Middle-aged men who grew up in the 1980s watching the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series and playing with the Mattel action figures sure seem like the target audience for the live-action Masters of the Universe movie. So I’ll admit I was an easy mark for this one.
Although I still hold a tight grip on the comic books, movies, books and TV shows I loved as a kid, I’m more resistant to nostalgia as I get older. But fellow Gen Xer Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) is obviously a fan of the old animated series and knew what notes to hit to trigger those childhood tingles.
Being a fan is not always a good thing for movies like this. Sometimes, filmmakers try to cram too much into one story, attempting to load everything they love about a property in their endeavor — maybe because they think it’ll be the only chance they get. Or perhaps he or she just can’t take off their fan goggles and assume audiences will enjoy the same things they did, rather than take an objective look at what works and what doesn’t, what needs to be subtracted or added.
Knight — with writers Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee and Dave Callaham —walks that line pretty well, realizing what was silly about the cartoon and toys — notably character names such as “Fisto,” “Ram Man” and “Mekaneck.” The movie actually comes up with a funny, believable conceit to explain some of the sillier, campier elements of the Masters of the Universe mythology.
Yet poking fun at itself risks alienating longtime fans who loved these characters and their world. It also risks indicating to younger potential fans who didn’t grow up with the cartoons and toys that this stuff shouldn’t be taken seriously. There are surely some who will hate that approach and be turned off by not treating this material as the next great sci-fi/fantasy epic.
It’s possible that Masters of the Universe would have been better had it been treated like it belongs alongside the Star Wars franchise or Marvel’s Thor films. The guess here is that previous attempts to make a new live-action film (after the 1987 version starring Dolph Lundgren) stalled when running into the inherent goofiness of the source material.
The animated series literally had the hero — whose name is He-Man — winking at the camera. The main villain had a cackling laugh, constantly directed juvenile insults at his henchmen, and was essentially insecure. Stories frequently had comedic elements in them. They were meant to be fun. They were intended to sell toys!
** Kubo and the Two Strings deserves to be the summer blockbuster champion — The Comeback, 2016
So Knight taking a lighter approach feels true to the spirit of the original material. The movie is more fun — and more accessible to newer audiences. (However, based on the box office numbers from last weekend, younger viewers aren’t showing much interest in He-Man and Skeletor with their merry band of warriors and creatures.)
That’s not to say it works perfectly. The story spends too long on Earth, finding the exiled Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) attempting to reconnect with his fantastical upbringing on the planet (dimension?) Eternia and the destiny he was denied as a child. Even the movie gets tired of the Earth storyline, quickly reuniting Adam with the Sword of Power that he’s been trying to find for 15 years.
(Setting some of the story on Earth might also trigger fear in those who saw the 1987 movie, which avoided otherworldly locales for budget reasons.)
This part of the story is necessary to show the hero’s journey Adam takes, how far he has to climb back after falling. And characters like Adam’s rom-com loving roommate (Christian Vunipola) and his passive-aggressive boss (Sasheer Zamata), along with a cameo that maybe shouldn’t be surprising, are entertaining. (They’re also referended later in a climactic moment.)
But the movie doesn’t really get going until Adam’s old friend Teela (Camila Mendes) responds to the sword being activated and arrives to bring him back to Eternia.
Here’s where those old action figures delightfully come to life. (Although I always thought they didn’t have enough articulation. I wanted to recreate the action I saw on TV!) Villanous adversaries like Beast Man, Tri-Klops and Trap Jaw — with his sharp, metallic jaw and various weapons — look great in live-action. And Galtizine legitimately embodies He-Man, which may have been the largest concern about this movie. He’s the right mix of unsure and heroic.
Idris Elba is a great choice as Adam’s mentor and the king’s man-at-arms, Duncan. He has the right combination of wise veteran and clumsy father who has to endure his own narrative journey as someone who suffered a grave defeat and has to recover from that indignity.
However, Duncan is also the embodiment of what works and what doesn’t with this movie. The story can’t quite find the right tone with him. Is he a tragic figure? A stumbling klutz — in his personal relationships, not his battles? The answer can be, and maybe should be, both. But Duncan’s downfall is on the verge of going dark, especially with a drinking problem. That creates a kind of awkward fit in a movie supposedly geared toward kids, but really appealing to nostalgic adults.
Jared Leto also makes an excellent villain as Skeletor, though he’s not recognizable in a muscle suit and his face covered by a CGI skull. Did he have to be cast in this role? Maybe he provides the right notes of malice in Skeletor’s threats and ineptitude to his insecurities. (His interactions with Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn — who might understand what kind of movie she’s in better than anyone — demonstrate this best.)
But even with Skeletor, there’s a curious uncertainty of tone that doesn’t quite land. Is he a truly evil figure? Or is he a bad guy who really just needs someone to understand him and could use a hug? The movie implies the latter, especially with Adam’s therapy talk from his job on Earth in human resources. There’s also a subtext about the perils of toxic masculinity that doesn’t quite work.
Is simply telling a story about good versus evil and right versus wrong too simple in 2026? It might have been funnier if Adam tried his “let’s talk this out” approach with Skeletor, only to be rejected as “What sort of nonsense are you talking about, son?” He just wants to kill you and rule the world! But apparently, that would’ve run counter to whatever kind of message the movie think it’s conveying.
Masters of the Universe would probably benefit from a sequel that doesn’t have to carry the burden of an origin story and establishing itself with people who didn’t grow up on the cartoon and toys. But just getting on with the adventure and showing really cool stuff would also be fun to watch.
Unfortunately, it might not get that chance considering the poor box office performance mentioned earlier. But maybe the movie will do really well on streaming when it hits Amazon Prime. Or maybe the studio will stubbornly try to make a franchise happen, as it has with TV shows like The Rings of Power. I’d like to see that.
Ian Casselberry 