Displaying items by tag: Dolph Lundgren

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

US, 2026, 140 minutes, Colour.

Nicholas Galitzine, Camilla Mendez, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, Johannes Hauker Johannessen, Alison Brie, Charlotte Riley, James Purefoy, Dolph Lundgren.

Directed by Travis Knight.

In the 1980s, Masters of the Universe was a Saturday morning television show, a cartoon from Mattei. Then, early in his career, Dolph Lundgren played the central character in a live action version, He-Man.

With the 2020s popularity of remakes of popular shows of the past, here is quite a lavishly produced, 140 minutes version of the cartoon. It might be called a live cartoon version, emphasis on cartoon-styled characters and appearances, performances, idiosyncrasies, very basic dialogue, more than a touch of parody, often setting itself up and expecting the audience to enjoy this kind of adventure.

Masters of the Universe first emerged in the 1980s, the period of Sword and Sorcery adventures rather than an emphasis on superheroes. The hero was He-Man (and, as the new hero starts on his adventures, whom does he encounters but Dolph Lundgren offering advice and challenge!).

This is something of an origin story for He-Man, the background of the kingdom, Castle Greyskull, a very colourful place, some of the trappings gaudy and garish, a King, his queen and little son, Adam, and the expectations of the King that Adam train military fashion, helped by his young friend, Teela, under the command of Duncan, Idris Elba, training the troops.

Then, the invasion, disaster, villain, Skeletor, looking skeletal, played by Jared Leto with a rather rhetorical British accent, and his skeletal and monstrous Lourdes, King and queen, vanquishing the Castle.

The little boy, Adam, is thrust out of the kingdom with the kingdom’s all-powerful sword – but he drops it in a marsh, and finishes up in Oklahoma City, spending 15 years growing up and working in an office, involved in Human Resources, driving many berserk with his continual telling of his story about the search for the sword, threatened by his boss with being fired. But, Adam is now very much a touchy-feely character, pink shirt, a label He/Him on his desk, quietly genial if someone diffident.

But, for fans, all is not lost. Teela finds him, brings him back to the kingdom, training, finding the sword, experience its power, being transformed into a highly muscled and buffed warrior.

Adam is not immediately accepted by the imprisoned members of the kingdom but gradually proves himself, explains that from Human Resources he learned that teamwork is essential and so they prepare to confront Skeletal, lots of battles, Teela often to the rescue, Duncan reviving with energy and leadership, and Adam reconciled with his-father and reunited with his mother.

However, he is transformed and becomes the leader, He-Man, British actor Nicholas Galitzine throwing himself wholeheartedly into playing the genial Adam as well as the warrior He-Man.

This film is an appeal to the fans of old as well as reaching out to the younger generation – but, the scenario and dialogue, the in-jokey references, the touch of parody are very much at the level of enthusiastic 13 to 14-year-old boys.

SKIN TRADE

US, 2014, 96 minutes, Colour.

Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White, Ron Perlman, Celena Jade, Peter Weller.

Directed by Ekaschai Uekribgtham.

Skin Trade is an action film focusing on human trafficking, especially in Asia.

This is very much a Dolph Lundgren film, not only acting in the central role but producing and cowriting. He has a history of action films. Also top billed is Thai martial arts actor, Tony Jaa, given the opportunity to develop a character in this film as well as the opportunity for many fights, including with Lundgren himself.

In many ways, that sets the tone of this dramatising of issues of human trafficking.

There are, some frightening visuals of the trafficking, a young girl in Cambodia answering an advertisement, full of hope, taken over by the criminals, drug, caged. Later in the film there is a sequence, ugly and dramatic, of rows and rows of cages with young girls trapped squalidly in them. On the other hand, there are the clubs in Thailand where these girls have to dance provocatively as well as the prostitution. At the end, there is information about the statistics of human trafficking.

However, it is very much an action film, Dolph Lundgren as a New Jersey detective, trying to track down a trafficking family led by Ron Perlman, through his sons, operatives in Asia, the younger son a student in the US, forced by his father to be violent but ending up killed when the gang go to a ship at the dock, raided by the police, and discover the dead bodies of many girls.

The detective is shot, his house burned down, his wife and daughter killed. Obsessed, he exits from hospital, gets his way to Cambodia, gets all kinds of information, tracking down the traffickers. However, he is under suspicion by the ties, which means that Tony Jaa, police, has to keep tracking Lundgren, eventually fighting with him.

As expected, there are lots of fights, shootouts, gruesome killings, and a final confrontation with the trafficking head villain – and the open end that Lundgren’s daughter was taken alive and has been sold into the trafficking world. A clear sign for a sequel – but there was none.

1. The title and expectations? Human slavery, international, Europe, US, Cambodia and Thailand?
2. Settings in Cambodia, the countryside, in Thailand, Citi sequences, countryside? The US, the American city, police precincts, the docks…? Musical score?
3. Human trafficking, the girl in Cambodia, confident, the invitation, the bus, taken, drugged, imprisonment? The various sequences showing so many girls imprisoned, caged?
4. Dolph Lundgren, producing, cowriting, starring? His career? Strongman? Detective, wife and daughter? Working with the police, the raid? The docks, the confrontation with give each, the death of his son, the revenge on his wife and daughter? The fire, his being shot, in the hospital, leaving, to Thailand?
5. The trek of each family, Victor, European background, Serbia, Russia, his sons, the celebration with his sons, their work, especially in Asia, ruthless? Favouring his son? At the docks, waiting for the shipment, the dead girls, the attack, his son proving himself, dead? Victor getting himself to Asia? His contacts, blackmailing, protection?
6. Police and detectives in the US, the discussions about the human trafficking, Costello, his position, involvement? Read, actively involved?
7. The credibility of Nick Cassidy and his quest, his injuries, getting to Asia, the connections, information, it into Cambodia, his skill in getting information, his perseverance, to find the drag of each son? His being pursued by Tony?
8. Tony Jaa, his reputation, martial arts, his character, with the police, confrontation with the traffickers? His fight sequences? His relationship with his girlfriend, her working in the club, the sequences in the club, the girls dancing, prostitution, clients? His suspicions of Nick Cassidy, pursuing him, the various fights?
9. Nick, tracking people down, the clubs, his violence, shooting the manager, rescuing the girls, the fight with the younger son?
10. The betrayal by the detective? Fights, death?
11. The reconciliation with Tony, their working together, the girlfriend, her being captured, under siege, though, at the airport, his of the sons and their deaths, the final confrontations, fights, helicopter, the rescue?
12. The threat to Nick, but his daughter had been taken from the fire, now part of trafficking?