Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is currently killing it at the box office, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was up for Best Picture come Oscar season.
One movie that will NOT be up for Best Picture and did terribly at the box office is Masters of the Universe, which came and went so quickly that it barely even registered on my radar (It’s actually one of the reasons why I think this summer is one of the weaker ones in recent memory).
However, now that it’s available with an Amazon Prime subscription, I watched it and really liked it! Dare I say, even more so than The Odyssey? I’ll explain.
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First Of All, The Odyssey Held Back On The Fantasy, While Masters Goes Full Throttle
When it was announced that The Odyssey would be Christopher Nolan’s next project, I was excited…but with some trepidation. You see, I love Homer’s The Odyssey, and mostly for its fantastical elements. However, Nolan is the absolute king of making grounded, realistic movies, even when it concerns a rich guy who dresses up as a bat at night. That’s what I go to see his movies for.
That said, I DIDN’T want that with The Odyssey, and that’s what we got: A grounded version of this fantastical tale, which is why I wasn’t in love with it (Though, it’s superb when it comes to the human elements). When I want fantasy, I want it full throttle, and Masters of the Universe does just that!
MotU is a fantasy movie par excellence! There are swords, sorcery, firepower, weird monsters, you name it! I was just a wee one when the Masters of the Universe cartoon first aired in the ‘80s, but the colors, visuals, and ridiculousness of this movie struck a chord with me that put a huge smile on my face. Do you know how many times I smiled while watching The Odyssey? Not once!
Masters Of The Universe Also Has A Lot More Personality Than The Odyssey
Not too long ago, my colleague, Jessica Rawden, wrote about one thing that Masters of the Universe does better than The Odyssey, and can I say that it does a lot more than ONE thing? I can name several things that MotU does way better than The Odyssey.
For one, it has WAY more personality. Nolan has a particular style, and it works for him. It’s why he can make a movie about dreams, and the farthest he goes to showing how weird dreams can be is having a city fold in on itself (In contrast, watch a movie like Paprika to see the real surrealness of dreams). And look, I LOVE Inception, but I find Nolan’s style a little bland sometimes.
Well, MotU is full of personality, humor, and color! Jared Leto is unrecognizable as Skeletor, but he has personality for days. Eternia feels way more alive than the various islands that Odysseus travels to. I mean, is The Odyssey an overall better movie than MotU? Of course! I’m not going to argue that, but which would I rather watch again? Well…
I Could See Myself Watching Masters Again. The Odyssey? Not So Much
Another one of my colleagues, Hugh Scott, recently wondered why Masters of the Universe was even made, and he has some valid points (Namely, who was this even made for?). That said, even though some of the jokes were definitely bad, and He-Man’s journey could have been better, I still find that I enjoyed the journey…for the most part.
You see, when I was watching The Odyssey, I found myself engaged in the story, but I don’t really see myself carving out another three hours to watch it again, mostly because I feel like I got what I needed to get out of it the first time. On the other side, watching MotU, I felt there were probably in-jokes that I might have missed, or other cool details hidden in the story, which is why I enjoyed the film.
It never takes itself seriously, which I love. It’s fun, and I highly recommend it. So, if you missed it in theaters, check it out now. It’s no The Odyssey, of course, but in this instance, I prefer that.