Masters of the Universe: Revolution review
Masters of the Universe: Revolution suggests that maybe Kevin Smith took some of the criticism of Masters of the Universe Revelation to heart. The follow-up to the 2021 MOTU animated series should prove far less divisive thanks to a tighter story, better action sequences and more emphasis on He-Man.
Picking up from Revelation’s conclusion, everyone now knows Prince Adam (Chris Wood) is He-Man. Teela (Melissa Benoist, Supergirl) is the new Sorceress and Andra (Tiffany Smith) is the new Man-At-Arms. And Skeletor (Mark Hamill) is now infected with a technovirus and under the thrall of Motherboard (Meg Foster).
Bringing Foster, who played Evil-Lyn in the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe movie, was a welcome nod to the past. As the post-credits of Revelation revealed, Motherboard is a top tier disciple of Hordak, ruler of the galaxy-scourging Evil Horde. Casting Keith David as Hordak was an inspired choice. David brings the right amount of menace and dismissive attitude needed for such a pivotal character in the MOTU lore.
With King Randor’s health failing, He-Man is tasked with an impossible challenge — stay Eternos’ warrior or become her king. That decision gets much easier with the sudden arrival of Keldor (William Shatner), Randor’s long-presumed brother. Longtime MOTU fans won’t be shocked by the twist, but Smith and fellow Revolution writer Tim Sheridan (Alan Scott Green Lantern) do take a different approach to make it work on another level.
As the threat of technologically enhanced Skeletor and Hordak & the Evil Horde descend on Eternos, He-Man has to split his forces to fight the war on multiple sides. Smith and Sheridan stick to Revelation’s format of having some fan-favorite characters as largely non-speaking background characters. While Ram-Man, Buzz-Off, Snout Spout and Rio Blast show up, they don’t have major roles. Although he was being established as a big player, Tri-Klops doesn’t have much of a role at all.
Revolution fares somewhat better with the Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey) subplot. While it still feels very weird that Smith and Sheridan are so focused on redeeming one of the best villains in all of MOTU, there’s some welcome resistance on her part and the Masters to fully trust her. Teela’s standalone subplot makes more sense in the context of this story.
MORE:
- Marvel Legends Crossfire review – Build-A-Figure Cassie Lang wave
- AEW Unrivaled MJF figure review
- Role Play review
- G.I. Joe Classified Series Arctic B.A.T. review
Benoist, who replaces Sarah Michelle Gellar, provides a more familiar, heroic take on Teela. The switch proves how effective simply having a different performer can be in conveying mood and personality in a vocal performance.
There felt like a bigger push to prioritize a relationship with Teela and Adam. Not surprisingly, Benoist and Wood — an actual married couple — have good chemistry, though romance has never been a major component to MOTU and feels tacked on in Revolution.
Orko (Griffin Newman) continues to have charming subplots as he’s joined by a character who’s gone from being a reviled and controversial addition to the series to a cult fan favorite.
The animation is solid though there are some moments where the camera has a noticeably jarring pan.
Revolution holds up pretty well until the final episode, The Scepter and The Sword. It’s a solid all-action bonanza, but the needless costume changes feel geared more towards selling more action figures than creating an organic need for new attire.
Granted, that’s part of the bundle with a Mattel Television effort — creating some eye-catching designs to lure the kids and the older, job-having kids into buying more figures — but the finale felt more transparent.
Another late decision in the finale comes off more like a change because Smith and Sheridan couldn’t come up with a logical way to have He-Man as the king and adventurer. Their solution is sensible even if it seems to have the potential to annoy some MOTU purists.
Like Revelation, Revolution ends with a mild cliff-hanger teasing the direction for the third act in this saga. There’s plenty of directions for it to go, but if it’s on par quality-wise with Revolution MOTU fans should find plenty to enjoy.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Photo Credit: Netflix
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.