Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe has fisting, ramming, and necking, and somehow it also offers a heartfelt story.  It feels like you are transported back to the 80s with colors that pop, rock music reminiscent of that time, but modern visuals that you could not pull off back then. For fans familiar with the story, it’s like a welcome back, but for new fans it’s a warm welcome. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Masters of the Universe follows Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) from Eternia, who gets sent to Earth to escape the Evil Skeletor(Jared Leto). 15 years later, Adam hasn’t forgotten about home and is trying to find a sword so he can go back. Once he finds the sword, he is saved by Teela(Camila Mendes), who takes him back to Eternia to take on Skeletor and save Eternia.

Masters of the Universe is a fantasy adventure film directed by Travis Knight. It has similar vibes as Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Thor: Ragnarok, or Sky High.

Real quick before we get into it, this is a full spoiler review, so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it and come back. I'll be here. Okay, let’s move along; spoilers from here on out.

Masters of the Universe caught my attention because it looked like a lot of fun, and I like Nicholas, Camila, Idris, and Alison. I was hoping that it wasn’t only good but that if it was, it would do well at the box office. It joins a recent run of fantasy films that fully commit to feeling unlike our world,  in fun ways and unsettling ones. Like, magic, yay — but Skeletor would be a jump scare, and god forbid he tries to touch me.

I think conversations on social media about movies are becoming dumber, and the trailer proved it. The funniest part of the discourse was conservatives getting mad that He-Man's placard lists his pronouns as he/him, which is obviously a joke about his hero name. Like… cmon. Use your brain.

Whoever was in charge of the camera, I just know they were thinking, how can we slut this man out? I mean He-Man’s outfit is already super revealing, but the camera shots when he was in that half-naked ensemble had me laughing because it seemed like they asked, how can you make people more invested in his body, or just make them more horny- whatever floats your boat. There are a couple of scenes that made me think, wow, all we are getting is ass and abs. No hate, but it was just funny to see the camera angle choices.

The fantasy world of Eternia looked like a real fantasy place, and a big reason for that is the costumes, the magic, the sets, and the color. Earth is whatever, but on this planet everything just stands out and looks like something that wouldn’t be on Earth, which was cool to see. The outfits were fantastical and looked so cool and were perfect to show fantasy fashion, but I’m sure it’s also great because it would be the perfect Halloween costumes. The sets looked cool and showed how this place was just so different and how it could feel more advanced and more prehistoric. The color really popped, which made the world and the outfits look more vibrant and cool. I was watching and was wondering: have I not been seeing much color? Because I immediately noticed that there was so much in this movie.

In the beginning of the movie, Adam tells numerous people about his past and his search for the sword, which freaks people out. I thought it was hilarious to have that be something that scared people away as they are getting to know him. Even if they were scared, I loved how he never forgot where he came from even tho it was such a traumatic childhood.

The music was great and made me feel like I was transported back to the time when the show premiered.  The instruments they used in the rock songs truly felt like a blast from the past, but in a good way. It elevated the fight scenes and just made the movie so much more fun.

The movie had a mixture of great jokes, but also some that fell flat. Some of the Skeletor ones fell flat because at times I couldn't understand a thing he said.

Idris Elba stood out to me as the man-at-arms from the beginning. When he was on screen, he was always giving a great performance no matter what he was doing, and I was reminded that Idris is a really good actor who doesn’t get enough credit in my mind. He acted more like a dad to Adam than the King did, and I enjoyed their relationship. He did great going from loyal soldier to alcoholic to recovering alcoholic who must now go into battle.

I found it funny how the sorceress was in the film as a guide, and while she seemed very powerful, she just watched from afar. She was tasked with protecting the sword, and to be honest, she didn’t do that well with that job because Skeletor walked in there no problem.

Evil-Lyn has such a cartoonish evil voice, and I mean that in the best way possible because Alison nailed it. She felt evil to the bone but also like one of those evil people you can laugh at too. She was a great character, but I wanted more of her. She picks up Skeletor’s skull in the post-credits, so I’m sure she will be instrumental in bringing him back. Hopefully in the future she realizes that relationship with Skeletor is abusive and she can step out on her own and be the true evil queen she was meant to be.

Towards the end of the movie, King Randor dies, and it’s a big dramatic moment, but there’s not enough screentime with him to make me care. We hear about him in the beginning of the film, and when we finally meet him,  he’s just old and mean. That’s the only interaction we see between him and Adam when Adam was a child. I felt if they wanted the viewer to be sad, they should've shown him as being stern but maybe a bit nicer to Adam and just overall given him more screen time. Also, crazy way to go out, accidentally taken out by your son.

There are so many characters from Masters of the Universe who make an appearance, and most of them have unique skills that really help Adam on his quest. Even with all the iconic characters, we also get blessed with a cameo by the OG live-action He-Man, Dolph Lundgren. I love how we see all these characters, but I also love how a lot of them get their name because Adam made them up when he was a kid. It makes sense since the names aren’t normal names you’d assume someone would have. I think the way they brought it up and had people think it’s funny but then continuously use them was smart to incorporate them with the characters.

Even with all these characters making appearances in this film, there are still some that are missing in the main story. Orko makes an appearance at the end, who is a friend of He-Man and a magician who offers more comic relief. One reveal I was curious about was Adora, aka She-Ra, Aka Adam’s sister, who makes an appearance in the end credits. If there is more, I’m interested in how they will tie their stories in.

They use He-Man to ask the question of what really makes a man, which clearly isn’t muscles or a sword, but I think they are too vague with what they are getting at, so it doesn’t land. They harp on him wanting to be a man, but they never actually make a statement on what that is. Orko states at the end that muscles don’t make you a man, so we see what doesn’t make you a man, but what is the film saying does make you a man?

My favorite part of the film was the He-Man transformations. It was something I was looking for, and I'm glad that they didn't make us wait til the very end and made it very epic, like a Sailor Moon transformation or a Digimon evolution. It was dope to see how much stronger he looked and was. He was kicking ass, a force to be reckoned with, and did a great job. His transformation was one of the best I've seen in recent years and made me even more excited for the fight that was to come.

The fighting was top-notch in the film. I was shocked that in a movie with weapons and magic, He-Man forgoes those and decides to use his hands, and he was giving Skeletor a fight he wouldn’t forget. His movements had me in awe, not only on offense but also on the defense, as he avoided Skeletor’s magic blast. I’m glad they showed that those muscles weren’t just for show.

Masters of the Universe was a fun ride even if that ride wasn't on a giant battle cat named Cringer. It’s a beautiful film that brings nostalgia, is heartfelt, and action-packed. With some of the character names, the jokes write themselves, so I'm glad they leaned into it. For younger audiences, it'll go over their heads, and for the more mature crowd, you’ll get a laugh out of the more inappropriate jokes, especially if you enjoy strong necks, ramming stuff, or are a huge fan of fisting.