Masters of the Universe Review

A spoiler-free honest review. How woke was it?

The Movie

I saw Masters of the Universe in theaters on opening day. As a late Gen-Xer, I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable and exactly the kind of movie that would have made my single-digit-aged self ridiculously happy. It checked most of the boxes I wanted to see checked.

It's a long movie, but with only a few exceptions, it never felt long. The first part serves as an introduction to He-Man and presents a newly conceived origin story designed to bring younger audiences into the franchise. The second part feels like a reward for longtime fans, packed with callbacks to both the classic 1980s cartoon and the excellent 2000s reboot.

Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, and Idris Elba were all excellent in their roles. I know there's been plenty of online chatter surrounding some of the casting choices, but I'll get to that in the next section. Jared Leto was solid as Skeletor, though it was definitely a different interpretation of the character. Of all the major players, he felt the least campy compared to his 1980s counterpart. Alison Brie was fine as Evil-Lyn. Some of her scenes absolutely landed, while others didn't quite work for me.

The rest of the cast was generally well chosen. I do wish Morena Baccarin had received more screen time as the Sorceress. Several other characters could have benefited from additional backstory as well, but with a universe this large and a cast this crowded, that's an understandable limitation.

Without getting into spoilers, the film isn't afraid to embrace its roots. Some scenes are delightfully campy, and a few moments generated genuine laughs from the audience by poking fun at aspects of the original cartoon. At the same time, parts of the story are darker than I expected, particularly toward the finale.

The movie's time on Earth was handled surprisingly well. I went in worried they might repeat the mistakes of the 1987 film and spend too much time away from Eternia. They didn't. The Earth sequences occupy just enough screen time to move the story forward without becoming the story.

Visually, the film is gorgeous. Eternia looks every bit as breathtaking as fans hoped it would. Seeing Prince Adam transform with lightning crashing around him and Castle Grayskull illuminated in the distance genuinely made me feel like a kid again.

The Woke

The early internet chatter had me worried. I went in expecting the movie to be a lot more preachy than it actually was. Turns out, most of that concern was for nothing.

Honestly, this is probably about as much of a He-Man movie as Hollywood can get away with making these days. A lot of the story revolves around old-school heroic themes: facing your fears, protecting others, taking responsibility, and finding the courage to do difficult things. Imagine that—He-Man being about being heroic.

There are definitely a few parts where you can almost see the studio checking boxes. The funny thing is, it feels like they knew exactly how much of that they needed to do and no more. You can practically picture a meeting somewhere where somebody said, "We're going to need one of these characters and one of those characters," and the filmmakers responded, "Fine, but we're still making a He-Man movie."

The good news is they never let any of that get in the way of the story. The movie doesn't stop to lecture you. It doesn't spend its time apologizing for the source material. Most importantly, it never forgets who the main character is.

He-Man is still He-Man, the most powerful man in the Universe

As for the casting choices, most of the online outrage seems wildly overblown in hindsight.

Idris Elba was fantastic as Man-At-Arms. He looked like he was having a blast, and the chemistry between him, Galitzine, and Mendes carried much of the film. Honestly, I can't think of another actor who would have done the role better.

Camila Mendes struck a good balance as Teela. She was strong without being insufferable, capable without being invincible, and supportive without becoming secondary. She was more or less exactly how my younger self would have imagined Teela—and probably would have had a crush on.

Most of the other casting choices worked as well. Ram Man, Trap Jaw, and the supporting cast all felt right. Even Tri-Klops, despite being one of the race-swapped characters, fit naturally into the world. As somebody who usually prefers sticking closer to the original designs, I didn't find myself caring once the movie got going. The characters worked, and that's what matters.

There was also a lot of criticism online that Nicholas Galitzine wasn't physically imposing enough to play He-Man. I completely disagree. He looked the part. More importantly, he made the character believable. He wasn't built like a chemically enhanced Olympic demigod, but he looked like a genuinely powerful athlete who could plausibly become the most powerful man in the universe.

If they had cast someone significantly larger, you run the risk of creating a weird Bruce Banner versus Hulk situation where Adam and He-Man look like entirely different species. Galitzine found the right balance. He looked heroic, athletic, and believable without becoming a walking cartoon character.

The Music

The music deserves its own section because it was one of the film's strongest elements.

Brian May and Daniel Pemberton absolutely delivered. The standout track, Eternia, feels like the perfect fusion of Queen and Masters of the Universe. It's been living on repeat in my playlist since leaving the theater.

Several other tracks are equally memorable, including The Darkness' rendition of the Masters of the Universe theme.

There is one particular scene that goes full Queen in both tone and execution. It could have easily come across as ridiculous, but somehow it works perfectly. The audience loved it, and the theater erupted into applause.

Frankly, if you're a fan of Queen, classic fantasy, or epic movie soundtracks in general, you're probably going to end up adding a few tracks from this soundtrack to your regular rotation. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed the Flash Gordon movie soundtrack when I was younger, and still to this day.

Final Verdict

Overall, I'd absolutely see it again, and I'll be buying it when it hits home release.

This isn't a perfect movie. A few characters could have used more development, some performances are stronger than others, and certain plot beats move faster than they probably should. But that's also kind of the nature of trying to cram decades of lore and characters into a single film and appease those who need to be appeased.

More importantly, the movie remembers why people bought tickets in the first place.

It isn't embarrassed by He-Man.

It doesn't spend two and a half hours trying to explain why the original cartoon was secretly problematic. It embraces the giant swords, the skull-faced villain, the ridiculous fantasy world, the over-the-top heroism, and all the other things people loved about Masters of the Universe in the first place.

Most importantly, it was fun.

I walked out of the theater feeling like I'd spent a couple of hours back in the toy aisle of the 1980s, and I mean that as a compliment.

I'd give it an 8/10.

It's worth seeing for the spectacle alone, but what surprised me most was how much heart it had. It respects the source material, gives longtime fans plenty to smile about, and introduces a new generation to Eternia without tearing down what came before.

Now bring on the sequel—and maybe a She-Ra spinoff while we're at it.