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.

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