By Chris Snellgrove | Updated
The '80s is a decade that keeps on giving, with countless colorful franchises reinvented for the modern day. This is especially true for IPs originally designed to sell toys, which is why popular cartoons are popular Transformers again Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been remade several times into live-action films. However, He-Man failed to make the modern leap: after the 1987 live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren was a critical and commercial bomb, the franchise left the big screen, with only a few controversial revivals to keep the brand alive.
Now, however, a new one Masters of the Universe the movie was hacked and hit the theaters. When news of this movie was first announced, even the biggest beef barbarian fans were worried that it would be disaster. Given how badly most Hollywood revivals go, it was easy to imagine that this film would change the core mythology fans loved about the original game, or perhaps change the tone of the legendary cartoon into something only dark edlords could enjoy.
Fortunately, we had nothing to worry about: Masters of the Universe the new gold standard for franchise revivals, which will leave old-school fans smiling while winning over new audiences with an engaging, silly, and amazing sci-fi adventure.
Picking Bone by He-Man
The foundation of Masters of the Universe that when Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his evil army attack the city of Eternos, only its prince (Nicholas Galitzine) is sent to Earth for safety. He brings a sword full of magical power, but loses it almost as soon as it arrives. Fifteen years later, he is about to find a sword, a weapon that can transform him into He-Man and, more importantly, bring him back to his homeland of Eternia.
However, the hero will need all the power of the sword and all the help he can get from his old mentor (Idris Elba) and childhood best friend (Camila Mendes) to defeat the combined forces of darkness and lead the land of Eternia into a new golden age. Along the way, he'll need to learn more about what it means to be both human and He-Man, the wisdom needed to unite the downtrodden rebellion into an army that can take on Skeletor for good.
Most Reliable Designs
Like an 80s kid ever had way so many He-Man figures, the first thing that pleasantly surprised me about Masters of the Universe was how faithful the character designs were to the original cartoon. He-Man's iconic appearance is so faithfully replicated that Nicholas Galitzine (a great comic actor who sells the transition from a no-nonsense prince to a fighting barbarian) looks like a walking, talking human. The same can be said for Teela, and Camila Mendes fills this character with the perfect balance of grace, strength, and beauty. Regular villains like Beast Man and Evil-Lyn are scarier than ever, and I was particularly impressed by Trap Jaw, a film that turns him into a one-man walking army.
But the most dangerous character to see is, without a doubt, Skeletor. He is the perfect live-action embodiment of his iconic cartoon design, whose skull-like face conveys an incredible range of emotions. The custom CGI is very effective, and helps bring to life some of the character's most iconic faces from the '80s. In his own way, Skeletor symbolizes the biggest selling point of this movie for the old fans of the franchise: this is a cartoon brought to life, stop, without the strange concern of modernizing the designs or removing the delicious cheese of the characters.
Between the precise costumes and the no-holds-barred, gonzo performance from Jared Leto (who is almost shockingly good here), the movie has everything you could want from this iconic gangster. Taunting, monologuing, humor, it's all here, and Skeletor is at the same time the funniest and scariest character in the movie. Sometimes, this can create a slightly disturbing tonal whiplash. All in all, though, Skeletor will please fans who wanted him to be the king of the pastel goth meme and those who wanted a scary villain as ruthless as he is relentless.
Crude And Campy, Mean And Mean
Speaking of jokes, it is worth noting that almost everything in the middle Masters of the Universe its tongue firmly in cheek. There are some serious moments, like when He-Man has heartfelt conversations with his father about being a good son and his old mentor about what it means to be a man. For the most part, however, the film is in the vein of a Guardians of the Galaxy-irreverent sci-fi style. Amidst the steady stream of comedies, the film is a thrilling ride, moving incredibly fast despite a running time of two hours, fifteen minutes.
Some jokes are intended for adults, not everything. For example, this adaptation of a cartoon for older children is a lot jokes about boxing, and there are some sexual expressions Skeletor throws at He-Man that are sure to raise a few eyebrows. In one of the film's worst moments, Teela jokingly calls Cringer (He-Man's fighting-hating talking tiger) a “p*ssy,” eliciting an appropriately shocked reaction from He-Man. It got a shocking reaction from my theater, which is fair: a film advertised as a family-friendly sci-fi blockbuster, there a lot of things in Masters of the Universe that you probably wouldn't want your children to repeat.
At the same time, it's refreshing to see a blockbuster refuse to play things safe, and like Marvel's Guardian movies, it's nice to see bad guys instead of pure examples of morality and righteousness.
An Action-Packed Fantasy Epic
Masters of the Universe The packs do so much more than I expected. Unlike the 1987 movie, this latest film spends a fraction of the time on Earth, and those scenes are worth it because they're accompanied by a tough fight scene with Beastman. Honestly, while the new He-Man movie doesn't break the sci-fi mold, it does it does bring many different types of battle scenes for sure to make your heart beat faster.
This includes individual shows (such as He-Man and Skeletor, or Man-at-Arms and Trap Jaw), large team battles (such as the first attack on Eternos and the latest attack, the attack on Castle Grayskull), and many, high-flying scenes of star wars. This diversity helps keep things fresh, while smart writing and amazing acting help set all the CGI-laden battlefields in motion.
Not Too Weird, Not Too Weird
Humanly speaking, the movie walks a fine line between being an '80s homage and being a modern opus. There are 21st-century lessons here about the need to temper power with compassion and the importance of solving the occasional problem without violence. However, a short scene in Prince Adam's Human Resources underscores just how mind-blowing words can be and how many of those who utter them are secretly controlling thugs who enjoy the incredibly powerful power they have over others.
Throw in He-Man's initial concern that he's not strong enough and some Man-at-Arms remarks about how wars are won by soldiers not poets and you have a movie that will dispel anyone's worries that it's going to “wake up”. At the same time, Masters of the Universe It lives at the mercy of politics, presenting itself as a great clash of good and evil that you can enjoy regardless of who you voted for.
Easter Eggs for the Eyes
If you're a huge He-Man fan from way back, you'll probably love one aspect of Masters of the Universe more than anything else: Easter eggs! There are almost too many to count, including a cameo from Dolph Lundgren (the first live-action He-Man) and several references to the 1987 film. At one point, Prince Adam traces his sword to a comic shop and collection called the Fright Zone, named after Hordak's She-Ra background. That store also carries Big Jim, the toy line that preceded He-Man and offered a mold that would become Cringer.
There are many excellent musical releases, including the original animated theme, and, funnily enough, “What's Up” by The Four Blondes, featured in the greatest He-Man fan video ever made.
And, without spoiling things, there are two separate mid-credits scenes and one post-credits scene that's guaranteed to make older fans more patient than they have been in decades. In short, the more you know about this epic fantasy universe, the more you'll enjoy this epic new film.
Remarkably, these Easter eggs are seamlessly incorporated into the film. Masters of the Universe is something a lot it's accessible to complete newbies, and you can enjoy all these rare little moments when you're dealing with them, even if you don't know what they respect. If you do get clues, though (“wow, did He-Man just punch Skeletor?!?”), makes already great scenes that much cooler. Be warned, though: the more careful you are, the more likely you are to go home early and throw out all your favorite He-Man toys.
Nostalgia You'll Feel Right in Your Bones
Together, these Easter eggs help tie together something seen at the beginning of the film: Masters of the Universe it's a true labor of love, made by a director (Travis Knight), writer, and producers who clearly love the source material. It's not perfect, but this movie is good transcends and limits better than most sci-fi revivals, and of course endlessly better than The Mandalorian and the GroguThe new Star Wars movie is going down at the box office with little Hutt success.
Against all odds, this revival of the '80s classic is better than fans expected. It's full of exciting action, fun characters, witty dialogue, and brilliant performances that chew up one scene after another. All in all, this is basically a love child Conan the Destroyer again Thor: Ragnarokas befits a franchise that always blends sci-fi and fantasy. Masters of the Universe it's a never-ending journey of action and adventure, violently (and contagiously) winking at the camera at every turn.
Are you looking for an unapologetic love letter to a past decade that served as the perfect backdrop for action and action figures? Good news, kids: for the first time since the '80s, He-Man has powers!
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026) POINTS
