I read some of the bad reviews on IMDb with quite a feeling of sinking disappointment before watching, so I went in fully expecting to hate it, but gave it a chance anyway.
After the first five episodes, I don't hate it at all; I'm thoroughly enjoying it and it's bringing back some of my childhood from decades ago! Particularly enjoyable is Mark Hamill's Skeletor; he's so good at playing deranged bad guys! It's just a pity there isn't an awful lot of Skeletor (or He-Man) in it, but their absence serves the longer story arc, and allows the story to focus on the other characters, so I'll forgive it.
The animation is good, even replicating some live action effects, with focus, lens flares and some clever match cuts for example. Sound production is also good, with realistic background noise and believable directional sound effects and even a good score. The audiovisual sync is on point too.
Really the only problem I have (aside from not much He-Man and Skeletor) is with Evil-Lyn. She isn't really evil enough, though she did eventually return to form, even if seemingly reluctantly, and I'm not entirely convinced about Lena Headey's casting in the part, she doesn't sound right. But I did enjoy hearing her saying "B*ll*cks".
There are a few tonal nods to other franchises such as Star Wars and even Star Trek, while still remaining true to the feel of Eternia and He-Man, albeit with slightly more violence than I remember in the 80s. I'm at a bit of a loss to understand the depth of some of the hate to be honest; I'm going to put it down to misogyny from a certain demographic not liking Teela being put front and centre. In any case it gets a thumbs up from me, especially after the episode five ending!
After the first five episodes, I don't hate it at all; I'm thoroughly enjoying it and it's bringing back some of my childhood from decades ago! Particularly enjoyable is Mark Hamill's Skeletor; he's so good at playing deranged bad guys! It's just a pity there isn't an awful lot of Skeletor (or He-Man) in it, but their absence serves the longer story arc, and allows the story to focus on the other characters, so I'll forgive it.
The animation is good, even replicating some live action effects, with focus, lens flares and some clever match cuts for example. Sound production is also good, with realistic background noise and believable directional sound effects and even a good score. The audiovisual sync is on point too.
Really the only problem I have (aside from not much He-Man and Skeletor) is with Evil-Lyn. She isn't really evil enough, though she did eventually return to form, even if seemingly reluctantly, and I'm not entirely convinced about Lena Headey's casting in the part, she doesn't sound right. But I did enjoy hearing her saying "B*ll*cks".
There are a few tonal nods to other franchises such as Star Wars and even Star Trek, while still remaining true to the feel of Eternia and He-Man, albeit with slightly more violence than I remember in the 80s. I'm at a bit of a loss to understand the depth of some of the hate to be honest; I'm going to put it down to misogyny from a certain demographic not liking Teela being put front and centre. In any case it gets a thumbs up from me, especially after the episode five ending!