Alright! Today I'm reviewing the 2026 reboot of the old He-Man cartoon, Masters of the Universe, which stars Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam, Camila Mendes as Teela, and Idris Elba as Man-of-Arms. In this franchise reboot, Skeletor takes over Eternia and a young prince Adam is sent to Earth (Midguard?) with the Sword of Power. Twenty years later, Adam finds the Sword of Power, returns to Eternia, and stages a final showdown against the forces of Skeletor.
Masters of the Universe is a funny movie. Funny in the sense that the jokes are relentless, and your enjoyment of them will largely depend on if you laugh when people mock the names of cartoon characters. If you don't, well, I regret to inform you that puns based on "Fisto" and "Ram-Man" will not change your mind. On a very related side note there are a lot of sexual innuendos, more than felt comfortable or necessary for what is essentially a live-action cartoon.
One of my biggest issues with Masters of the Universe was the tonality. At times it is a movie that lovingly adapts the cartoon as well as Barbie adapted Barbie, and at other times it just wants to relentlessly mock cartoons in general. I think the audience was ready for an unapologetically goofy live-action cartoon; we didn't need to make a joke of Skeletor menacingly laughing at the sky, fist raised in triumph. Let it be how people remember! Not everything needs to be poked fun at, especially since the last few years have proven that unapologetic sincerity is the key to audience's hearts.
Most of the other jokes worked, though, and I definitely had a good time with it. Nicholas Galtizine has a good amount of physical comedy I audibly laughed at, and while the jokes don't hit as hard as they do in companion pieces Dungeons & Dragons and Thor: Ragnarok, the vibe is similar. Most of the scenes on Earth are absolutely hilarious, and between this and the Overworld's storage units, part of me thinks that a lot of Hollywood writers just want to do workplace comedies but are forced into blockbuster-making. We're a long way from Judd Apatow, I'm afraid.
The best part of the movie is definitely the aforementioned performance from Nicholas Galtizine: he's hilarious, heartfelt, sincere, and he aptly balances the whimsical Prince Adam with the action-hero He-Man. He's also ridiculously jacked and looks great in the He-Man costume, although the costume department's attempts to hide Prince Adam's muscles through oversized clothes didn't work at all. Across the board, the costumes look great on everyone and their accuracy to the source material is very appreciated (15 years ago, they would all have been wearing leather jackets). The behind-the-scenes tidbits on how they came together are all super fun to read!
While the costume design was great, the overall visual appeal of the movie was not. There are some cool shots here and there, a silhouette or two that would be cool wallpapers, but Masters of the Universe is one of the movies where you can tell that EVERYTHING is CGI. Even if the CGI is of good quality, you can feel just how much of it is post-production make-believe. Sets, vehicles, backgrounds, foregrounds, robots, everything not set on Earth is so heavily digitized that it becomes unimpressive.
Having said that, more Battle Cat would have been nice.
There are also some heavy issues with the pacing and emotional beats. The prologue in Eternia (detailing Adam's fall from Paradise) goes on for thirty minutes, and there are some painfully generic attempts to give Masters of the Universe some sort of moral, theme, or emotional weight. I appreciate the fact that it tried to incorporate drama, but the tragedy between Teela and Man-at-arms was wholly unmoving, as was Adam's eventual reunion with his parents. The opening prologue's lesson was ripped straight from Wonder Woman 1984, and "having the power within" is kind of a lame message when he literally has to transform into a different version of himself to win any fight. Unless you have never seen a movie before, Masters of the Universe will not be an emotional rollercoaster.
There are two major saving graces: The first is Skeletor's unhinged and ludicrous villainy (He's probably the most "evil for evil's sake" villain since Bowler Hat guy in Meet the Robinsons) and the second is how Prince Adam taking the sword, screaming "I have the power!" and then transforming into He-Man is objectively the coolest thing of all time. It thrills me when the cartoon does it, it thrilled me when Kevin Smith's Netflix show did it, and it thrilled me when Nicholas Galtizine did it. It's just so cool.
Masters of the Universe is a very fun popcorn flick with funny moments, attractive actors, and an IP that I personally have a great fondness for. The action is well choreographed and exciting, the villain is villainous, the hero is heroic, and there is an obvious love and attention to the He-Man lore that is sure to make this a satisfying movie for long-term fans (The original theme song, She-Ra, and "What's Up" all appear!). It's just a shame the Gen-Xers seem to be watching Michael instead.
Overall, I give Masters of the Universe a 6/10. "Masters of the Universe is the sort of movie Marvel just doesn't make anymore."
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