Released: 10th July
Seen: 26th July
The history of He-Man begins in 1982 with the release of the first toy line which was a massive hit. The toys came out with a mini comic attached that gave some backstory that would then explode with the release of the He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe cartoon series which was basically just a glorified toy advertisement but a toy advertisement that was insanely popular and would become a touchstone of 80s kids entertainment. It was the kind of series that was so undeniably huge that it had to be turned into a film at some point, which it was in 1987. That film was something of an infamous bomb, though like a lot of weird 80s movies that were attached to nostalgic properties it became a bit of a cult hit. After that movie it seemed like the Masters of the Universe were relegated to being occasionally rebooted in animated form but wouldn’t get another crack at being a movie until 2026 when Masters of the Universe came out and also bombed… which sucks because it’s actually amazing.
Masters of the Universe follows Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine), just your average guy who works in HR and lives with a roommate in a basic ass apartment who spends his spare time doing what a lot of 20-something guys do… looking for swords. The sword that Adam is looking for is special though because, once he finds it and holds it in the air screaming “I have the power” he turns into He-Man the prince of Eternia. Luckily, he finds it relatively quickly because Eternia needs him to remember how to fight so he can defend his home planet from the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto) and all he has to help him is his sword, a big green tiger, his old friend and absolute badass Teela (Camila Mendes) and the general who trained him as a child Duncan AKA Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba). With his new team helping him break away from the world of HR and return to his place of power, maybe Adam will be able to beat Skeletor… if not now, then certainly in the sequel.
The thing about the original Masters of the Universe cartoon is that it was kind of camp. It’s always been a little campy, a little silly, the hero is a Tom of Finland reject and the villain is a flamboyant skull man so it’s not the kind of thing that should be done as an uber-serious film and this adaptation clearly gets that. From start to finish Masters of the Universe is unafraid to play around with the sillier aspects of the universe, to crack a joke or point out the absurdity of calling your main character He-Man. It knows what it’s presenting is silly and never pretends it isn’t, but it also never feels mocking about it. It’s acknowledging the cheesy elements and then using those cheesy things to create some of the coolest imagery you could make with this source material and that combination of understanding that it’s weird and embracing it anyway is where the magic of this film comes from.
You can feel that everyone involved in this has some reverence for the original cartoon and wants to make something just as wild and colourful as that series. Masters of the Universe doesn’t even attempt to go for realism, realism is boring. It’s more fun to just have a giant monkey man rip the doors off cars and throw them about while a bleach blond himbo runs around with a sword, triggering some explosions, that’s actually hilarious and the film understands that. Every fight scene is almost trying to one up the scene before in terms of insanity, culminating in the glorious end battle that really shows off every skill the filmmakers have. Anyone who saw Bumblebee shouldn’t even be a little shocked here, turns out Travis Knight knows how to shoot great action scenes in films that audiences decide not to go see for some reason.
The love for the material seeps into every element of Masters of the Universe, from the wonderfully recreated costumes that take the wacky designs from the cartoon and toys and perfectly adapts them into live action to the soundtrack that’s an absolute all timer (the use of What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes should be studied as a case study in how to reference a meme without being stupidly obvious about it… in this case the meme where He-Man sings to a pitchy cover of What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes, in case I need to be stupidly obvious about it). Every department did their homework and made sure that they were honouring the fun of the original cartoon while still acknowledging the sillier things we all joked about. There’s a real joy to be found in every single inch of this film that makes it such a breezy delight to watch.
The one big problem that Masters of the Universe has is that it really does push its luck length-wise, clocking in at just under two and a half hours; it can be a lot to sit through for a film that’s so breezy. They really are just throwing everything in there to try and sell this idea, show off how they got even the sillier side characters in and while I did cackle at the repeated fisting jokes that they used for Fisto and was a little stunned to see Moss Man and Mekaneck worked in there, it’s all stuff that just feels shoved in to stretch everything out to the absolute limit. The film feels swollen at times and it just can’t take it all, it’s too much and the film needed to maybe ease into it, try something a little smaller before going all the way up to the elbow with some of these ideas… just saying, a little editing would do it wonders.
It does help though that, even with two and a half hours of stuff to get through, Masters of the Universe is carried by the insanely capable cast. Camila Mendes is genuinely hilarious as Teela to the point where she could basically steal the film, Idris Elba breathes life into Duncan aka Man-At-Arms and makes you believe he’s a true mighty warrior… hell, even Jared Leto manages to be enjoyable in this film, and that man is box office poison for a goddamn reason so if even he can be entertaining I think that says a lot about the film. Of course there’s also the star of the film Nicholas Galitzine who basically stakes his claim as the definitive iteration of He-Man, blending hilarious banter, strength, charm and wit all while kicking ass and taking names in the tiniest leather skirt you’ve seen outside of a very kinky Renaissance Faire (also known as… every Renaissance Faire). It’s a stunning performance that carries the whole film, it’s wild that only five years ago I was so annoyed seeing this man in things like Purple Hearts or Cinderella and now he’s turned into one of those actors who just makes exciting choices, it’s a joy to see.
Masters of the Universe reminds me a lot of the recent Dungeons and Dragons movie, in that it’s undeniably great and sorely underseen. It’s an absolute blast to watch with enough fanservice to make even the biggest nerd happy but is also inviting enough that even people who aren’t fans of the original cartoon can enjoy it. It’s big, bold, bright and brilliant, the kind of over the top action film that just puts a stupid smile on the audience’s faces. Masters of the Universe absolutely has the power, and it knows exactly how to wield it.
Movie Meister Reviews 