Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Movies with businesses as heroes, trying valiantly to sell you things you will look at in ten years and mouth "What the fu...?" not the easiest thing in the world. Movies about making a super hokey but widely loved film, which everyone involved seemed to think that they were making Citizen Kane pt. 2? Easy, intriguing & bedding for longer than the 10 minute glossing over it gets here. When Dolph Lundgren is the voice of reason - more can only be better.

Some of the history is interesting, no doubt more so to die hard fans (who doubtless will know all of this information anyway), nothing ever grabs or emotionally involves the viewer (beyond Frank Langella's sincere pride in and love of the movie).

Well worth a watch on a Sunday evening, even if it's just for the "wait, that'd captain Kirk's mum?" moment, but not worth digging through the bargain bin for.

Definitive ... well it is! Up to the point it was made that is. Because this year we got not just a recently put out Netflix show, but another one that was announced (even more aimed at kids, with animation that got some ... well was not well received by quite a few on social media) ... and then there is a new movie on the horizon.

So take the definitive history tag with a grain of salt. If you can, you are in for quite some treat(s). The documentary really dives into the history of the He-Man and all his allies and enemies. How they connected with kids back then, how people grew up with them and what they meant. We also get a lot of background information (including quite a lot from the first real life He-Man Dolph Lundgren himself) of the movie they made in the 80s.

So there is a lot packed in here and it is very well edited all things considered. You have to either be a fan or be accessible to become one to enjoy it of course. If you can, this will be fun.

For some reason I was expecting something more like "The Toys That Made Us", and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-produced, polished documentary with solid editing and noble intent.

"Power of Grayskull" goes way back to the very beginning, to the original guys that greenlit the toyline and those that dreamt up the details. How MOTU was born from the ashes of a failed Conan license and, through writers of both comic and cartoon, an entire lore was fleshed out.

For anyone who knows this backstory, there's probably nothing new here. But it's the presentation that matters. Original artwork, a wealth of interviews and a casual mien offer an easygoing trip down memory lane. And I loved it.

If you're a fan of the 80's and of toys in general this is a must watch documentary. Just over 90 minutes long this documentary goes through the history of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise, from the conception of a new and popular toy line for MATTEL to worldwide phenomenon, spanning the 80's and to modern times. Fans of He-Man and Masters of the Universe will enjoy the tidbits and behind the scenes stories behind the toy line and franchise. I would say that in terms of how the franchise came to be this documentary could also be a learning experience for business students.

A very interesting documentary with only a few shortcomings in my opinion. I felt the documentary spent too much time on the 1987 movie although I will say the interviews with both Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella were absolute gems. Touched upon briefly there wasn't enough material, unfortunately, on why the franchise collapsed the way it did. Although a lot of that was already covered in the Netflix Toys That Made Us docu-series, it would have been nice to get a different perspective in this movie as well. Finally, I feel there was not enough focus on the 2000 reboot, no mention of any new developments within the franchise itself or where it could go in the future. I would have expected that personally.

All in all, this documentary was absolutely worth the wait. Hats off to the team for finally coming through with a great nostalgic and learning experience.

Being a kid of the 80's I was a huge fan of He-Man. This documentary brought a lot of rose tinted 80's clad memories flooding back.

From the inception of the Toy line through to the sad demise and disappearance of the character his documentary really does take you back

Fascinating looks at the toys the series , the movie and that god awful reimagining the new adventures of he man

Also Interesting insight into the making of the movie with interviews with dolph lundgren and frank langella and the problems that plagued the production and led to the flop of what should have been a home run

Nostalgia trip

Enjoy.