Masters of the Universe

4 outta 5

Masters of the Universe is intentionally corny and camp adaptation of the toy line and animated series, which itself was pretty campy. The show and comics was primarily a venue to sell toys, a sci-fi action line that Mattel made up after kicking themselves for passing on Star Wars. There’s a decent dark Netflix animated show but, honestly, there should be corniness in Masters of the Universe. The visual style of the characters is very true to the source and there’s some unique twists on the He-Man lore. This is a fun film that is a bit overlong and may hit corny notes too hard, but it clearly loves the source material.

Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is an office worker who constantly searches for swords online, much to the discomfort of his co-workers. He needs a magical sword to get the power of a God and return to his home of Eternia where he escaped as a child when his world came under the rule of the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto). When he finds his sword, the bad guys arrive along with his childhood friend, Teela (Camila Mendes). Jumping in her spaceship, they arrive at Eterina and find it in Skeletor’s clutches. With the help of Teela’s drunken dad, the Man-At-Arms Duncan (Idris Elba) and various soldiers Adam nicknamed Ram Man and Fisto, Adam and crew must confront Skeletor and minions like the sorceress Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie), as Adam can harness the sword’s power to become He-Man.

There are a few ways to tackle the He-Man franchise, as the comics were pretty earnest sword and sorcery sci-fi and the animated series was meant to sell toys to kids so it was inherently corny. The episodes had a moral wrap up at the end; something the movie throws in a cheeky mid-credits scene. The designs and far out names of the original toys were crazy. There is a funny bit where the goofy names like Fisto and Ram Man were something Adam made up when he was 10 and there’s some edgy jokes with the names. It is a bit logic breaking that Fisto, Ram Man and Trap Jaw are names Adam made up while Skeletor and Evil-Lyn are their actual names. So it’s either all dumb and made up or none of it is.

The good guys are earnest and bad guys are over the top which creates a bit of a tonal mishmash but it is enjoyable. Leto as Skeletor has crazy bits like when he says his evil laugh is supposed to crescendo at the end of his evil actions. There is some very good CGI on the Skeleton face that is actually able to emote, straddling the line between cartoony and realistic. Another crazy moment is when Skeletor, during a magical vision scene, ends up on Earth with Adam, pumping weights in gym clothes or when he’s at Adam’s job wearing a tie and collared shirt. There really isn’t a way for a character named Evil-Lyn to be subtle as Brie goes really loud and cackling. She is so over the top when she is chanting evil spells to keep He-Man secure that even Skeletor tells her that is quite enough.

Galitzine as Adam has a very fun comedic performance as everyone thinks Adam is crazy as he tells them about his childhood of magic and Skeletor. When he goes He-Man, he has unstoppable power but he’s still a bit of a dweeb. There is a bit where the magical Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) tells Adam that he doesn’t get the power from the sword but from himself which seems a bit too close to ripping off the great moment in Thor: Ragnarok when Thor found the power within and not from his hammer. The show maintained Adam keeping his He-Man ID secret and there’s a funny moment when Adam is trying to hide his transformation into He-Man and Ducan says that they all saw him transform before, so hiding it pointless. There is a lot of father and daughter back and forth with Ducan and Teela after Ducan was injured protecting Teela, so he spends the next 15 years in a drunken state of self-pity. She just wants him to get it together and Elba does a great job of balancing comedic and tragic elements. Teela is mostly there for commenting on the craziness unfolding, and Mendes has some good low key reactions.

The music by Daniel Pemberton has a great rockin’ 80s guitar feel and the classic He-Man theme kicks in at perfect moments. There is also a fun surprise appearance from Dolph Lundgren who played He-Man in the 1987 movie, dispensing some wisdom at the gym and saying “Safe journey”, as was his catchphrase in his film. Even a few bad guys from the ‘87 movie pop up here as minor Skeletor goons. Directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee) the colours are very vibrant and the action moves at a great clip. The look of the characters are very accurate to the toys, sometimes too much where crazy designs like a extending neck guy looks very goofy in live action. If one wants an authentic and cheesy Masters of the Universe experience, this definitely feels like the original.