Masters of the Universe review

Saw this twice over the last 2 weeks. When did the catch it again before I reviewed it because I wasn’t really sure what I thought after my first viewing. I couldn’t tell whether I genuinely liked it or whether it was just hitting every nostalgia button I have. I grew up loving He-Man. Like a lot of kids from that era, I always wished we’d gotten a better movie than the Dolph Lundgren version.

After seeing it a second time, I think I have an answer.

While I enjoyed it both times, the second viewing convinced me that I actually like the movie. Importantly, I think 10yo me would have absolutely loved this. I can easily see a generation of kids growing up with this as one of their favorite movies, in much the same way my generation grew up with Hook. Critics may not love this, but I think it hits the notes that matter for its core audience.

The movie embraces exactly what He-Man has always been: a gloriously corny fantasy world that originated as an ‘80s toy line. Like Transformers, G.I. Joe, and so many other franchises of that era, the whole thing existed to sell toys. That’s part of its DNA. Trying to judge it as if it were some profound novel based fantasy epic feels unfair.

Even you have no attachment to the IP, at its core this is still a fairly straightforward fantasy adventure about a chosen one hero fighting an evil overlord. So you can watch this without knowing any of the lore. But if you have any affection for He-Man, there’s a lot here to enjoy.

Nicholas Galitzine makes for a very likable He-Man. Ironically, Adam/He-Man himself is probably one of the less interesting characters in the movie, but Galitzine has exactly the kind of earnestness the role needs.

Camila Mendes is a perfectly good Teela. She doesn’t have the most interesting material to work with, but she does fine, and yes, she’s ridiculously attractive.

Idris Elba throws himself into the role of Man-at-Arms and clearly looks like he’s having a great time, but I had a hard time buying the character’s backstory. The movie asks us to believe that this legendary military commander simply spent fifteen years drinking after his king and queen disappeared and the prince vanished into another world. If he was really as capable as everyone says he was, as us fans believe he is, I feel like he would’ve spent those fifteen years trying to rescue them instead of drowning his sorrows in alcohol. That felt like a missed storytelling opportunity, ie showing him actually trying and failing and honestly, there’s enough space there that you could build an entire prequel around it. I bet Idris would up for that.

On the Jared Leto of it all…A lot of people love to dunk on Jared Leto, but this is probably the ideal way to use him. His face hidden behind CGI, his voice is heavily altered, and him completely committing to the camp reputation on Skeletor that has developed overtime. He knows exactly what movie he’s in, and he seems to be having an absolute blast playing Skeletor.

The same goes for Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn. On my first viewing I wasn’t entirely sold, but the second time around I appreciated just how much she was leaning into the character. She’s hamming it up every bit as much as Leto, and that actually works in this universe.

The movie even pokes fun at itself, joking that all of these ridiculous character names that sound like they were invented by a ten-year-old basically were. That's Canon now. It’s a funny acknowledgment that everyone involved understands exactly what this franchise is.

Random note, James Purefoy shows up here as King Randor. I have no idea how they convinced him to take what amounts to a fairly insignificant role, but he’s great because James Purefoy is almost always great.

The biggest question going forward is whether audiences show up. We'll see. The film clearly wants to launch a Masters of the Universe cinematic universe, and it certainly leaves the door open for more. At one point it teases a She-Ra spinoff. Personally, I’d rather they just make He-Man 2 first. Spend more time with these characters before branching out into a shared universe.

This isn't a great movie, but strip away the nostalgia and you’re still left with a solid, familiar fantasy adventure that doesn’t bore or offend.  It’s colorful, sincere, unapologetically goofy, and never embarrassed by its own premise.  For me, that’s worth at least 2.75 stars, which I'm rounding up to 3 cause it's MY childhood we're reevaluating here after all. 😄 Go and have fun.