Masters of the Universe: Revelation review - Bursting the bubble of nostalgia with grounded realism

3/5

The much anticipated sequel to the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe wastes no time in setting up the ‘good vs evil’ arc with He-Man and his arch nemesis Skeletor as the duo battle for the soul of Eternia (the home planet of the characters), and for the Universe in the first episode. The episode gives a nod to the old series with its cheesy, yet nostalgic dialogues updated with stunning animation by Powerhouse Animation Studio, the team behind Castlevania. The narrative, however, develops into a more mature and a complex story with a sequence of events from just one scene by the end of the first episode. The story is then told through the perspective of Teela, the captain of the Eternian army. The story’s shift to Teela’s arc and her path to finding meaning in her life, which diverts the entire franchise to uncharted waters.

With the inclusion of mature themes in the story the showrunner, Kevin Smith, has essentially burst the bubble surrounding the legend of He-Man told over the course of the last three decades. It reverberates the same way as a child finding out Santa Claus is not real. The characters are faced with a new challenge; real-life consequences and motivations. This essentially has forced the characters to abandon their corny punchlines and sound like real people that the audience can relate with. For this purpose the show desperately needed a stellar voice, and it does not disappoint. Chris Wood (He-Man/Prince Adam), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Teela), Mark Hamill (Skeletor), Lena Heady (Evil-Lyn), Susan Esienberg (Sorceress), and Kevin Conroy (Mer-Man) form an an excellent ensemble that delivers excellent performances to breathe new life into this otherwise monotonous characters. Lena Heady and Liam Cunningham need no introduction after their immensely popular turns as Cersei Lannister and Ser Davos Seaworth respectively in Game of Thrones. The other voice actors are legends of voice acting most notably from from Bruce Timm’s iconic DC animated universe - Mark Hamill who also played the lead, Luke Skywalker, in the Star Wars franchise was the voice of the Joker, while Kevin Conroy and Susan Eisneberg voiced Batman and Wonder Woman for years.

While some audiences may not be too thrilled about the sudden shift in tone, the reimagined version of the franchise does have its moments with a few twists and turns. However, the false advertisement of He-Man being the focal point of the story has put a dent on any success the show might have, because He-Man barely features in the remaining episodes of the first of the new of the season released so far. The show is also crippled by the fact that they have adopted several themes from other popular stories. For instance, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn are the exact variants of Joker and Harley Quinn - Evil-Lyn, despite having an excellent arc in the story, has an identical story to Harley Quinn’s after she leaves the Joker in various DC storylines. It also does not help that Mark Hamil has used his ‘Joker voice’ for Skeletor. Liam Cunningham's Man-at-arms also shares similarities to Ser Davos Seaworth as the righteous father figure and a voice of reason for the rulers. Even Tri-Klops’s new cult of dark technology worshippers seems to have been inspired from Helis of Carja from the critically acclaimed video game Horizon Zero Dawn. Unfortunately, such similarities do affect the overall immersion of the narrative.

He-Man’s relatively diminished screen time has not hampered the show’s overall quality, in fact it has given fresh outlooks for these characters especially Evil-Lyn. The cliffhanger at the end of episode 5 does ramp up the intrigue and mystery in the magical land of Eternia for the Part 2 of the first season.