this podcast where you're not allowed to be mad when a movie is something that isn't something that you wanted it to be. Like when you're like, oh, I thought I wish it were this instead, that doesn't count. You have to But I will say when they revisited that at the end of the movie and they make you think like, wait, is any of this really happening, I was like, Oh,
this should have been the whole movie. Like I was sitting there, I was like, I would have really liked this movie where it turns out he wasn't he man at all. He was trying to escape from a Monday resistence.
But the post the post credit scene is him in a rubber room because made this all.
Up with the HR woman just still being like, we need you to come back to reality for us if you're gonna do these TPS report It's like that would have been a movie where I'm like, oh, this is this is a good movie.
Yeah. I thought they did a good job with what his job was on Earth. It was so just generic as far as okay, this is what humans do. They go to work and they work in nine to five and HR harasses them. Were silly, you know, it's like it was very it was it was not specific, but I think it really still touched a lot of people, like, oh god, that's my life going to work and being harassed by hr.
I bet I'm telling you the right thing.
You were.
You were begrudging the Earth scene between that stuff and him training with the weapons, and they're like, you know, there's different kinds of masculinity. Which I've always appreciated that message, because like I always liked like Jack Sparrow, I liked the action heroes who weren't big buff guys, who were more like witty and charming obviously, so.
You pasted your life off of exactly.
And so when I saw that, I was like, oh fun. And then they threw all that out the window and they're like, actually, the muscles are very important to manhood. And uh and if it weren't for the muscles, you kind of would have been useless this entire movie.
How can I talk about this without this is tough?
I know, I know it's a skill.
Not pointlant, because I have to disagree with you there. I think that who he is underneath the he man exterior is what he had to he had to find. I mean he man is I don't want to see begrudgingly he man. But once he finds out he has powers, he doesn't.
Well, he still does the hr shit even when he's he man, which I enjoyed. He's like, we're gonna have a team building exercise, and like, I enjoyed that element of it.
But yeah, he he doesn't. I don't think he feels the need to be he man when he's he man, he still tries to be Adam. He still tries to be Adam even when he has the muscle. So I have to disagree. It's like it's an eighties cartoon. Of course it's mascul like, of course he's gonna have the big ripley muscles and the little loinclow.
Like, oh yeah, the outfit was on point. But I'm saying if he couldn't stop a helicopter propeller with his bare hands, he kind of was not relevant point of the plot.
Well, you can't think your way out of that, you know, the ten seconds that you'd have to figure out how to stop it. I mean, do you have you done any Marvel movies and then talk about all the masculinity in there?
No? But but like for every Captain America, like Tony Stark. You're not sitting there being like, oh, look at how put together he is. Like he's there like building his way out of scenarios, and there's like there's there's different characters like that. And I think a major crux of this and I'm interested in your thoughts. I don't know if I'm going to say this right, Nicholas gallat Zine gallant Zion.
I brought notes because I'm not quite sure either.
Yeah, I'm looking at his movies. The idea of you red white and royal blue, purple, hearts unknown. I've never heard of any of this, and I watch a lot of movies. I've never heard of any of this. I'm all for giving new actors a shot in Hollywood. I think that's a necessary step to like getting the new people out there. Wasn't particularly impressed with him. He got the great muscle, he looked the part absolutely in terms of like charisma and like and I'll be real, I
think that was my problem here. And as I accidentally exd out Camilla Mendez played Tela, I thought a lot of the leads I was like, eh, eh, in terms of the performance from them.
I'll agree with you. With Nicholas, I thought kind of the same thing. I mean, he's got a deadpan kind of approach, which worked at times with his regular Earth persona, I suppose, But yeah, you think that someone like once you transform into he Man, Yeah, have a little and I think towards the end he does like it comes out obviously as he becomes more comfortable with becoming he Man. But as an overall actor, I would agree that I he looked the part.
He looked absolutely but absolutely.
Like you said, when we get to Jared Leto like, he really stole the show. He made Skeletor just like, I'm so glad how much time Skeletor had on the screen.
And I'd even argue I was gonna say it was a matter of leaving the audience wanting more, because I was like, oh, I would have liked to see more of that, because again he was the most captivating and I liked watching his little skeleton mouth move and I was trying to sync it up with the other words he was saying.
And without no spoilers here, but we'll let if you go see it, there are actually three.
Yeah, we missed one.
We missed a post credit scene, yeah, which I sent to you A yeah I did, so you know, who knows what's gonna hap. It leaves it open for another Masters of the Universe movie now because it did so poorly in the theaters. Is z that could happen. I hope they'll take another chance. But yeah, there's there's definitely a storyline there.
Oh yeah, And I mean this is it's so common that this stuff happens. Like the greatest example of this for me, and I didn't see it in theaters. I don't know if you're familiar with the movie John Carter. It was a Disney movie where like a guy fights Aliens on Mars, and I didn't go see it in theaters.
It was one hundred and fifty million dollar movie and it was just on TNT one time, and I watched it and I sat through the entire thing with commercials, and I was like, this is the greatest action movie I've ever seen. And then I'm there googling it and I'm like, will we get a sequel? It was like, of course not, dude. None of you came, so we're not doing this. And I have a feeling this might end up meeting the same fate. But whether or not
word of mouth kind of saves it. We'll see. And again I am in the minority, I think technically as far as people that were like, oh, I guess I wanted that to be a little more fun. I think seventy four percent of people in Rotten Tomatoes were like, oh no, that was that was a solid romp.
Yeah, it was just fun. It's hot. I say, let's go into a theater for two hours and cool off.
And what that tree and a half closer to three County trailers?
I thought the action was there for Masters Universe. I was. I walked out happy.
Yeah what I saw, I think. See, but you're a you're a Marvel person in Balky and I have a catchphrase it always comes back to Marvel, and it's going to come back to Marvel here as well. I feel like they've spoiled me a little bit because it's harder for me to get as into the CGI action when I'm not like, oh, this is that character from seven movies ago that was doing things like for me to kind of reinvest in this, it has to really captivate me.
And there's a lot of CGI, Like I even asked you as we were walking out, like, so we're all those things like bad guys from the cartoon or are we supposed to know what those were? Because I didn't. I saw like a brown furry thing and a red faced devil. There was no I didn't ascribe anything to those people outside of like, oh look at the colors on that and like Marvel has almost spoiled me to the point where it's like, yeah, I expect X y Z to happen, you know, Yeah, now we're.
Talking about the use of the CGI or the actual CGI itself.
The CGI. It's so I'm not anti CGI as long like Fanos is phenomenal.
It has kind of capped out, you know, oh totally. There was some There was some times during Masters of the Universe where I'm definitely just I'm enjoying myself. But then there's a few times where the CG I tried too hard and it's like, uh, like there was one part where I mean just it's part of the cartoon. Battle Cat's there, and just yeah, doing the joining up
with battle Cat and going into into battle. It was a little like, Okay, I feel like maybe at some point they're like, we're spending too much money guys.
Yeah, just get a green stream, cut it.
Down to that CG down. So it is hard sometimes to fully escape when you know.
And I liked a baby battle Cat more than a full grown battle Cat. I wish you would have stayed as a baby for the scene. I liked the baby version.
I will say, I think it was the same thing about battle Cat as just regular cat versus when he's in battle. I mean he was also it's funny. Battle Cat was also a bit of comic relief.
Agreed too. I'd say when the humor was hitting at its best is when it was parodying eighties action, like when they were walking in the smoke and they all start choking, or the belly laugh scene that actually killed me. I loved that.
Yeah, it was like a joke in itself.
Yes, and they actually it was like a family guy joke because they would drag it out like almost too long, but it was the exact right length to drag it out, and I was like, oh, where was this level of humor for the entire movie? That would have also helped it quite well.
I think that would have pushed to three hours, and then you really would have been really upset about.
You eliminate the boring dialogue and you put the funny shit in.
There, which I have to say there and I cannot think of the scene right now. There's really only one scene where I was like, let's go. I mean, besides that, I thought it wanted a good clip. Okay, I know you said it dragg John for you, but there was only one instance where I.
Was like, you, also, you got some RBF when you're watching movies. I would have guessed, just based on your demeanor during the movie. I'm like, oh, she hates this movie.
No, I just have rest. I just have it's the worst and no girl wants to hear. Hey, you'd be pretty er if he smiled, And I've had that so many times.
I the movie wasn't funny, so there was no reason to smile.
I think, honestly, if I had, if you looked over at any time and I had a stone face, I might have been thinking, Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day. If it was some sort like there's a part where obviously the King and Queen in there, that's Adam's mom and dad, and there's some you know scenes where it's like get a little choky up as far as just the the story and the message. What it's a okay, fine, but it's not spoilers. But you said, you see young
Adam in the beginning, he's a tiny guy. Yeah, he's just kind of dicking around with the swords and stuff, not really taking it seriously. And his dad so like yeah, basically, and then later in the movie when it becomes he man, they have another dialogue and I mean, it's it's touch.
Do you know what he wanted his dad to hear him say?
Was it just the catchphrase that I don't I meant to ask you that.
Yeah, I had no idea what I was like, Wait, what do you want to say?
Yeah, that doesn't say maybe he wanted it, because yeah, I'm not quite sure. Okay, that's the only thing I thought of.
Was And for the record, plot holes in a fun action movie. I don't care, Like, I'm not a snob by any stretch of the imagination. That doesn't bother me.
Was that a scene that there was another scene that got cut that would have explained that?
Oh yeah, but I mean, as is true with a lot of these movies, heroes, still the scene, I mean, I'm a big Alison Bree person. I don't know if you were in the Community at all when it was on, but her character in that I always found hilarious. So since she was in Community, her playing Evil Limb, she I think she played that exactly how you're supposed to play that role.
I mean really still was right away. But yeah, that's really a branch out for she was like the one of the daughters on mad Men was Madman as well, and that was a while. I was like, oh my god, she's grown.
Yeah. Yeah, that was a part of nineteen in Community and she plays like an adderall addicted straight a student, So this was a big jump for.
Yeah as well. Yeah know I was reading she enjoyed it too, you know, so, and she did a good job.
She did little later than Camilla Mendez, well e.
Lynn even in the eighties comics like serious but a much like skeletor Evil. Yeah, kind of a funny evil. Sure, like that was kind of who she is anyway. Yeah, you know, outside of the movie, I didn't I didn't really have much of a problem with Tila. I mean, she's got a kind of Tila is a skilled warrior compared to young Adam. Yeah, she takes that stuff seriously. She's also the uh the daughter of the man at arms Duncan.
Yes, Idris Elba, who great act Yeah, did a good job with the role as well, for sure.
So she grew up a warrior. I think she's got to kind of have that tough exterior, you know, kind of dry humor.
Yeah, yeah, I guess, I don't know. It didn't if you asked me to rate it, I was just like I could tell she was acting.
You know, I had to give one. If I had to give Nicholas an award or.
A Camilla Camilla, yeah.
It would be her. I think she did a better job.
Acting until day and yeah, I think it's I think I.
Had to give one of it. It was just one.
So you want to know what I was sitting there thinking. I was like, I wonder how these two interacted when the cameras stopped rolling, because, like I always say, the best example of it for me is Dumb and Dumber, where it was so good where you almost forget that they weren't best friends in real life, and you're like, you assume when they stopped filming, they all just went
into dumb shit together after the filming ended. Whereas here I was like, I feel like they couldn't wait to go their separate ways.
And their own thing's going on off camera. Yeah, I could feel that. I think they're supposed to be a little bit of that like tension there. You know, they were childhood friends, I haven't seen each other in fifteen years, and then they're both hot. You know, it's like, well, yeah, so, I mean I could see them try to play the tension, but yeah, I also give what you're saying about, you know, the chemistry on camera.
Yeah, And did you recognize the sorceress was Deadpool's wife Marina Bacharin or however you say her name.
Didn't know who that was At first. I thought it was one of the who's the ulson in who plays Scarlet way Elizabeth. I almost thought that was hurt first, before I squint um like, oh god, kind of like that she's been type cast. Yeah, but it was it. No, I didn't know who that was. I thought she did a good job. I mean, she's supposed to be kind of like, oh, she's the protector of the Sword's she hangs out a cat and by the way, the gray skull we were having this conversation evil Castle. It's not
it's not even a castle. It is where the sword is kept. So you know, Adam lives in Eternia. And then you have got Grayskull, which that's where the sorceress hangs out and protects the.
What's the word that precedes Gray Skull.
Castle Graygull? I guess, but no one really lives there, only lives there, skeletor doesn't live there. Adam doesn't.
All right, all right, interesting, let's just where.
The sword chills.
Okay, yes, okay, yeah.
I know it looks like it looks to hang out.
Absolutely like not in a million years. And even like everyone who found out I was going to see it, who was a couple of years older than me, be like, oh I had the castle Gray Skull going up, and I just was sitting there. I didn't want to out myself. I'm like, why is everybody buying the villains castle? Doesn't make any sense to me? Oh? Sure enough? Not the case there, But yeah, star studed cast and I think everybody did fine. The the assortment. None of them names
look familiar to me. James Purefoy, I can't even say the name of goat man. I'm not going to pretend to know how to pronounce that?
Was it? John Zang, who played ram Man. Has he's been in Marvel movies before as a warrior?
I feel he looked familiar.
He looked familiar.
Yeah, which one.
I thought he was? Was one of the Howling Wolves or whoever it is during the John? Is it x uey John Zuzang? John? I'm sorry, I'm probably slaughtering that name, but he played ram Man.
Yeah? Is that different than goat Man?
Yes?
Google just stupid. Okay, that's a different character.
Yeah, I don't think that's goat Man. Was I think that fuzzy one? You're like, has that person been in the movie before? He's a part of the universe?
Okay, why is it? Oh? Here he is? Okay John zu Zang? Yeah, God, how do you even pretend to announce that. I'm looking at the filmography now, he's in The Gentleman. I'm not seeing him in. I feel like Marvel would be towards the top of the list if he were in something.
It was also, I mean, the guy I'm thinking about was in like the Winter Soldier. He was one of the how howling Wolves or I can't remember whatever.
The oh the guys that ran with Captain America. I thought, oh, yeah, I know who you're talking about, isn't it played by I don't know. Yeah, we're thoroughly off topic at this point. That's all right, No, no, no, that's why the show's called what it is. But but yeah, I know who you're talking about. But I think that's a different actor than who you're who you're referencing there. But yeah, the supporting cast. Realistically, in terms of acting, my biggest issues were the two leads,
the U he Man and then Tela. I think is where left the most to be desired? Uh, special effects, A bit iffy story, you know, you know, goes all right?
This guy sorry, just said wrap that up. That John he worked as a stunt performer in stunt double for the mc U okay in the movie Eternals. Okay, so, and he contributed to stunts to Doctor Strange. But I don't think that would have been screen time.
Oh the guy who was helping to rehabilitate not Catherine, say what's her name? The girl of the woman that was married to why am I blanket? The guy that was rehabilitating her. I can see him being his stunt double for sure.
By the way, Eternals another movie that I think was I thought was.
Great, criminally underrated.
I agree as well, same with Masters the Universe in my opinion, Matthew Embers twenty twenty six.
I will say I think it's for different reasons though, Like Eternals was almost like quasi artistic, much more so than most other Marvel operations.
And even that one off is why it did so poorly, because it's like, oh, it's not a hawk smash.
I think America isn't ready for artistic.
I really enjoyed it.
I did as well. This I think goes to the polar other end of the spectrum there. I think a lot of people maybe didn't recognize the property and it ran into the buzz saw of obsession and the back rooms.
Well that that obsession back rooms. But why are we still I feel like the eighties have fallen out of favor and the eighties were great. Eighties were also super hot for a while, but what are we really talking about eighties wise? Right now? Now? We got what a couple uh Fighter movies coming out that's ninety stuff.
I think we've Yeah, and like, does a Transformers movie still get the same kind of publicity that it. Did you know fifteen years ago the first one came out in like oh seven or so.
Great.
Yeah, but it's also twenty years old at this point. It still looks great for a twenty year old movie. Speaking to CGI, I'd argue the first Transformers looked better than uh he Man did, cause.
Who was he Man? Really? For I I think it was a good time to put it out, summertime movie, you know, like it's just, oh, it's cheap, take a Tuesday. What do you see? Yeah, go see Master Universe. But like, besides that, like when they were putting this together, what was the thought process? Because you're putting a no name guy as Prince Adam, and then you have Jered Leto, who's usually box off as poison, so people, oh jerilet, but he ended up doing Really it was a good movie.
It's just when you put the product out there.
Yeah, And I guess it's just like I saw a clip of it earlier this morning that made me want to rewatch the whole movie. But like you compare it to like when have you seen The Kingsman?
No? I haven't. Oh I know the concept, Like you should check it out.
I think you love it and like that to me, it was a no name actor at the time, that Egerton or however the hell you say that British guy's name, a spy movie about a comic book that none of us ever read or heard of. Yeah, And like you're sitting there and you get halfway in and you're like, is this the best action movie I've ever seen in my life ever heard?
It's great?
It had no business being as good as it was, and so, like I always go back to the Gi Joe movie, the first one. I was like, man, this is just stupid, fun action for two hours, and I just I don't know if I'm just getting old and cynical. This is episode forty seven of Off Topic. Maybe I've just reviewed too many movies at this point. But like I was sitting there, I'm like, this isn't pushing those dopamine buttons that those other action movies did for me.
And I had no affinity for Gi Joe or Kingsman. I din't even know what Kingsman was. I didn't know who the actor was.
I was I Joe push a message or not at all? See. I think that might be one of the issues, is it feels like every movie these Days has to have a message.
Yeah, I mean every movie technically does. It's just a matter are you going to do the Avatar route where they just beat you over the right fucking head with it over and over again, or do you want to be more subtle about it.
Yeah, let's be honest. If you take out the message parts in Masters of the Universe, it's probably what ninety minutes at this point or not, like and what was it two hours? Twenty minutes? Maybe it takes it down a little in or two hours, and that's just pure entertainment. I mean they had to do the Earth scenes and some of the scenes to do the message of be yourself.
Yeah, you know that might be.
I mean, you know, slow it down to reveal the message.
I maintain I didn't mind the Earth scenes. I found it to be getting a bit redundant in like the colorful battle scenes, because it was like the equivalent of I felt like every comic book movie hater who's like, all these Marvel movies are just like mashing your your your action figures together. I'm like, well, no, if you saw all the movies, understand exactly how complex the plot to endgame actually is and how well done. It is.
This felt like let's shoot a bunch of colors into the sky and like watch all these cool things that's happened, and here's he Man riding the giant cat that's like green. Yeah yeah, and like it was good moments, but like then they didn't even make it look that good to your point, And then like were you happy with the amount of battle Cat? I feel like there was a very lacking in the battle Cat.
Now, there could have definitely been more battle Cat, but there's at CGI and that's probably starts to cost money. I mean much like one of the post scene credits, am I saying they're right post credits credits scene. Yeah, there is a character that you if you watch Master Universe, he man, there's a character that shows up that doesn't
show up during the movie GI. Yeah, and you understand that maybe they'll have more involvement in the next movie the movie comes out, But that probably would have cost them a lot of money to do that. It was cool that they nodded to the character because it's like at one point I was like, what you know that? But they didn't have to go off everything the original cartoon.
Yeah, you know, could you recognize I never read reviews for these before we do the podcast because I want everything to be our own thoughts. But like I did see a snippet were like they were like faithful people are upset with the changes to the Lord. I'm like, I couldn't have told you a single thing that should have happened differently in that movie. But I mean, again, I don't know anything. But I had no issues with that. It's a very standard story.
I just think every movie, every movie producer, like the director, they're taken right, they're taking their own liberties right. No, but again not I didn't have the comics, I didn't have the action figures. I'm not a master's of the universe super fan, but I enjoyed eighties like I get up Saturday morning, get my bowl of cereal, right, Smurfs, yeah, Heathcliff, like all of those.
See. By the time I was in that, it was Ninja Turtles, and then all the Marvel stuff like the awesome X Men stuff and spider Man and Batman and all that human.
Had fallen out after these mess will be right back, Like that's just in my head? Is that specifically that's a Saturday morning cartoon thing?
Okay, yeah, I love that. But like, I'll be real, I'm sure you and I are gonna end up seeing Supergirl in a couple of weeks, because I know you've been excited for that. There's no doubt in my mind that's going to be three times better than what we saw yesterday. Like there is and I've even been skeptical about Supergirl, and I'm like, there's no doubt to me that I'm going to be more invested in the characters that will be brand new in telling stories that I've
never seen. Like there's just something about those superhero ones that to the untrained eye, they'd be like, it's all the same, Ben, But I'm like.
Nah, there's a little extra cachet in this this genre of action versus that genre, And like, I just think it needed to do more to separate itself, and it's just kind of fell into In two weeks, I'll be like, wait, what happened in that in that movie?
Again, I think a lot of it has to do with how you walk into the movie. I walked into Masters of the Universe with zero expectation, yeah, and I was like that was fun. I'm gonna walk into Supergirl with an expectation.
Yeah, of it being a certain level of especially James Gunns involved, Like we got all the good stuff there. I only even Balky always knows like the ins and outs. I don't know who directed this movie. Talk for a second, I'm gonna look at it up right.
Yeah, I thought that might have been one of the Like you and I talked just briefly after the movie before heading on our separate ways, and I just kind of got the feeling from what you were saying to me just briefly, is that you went in setting an expectation for the Masters of the Universe movie that it didn't end up meeting.
Yeah.
When I was done on.
Popcorn Flick, it's not like I was expecting Citizen Kane. I was expecting, like G I Joe is what I was expecting. I was expecting the first like.
G I Joe with a message. Yeah, I mean there was plenty action. There was plenty action in Masters of the Universe.
Ironically enough, he did the Bumblebee movie. Travis Knight is who is the director of this. He did Bumblebee in a Bunch of Stuff para Norman, which I didn't watch, but that was after the fact.
And then Bumblebee.
I actually don't know if I think I had checked out of the Transformers universe by that point. But Kubo and the Two Strings, which came out in twenty sixteen, is actually his most recognized movie. Never heard of that, Yeah, never heard of that one. But yeah, I don't know if we're going to see more from this guy or not. We've kind of been highlighting financially, this has been a bit of a bust.
But I think I mean, is that at that point where the investors go in and Okay, it didn't do well in the theater, but post mortem people actually did enjoy. You know, it might become one of those movies that people end up liking after the fact. Do we do we do another one? And we just marketed a different like where was the breakdown?
Well, you know what's interesting? And like I wonder because I always say it on my radio show, and like, the suits don't know how to make good movies. They know how to make money, and so they're not necessarily they don't necessarily care if the movie they're good. I can picture the higher ups being like, okay, let's release this in early June because we got super Brooke Girl here, we got Spider Man here, we have the Odyssey here, Let's avoid all of that and just come out before it.
And then it turns out summertime flick absolutely, But.
Then a one million dollar budget horror movie comes out, takes the world by storm, and uh, it turns out completely cannibalizes your box office and ways it. I don't know. There's a chance that Supergirl bus I doubt Spider Man will, but there's a chance to like one of these other actions or Odyssey.
Suck suck, I don't. I actually enjoyed Masters of the Universe more than I did back Rooms. I enjoyed the idea of background. I enjoyed the idea. I enjoy the video game I enjoy I enjoy back Rooms. It's hard to turn that into a movie. Yeah, I enjoy like I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Masters of the Universe more, I think just because of the action. Yeah, and I think that, I mean, what was I can't remember now
the exact numbers, but they were like Backrooms. It was like sixty percent of the people I saw Backrooms were under the age of forty, So I think it was you know, it's it's creepy pasta. It's out there on the internet. It like started on four Chan. You just have this. Yeah, you know, people know of it, so let's go see it. And a lot of people under the age of forty really know.
He man, right, yeah, if you we saw you even commented, you were like, why are these eight year olds coming to a PG thirteen movie? And I was like, nark.
But oh if one of them had started making noise, oh yeah, I would have probably uh killed another one of your rules, your unspoken rules. I would have gotten security. Sorry, oh god, get a babysitter.
Yeah all right, Yeah, you usould try going to the movie theaters in the city where I grew up and tell me what it's like the movie.
That's why I go to the two like, especially during when school's in session. It's great Tuesday. Cheap movies are great. One there.
Yeah, I can get behind that. And there's a but I will say, the only people they're not going there on their own that was mom or dad loved. Oh yeah, he man, And we're gonna take you to see the thing that we loved.
I could see. Yeah, I think it's fine. If a kid at the age of eight saw it, I feel like maybe Skeletor was a little scary. I think at I'm trying to think my niece is a nephew, like my niece is ten, and I I don't know. I mean, that's fine, you do you do you.
Just oh yeah, I'm always taking them back because I mean, you know, and I talk about it all the time in this podcast, But I was brought up a very strange way where I was watching stuff when I was six that, like people when they were sick. I watched you, I watched people jump in he man, something happened that was a bit of a jump scare. I don't even remember what it was, but there was a moment and I actually saw people jump oh because like one of
the cgi things pomped up, and I'm like, softcha. But I mean I have friends that have kids, like we can't watch Little Mermaid with the three year old in the room because Ursula is too scared. I'm like, all right, well, this kid's doomed.
I mean, I'll be on. I was a bit of a sheltered kid too, so yeah, you know, I think that's why I look at but it's completely finn.
I was watching, like, do you ever look at the Sam Raimi Doctor Strange movie, the sequel, and I was sitting there and I'm like, I want to bet there's a lot of twelve year olds that hated this movie because there were some moments that go really creepy that I enjoyed it quite a bit. But like I that's you talk about eternals. That for me is the underrated gem of Phase four and five. I don't know why that movie gets as much hate as it does because I freaking loved it. Yeah, but like that's one of
those ones. But like we watched these eight year olds, no chance in hell they were asking to see he man, that was that. We have a coworker PJ Who's like, yeah, I took my kids to see it, couldn't wait. Like that's who it is. That's nice.
But yeah, I mean that's the same as like busting busting open the uh Mario Kart, not letting your kids win. But Mario Kart was your jam growing up, and now your kids are also gonna enjoy it. You're never gonna let the win, but they will enjoy it, right, And.
There's only but like to be fair, that only works in so many ways, like go show your kid, like an actual on the N sixty four controller Goal Night and see how much they want to play that game.
Relative you know, I don't know what I was so good at Gold Night. I don't know why that didn't transfer over to Call of Duty. I was terrible at Call of Duty. I don't know if it was just the different controllers or what, but I was great.
You're using the freaking see buttons to move instead of a second joystick, Like, go and try and do that. Now you're like, this is an Arabic Why did we like this so much?
They start sound old right now? Yeah? The controller I have for my uh my Nintendo switch has got like buttons on buttons, and I'm pressing them inadvertently sometimes, like I hope I didn't just do something. Yeah, there's so many buttons on this controller.
Oh yeah, there's buttons underneath. What does this do? Yeah, they did yourself a little, but I mean I feel that.
I feel that I grew up with with a up, down, left, right, And maybe that's it.
You all you need. That's all you need for the economy code. You just did the Konomy code for everybody? Yeah right, Yeah, that's who this movie was for. Is to get off your get off my people.
Maybe, and maybe that's why the cheap ticket Tuesdays. Maybe that's why it's filled up. It's like, Okay, they weren't willing to go see it when it came out the first weekend because it got bad reviews from the critics, and then once people started to see it got it's got a good Rotten Tomato score.
Yeah, it's decent, and anyone listening to critics in twenty twenty six is lost at this point.
But also, okay, not just the critics, but let's be honest, Jared Jared Leto does carry a stigma with them.
Yeah, and you almost are too too pro Jared Leto in.
My opinion, because I think that he gets too much crap. I think he's been putting some bad movies. But I mean, I think he was great at joker. You know, I'm not saying he was better than other jokers. I thought he was jo good. I thought he was good at his joker. I enjoyed his joker, and I thought you could see that in his skeletor there.
Was And I'm glad you brought that up because I did want to mention this. I wanted your thoughts on the fact, because he even said at one point he basically just talks about being bad for bad sake, And I was like, Oh, that's some Joker shit, and like Joker can get away with that because he's been a
villain for a hundred years. But like in the contemporary environment where forty percent of people walked out of Infinity War, Like, honestly, Thanos made a lot of good points, and I really don't think Caddy, he's that bad of a dude.
Is he really bad?
Yeah? Right, I don't know how Well, for nostalgia purposes, it was kind of nice to see a cartoonishly bad villain exclusively for the reason that he is the villain, But like, I don't know, maybe that is part of what bothered me as well, And maybe that's how Marvel's kind of poisoned the well.
Is like did you want him to have a message too? Like I had a messed up childhood, That's why I'm skeleton.
Like I didn't need fifteen minutes of it. But like, even like you could tell the story in the story, like Loki, you don't learn about what life was like before he was adopted. You just kind of pick up on the fact that like, yeah, he's a bit bent out of shape until he doesn't fit in with a lot of this stuff, and that's bred a lot of resentment and trickster like attitudes, and like you get where that comes from. Fano's same thing, Like that's why the
other Thor movie, The Dark Elf shows up. He's like, yeah, I want to merge all the universes. Why huh. It feels like the right thing to do in this moment. Everyone hates Thore the Dark World. Yeah, And so that kind of felt like Jared Leto was captivating. It was a lot of charisma, but the actual character was just.
Like I didn't mind. I didn't mind that he was being bad for bad sake. I don't think we have to find common ground with every character that comes across our you know, our screen. Just like in Thunderbolts, like that was the whole thing. Century is good but he's bad, but he's good. Yeah, and they explain why, and it's like, Okay, I relate, Like we all relate. We also related with Lena's.
Stories and which movie was better?
Oh, I enjoyed Thunderbolts. I enjoyed I Yes, I'd put Thunderbolts above Masters of the Universe. But I don't necessarily think we have to relate to Skeletor to I didn't have to relate to him. I didn't need him to have a bad childhood or his dad went to go get milk and never came back. Like he's just bad because he's Skelly's I'm a bad guy. I'm Skeletor. I got a skeleton face.
Yeah. I think they actually said exactly that at one point the bad guy has the skeleton for I have to.
Sit there and be like, oh, I really know where he's coming from. Nice, it's a bad dude. I'm you know, we the whole like someone does something bad in this world, well mental health issue, Like it's always something like are we just saying that there's just no bad people and it's always something else? No, there are inherently bad people. Skeletor is one of them. Yeah, he's a funny bad person, but he's a bad person.
Yeah. See Joker gets away with that. I kind of like that because that's part of the randomness of his character.
Yeah, but the Joker, I mean, that's why One of the thoughts is is that they made the second one so crappy because they thought too many people associated with Joker. Yeah, and so they're like, we gotta turn this around.
Talking about the uh joking Penix Joker is what we're talking about.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Sorry, not Jared Letto's, but like.
Or any jokers random. Yeah, you know, like we don't know why he was doing any of that.
He was just doing it, which superior joker in my pin.
Yeah, oh absolutely, but like and like that works, I don't know that it works with that Joker. I'm like, no, he is that random, and I truly think he is just and even that you can read shit online that there are theories that he was supposed to be in the third one and it was going to turn out that he was a war on terror vet and he was scarred, and.
There's like, I don't think it's necessary.
There's a lot of evidence to back set up. And I'm like, ah, we'll never know. But I kind of like the randomness of that skeletor. I was like, this feels lazy. This just feels like a guy is doing messed up stuff to do messed up stuff.
But I think that the fact that he's just a bad guy for being a bad guy, the juxtaposition on how he man found himself. Yeah, I he man's a good dude, but he doesn't need the muscles to be a good dude. But he needs the muscle like he gets the musk. Yeah, he doesn't necessarily need the muscles. Yes, he does to like punch people, but he doesn't want to necessarily punch people. So he's an inherently good guy. And here's why I don't need to be like here,
this guy's a bad guy. And here's why. Like, he's just a bad guy, and that makes the good guy. I think that that make his story even better. He's just bad for the sake of being bad. This is why I'm good.
Yeah, there's a there's an episode of Rick and Morty where they're stuck in the elevator and Jerry's wearing hul cans and he's punching the buttons trying to make them work, and someone says, Jerry, muscles don't make you strong, and he looks up and goes, I know, friends make you strong. I saw the same musical you did. That's you.
I love a good Rick and Morty reference.
Yeah, no, well I didn't know if you intentionally made it. But you're like, yeah, he wasn't strong just because of his muscles. He was strong.
People go see Masters of the Universal. Under stand what I'm saying.
Yeah, And if you've come to know my personality in this and for the record, you're filling in for Bulky superbly because he's always like the dash of happiness to my Uh.
If I didn't like Master the Universe, I would talk about I know you would.
I know you would. Yeah you did, hear it. You're easy to please. That's a good trait to have. That's a good joke.
I can recognize a fun summer movie when there's one put in front of me. I don't need to pick it apart like a vulture.
Here's what you need to do is go watch the first Kingsman and then come back and you'll be like, oh, okay, so I get why you were like the get and I wasn't offended. For the record, we have seen and rated several worse movies than He Man. For the purposes of this podcast, is.
What was your worst one?
By the way, Probably it was either Megan two point zero because you talk about expectations. I loved the first Megan movie, so that one sucked. Undertone was like the highest rated horror movie of twenty six was the worst. Okay, oh my god, it was so bad. It was too high level and I'm I'm like a Cretan when it comes to that kind of stuff.
You just like jump scares.
Not you like again, there can be like Obsession had a message, but like there needs to be Undertone was just like an hour and a half of a woman doing a podcast and be like did you hear that?
Oh yeah, I'm like, oh my god, what.
Am I watching right now? But people loved it because we're all simple, I guess. But there's there's a couple, if I thought about it, The Bride with Maggie Gillenhall and Christian Bale. It was like a contemporary take on Bride of Frankenstein, complete with So there were a couple that that I didn't like more than this. But this is definitely on the bottom half of the movies.
That I've agreed to you. I think that the guy who played Prince Adam could have been a bit of a better actor. I think some of the jokes fell short.
Yeah, but overall, to be real, I'm not saying I wanted it to be Thor, but if it were Thor, it would have been better. Chris Hemsworth. I mean, like you think if.
The person who directed Thor the original Thor, I can't remember their name, do you think if they had directed this he Man, it would have been better?
I think the I think if Tyko Watiti did this he Man, the guy who did Thor Ragnarok, I think that would have been better. The first and second Thor kind of were boring. This shit if you really think about it.
Yeah, the Dark World wasn't great.
Yeah, they looked good. Apparently that dude's like very it's Dutch angles like apparently if you rewatch it, you'll notice that, like almost the entire movies filmed it like a diagonal angle, which is like how this guy does things. Like it's very artistic. But again, undertone sucked and get your Dutch angles out of here. Give me a good movie, that's all I'm looking for you. So we do ratings out
of ten, I'm gonna go four and a half. Really yeah, yeah, which for me, just to give you an idea, A six means if I had been watching it on Netflix or something, I would have watched it from beginning to end, not pulled my phone out and started scrolling while I was watching it. That's what a six out of ten is. That's how I frame it for people. And then anything above that I just thoroughly enjoyed. If I'm saying right.
Now, I do point five.
Yeah, I just said four point five.
Oh sorry you did it? Wasn't even listening, really paying attention. I can tell what are we talking about again?
How much you disliked tea Man?
Well, no, I was gonna go seven. But I think that there was a point or two where I felt my phone vibrate and I would have checked I don't you check yours? In the movie theater we got? You think I've got poor etiquette?
You want to know what I was doing?
You think I got poor etiquette?
You want to know what I was doing checking the time because I was like, boy, this is Dragon.
Well, don't check the time, dragon. So I'm going to go six point five because there there would have been a time if I was watching it on TV, I might have whipped my phone out. But what would happen was I would have whipped my phone out that I'm like, oh shoot, I miss something, and then I would have had to remind it. So, uh, six point five to seven. Yeah, yeah, maybe a six point eight if we're going there, like I want to make it a seven, but okay, you know, okay, yeah, I'll go six point five.
All right. Again, it is a fun block It's at least a blockbuster. I don't know if i'd call it fun, but it's at.
Least a b oh no, And that's I would say it's fun. It's not a blockbuster. I think it's it's a fun movie.
Yeah. Yeah, we'll see if they get a sequel or not. No idea, but that's our thoughts.
Well, I was gonna say if they do, if you do, go see Master Universe three post post scenes. Yeah, we only saw them two. Yeah, and just because if you're if we're talking about a sequel, you out of the three, and I think it would know basically be like, okay, that's sequel material a.
Lot of bait. Although something tells me it's going to be like the end end credits scenes to the Eternals and that they're never going to come to Fruition. Yeah. Yeah, So add an extra fifteen minutes to the already just extravagant run time and check out those post credits scenes. That's our thoughts on he Man. Do you have any Did you get into the Scary Movie franchise at all when it was when it was og?
Yeah, No, I didn't get into the franchise.
Yeah. Did you like the first one?
Yeah? It was fun?
Yeah. Yeah. I mean obviously because I grew up on Scream and all that, I was like, oh, I get every reference to in this movie, and this is great.
Yeah. I think at some point I was like, Okay, this is too wacky. But then I also really enjoyed Naked Gun.
Yeah. We saw the the reboot of that and that was that was a blast.
But again, I think it's the mentality, like how you go into a movie, Like we went into the remake of The Naked Gun and I'm like, this is supposed to be like this.
And it was.
Yeah, And I think we both said like, if it had been five minutes longer, we would have been like, oh my god, okay, Red because it's only like an eighty minute movie. It's the shortst movie I've ever seen in theaters. It is fun, it's the perfect length. Scary movies getting mixed reviews. Balky and I are doing that. I'll be honest, I hope Balky goes back and listens to this, because like he's big on. I was like, dude, we could see the new Spielberg movie. He's like, I
really want to do scary movie. And I'm like, all right, good enough for me. That the Disclosure Day and like event like because Supergirl comes out after that, it looks like Disclosure Day isn't gonna happen because obviously superhero movies take the cake on this podcast.
Yeah, Disclosure Day seems like one of those ones where I'm like, I feel like I'm gonna go on and get really displayed. It seems like a clover field, you know, like where you want to see a bunch of action, but yeah, it doesn't ever really happen. That's what I'm afraid of.
I feel like that one is like the same length as He Man, but there's no colors and no nothing going on. It's just a lot of dialogue. Yeah, exactly, which I'll feel. I will admit that, like it did Dragon Times within like two and a half hours almost is a long time for a movie. Disclosure Days feels like that would be a long movie and I would feel the length of it, So we're not doing that. We're gonna try scary movie out. We're gonna see if they can bring that early two thousands humor into twenty
twenty six. Two guys that don't offend easy. But like I said, Naked Gun did it in a way that we left the entire time, So we'll see if they can kind of emulate that. Here. Only one way to find out though. Thanks for pinch it. And you can catch Laura Lee five to nine on apl and then you just turn that station off, pop on over to Hby after that.
He hasn't say that's five am to nine am. Yeah, yeah, do that stuff.
Yeah, and you got single actually gonna be there tonight. We'll see what happens.
But yep, I do that occasionally on the weekdays as well.
Yeah, so that's Laura Lee and she pinched its when Bulky is no good.
So yeah, thanks for inviting me.
Yeah, no, no worries. Thanks for putting up with my cynical ass. Like we're literally walking out of the theater and I'm being chastised for not being That was the.
Greatest kind of wish. I kind of wish that Toys Russ is still around. Go get myself a sword. Yeah right, I have the power.
Yeah. I had one of those, and it would glow when you held it up, and it probably looked cooler than the one in the movie. All Right, that does it for this. We'll talk to you guys next week.