Movie Review: ‘Masters of the Universe’ (Second Opinion)

Plot: When the evil warlock Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his horde attack the capital city of the planet Eternia, King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley) are forced to send their only son, Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), to Marlena’s home planet of Earth with Castle Grayskull’s Sword of Power in tow. Fifteen years later, Adam works in human resources and has been separated from the Sword. After reclaiming his sword at a local comic book shop, Adam is subsequently attacked by Beast Man (Gary Martin) and saved by his childhood friend Teela (Camilla Mendes). Upon returning to Eternia, Adam discovers that Skeletor has subjugated the entire planet, leaving Eternia in ruins. Alongside Teela, Roboto (Kristen Wiig), Man-At-Arms/Duncan (Idris Elba), Cringer (Tom Wilton), and a ragtag group of revolutionaries, Adam must claim his destiny, save his planet, and become He-Man: the most powerful man in the universe.

Review: My lifelong obsession with all things sci-fi and fantasy-related rests on three formative and fundamental things from my childhood. The first was when I saw E.T. in theaters at three years old. The second was when I watched Rankin and Bass’ animated Hobbit film at four years old. And the third and final was when I began to collect Masters of the Universe action figures at the age of five. He-Man, Orko, Skull Mountain, Castle Grayskull, Stinkor, Moss Man, Trap Jaw, Evil-Lyn—I was hooked through the bag and back. Throw in Filmation’s animated television show, and it was like adding a lit match to a puddle of kerosene.

While I always had a soft spot for Cannon Films’ cheesy and bonkers 1987 live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren, it felt so far removed from the lore and mythos I loved, as to be almost unrecognizable. As I grew older, I moved on to more sophisticated fare like Ender’s Game, 2001, The Wheel of Time, The Matrix, and others. He-Man became a fond, albeit quaint memory. Several years ago, I even tried to watch the old cartoon and couldn’t make it through five minutes. I thought He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’s time had well and truly passed. Attempts to resurrect the franchise had languished in development Hell for years, and nothing indicated any feature-length He-Man film would come to fruition.

Then, much to my chagrin, Amazon MGM studios, and director Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) took up the mantle, and a new He-Man movie began production. While the previews looked promising and I was pleased to see that the bulk of the movie was set on Eternia, I was also dubious. Was the IP 40 years too late? Would anyone care or show up? Most importantly, would the movie be any good?

The answer to those questions is…sort of.

Ambitious, colorful, and sporting a phenomenal score, 2026’s Masters of the Universe nevertheless suffers from a weak script, a disjointed tone, and an overreliance on jokes. The result is a movie that occasionally works but ultimately left me disappointed by what could have been and lamenting lost potential. As a massive He-Man fan, I wanted to love this movie, truly I did, but it fell well short of expectations.

That isn’t to say Masters of the Universe is a bad film. Far from it. There were plenty of things I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a rare thing to have two banger scores in the same year, but Daniel Pemberton (Project Hail Mary) has accomplished just that. MOTU utilizes a retro 80s pop synth style motif that echoes the best parts of the band “Tangerine Dream” in Legend, Trevor Jones’ score in Excalibur, and the prog-rock soundtrack found in composer Andrew Powell’s Ladyhawke. Musician Brian May of the rock group “Queen” also lends a hand on electric guitar. MOTU even uses one of “Queen’s” noted 80s songs, “Princes of the Universe,” although personally it didn’t work for me.

Additionally, stunt coordinator and stunt choreographers Liang Yang, Lauren Janes, and Nina Armstrong do yeoman’s work in MOTU. The hand-to-hand combat was particularly effective, especially the ones involving Elba’s Man-At-Arms and He-Man’s final climactic clash with Skeletor. Travis Knight seems right at home capturing the personal, intimate hand-to-hand combat scenes as well as the larger, more epic aerial battles. This all pairs nicely with Fabian Wagner’s sharp cinematography to go along with a bright and dynamic color palette. That latter example was particularly impactful. In an era where so many movies possess a faded-out yellowish tint, it was refreshing to see Travis Knight lean into vibrant, lush colors. I just wish Industrial Light & Magic’s special effects were a little stronger, as at times the green screen aspects were noticeable. Thankfully, the practical production design elements from Guy Hendrix Dyas and the lush costumes from designer Richard Sale make up for it.

MOTU’s faults lie in the script, tone, and, to some extent, the acting. Some of the dialogue was downright atrocious, with lines like, “Let’s fist some bad guys!” and “Give them head, Ram-Man!” scraping the bottom of the barrel. Look, I get that it’s He-Man, and the cartoon was quite cheesy as well, but I expected more. There’s far too much time spent on Earth, in my opinion, and a recurring minor subplot with Adam’s roommate, Hussein (Christian Vunipola), was way overdone.

It’s instances like the ones I’ve just mentioned that are symptoms of the tonal issues in Masters of the Universe. This film relies too heavily on jokes. In fact, there’s a bevy of so many jokes that it often undercuts what should be more serious and somber moments. It never strikes a decent balance with scenes occasionally drifting into the realm of parody. Masters of the Universe should have been (as the great Kristian Harloff has said) a cross between Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Instead, it feels more like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. While I love that movie, that approach doesn’t work here. Additionally, there’s a theme about toxic masculinity that only occasionally succeeds, and even one egregious point late in the film where it falls flat on its face. Galitzine’s He-Man literally asks Leto’s Skeletor to “talk to out” instead of fighting. It was groan and eye-roll-inducing and undercut a subsequently pretty badass fight.

Part of the problem may lie in the fact that there are four writers credited with the screenplay, including Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, Chris Butler, and David Callaham. Insert the “too many cooks in the kitchen” adage here. It feels like there are conflicting interests at play. With films like Missing Link, Band of Robbers, and Doom to this quartet’s credit, I question why the powers that be didn’t go out and get Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, D.B. Weiss, or Jane Espenson to adapt the film.

Then there’s the acting, which is kind of a mixed bag. Alison Brie is just kind of there as Evil-Lyn, with Brie’s performance not that much different from her Annie Edison in Community. She should have been much more malevolent and menacing, and something more akin to Meg Foster in the 1987 film. Elba’s Duncan/Man-At-Arms was solid, but he spends too much time as a drunken wastrel full of regret. His character should have been more heroic. Morena Baccarin barely registers as the Sorceress, which is mind-blowing to me, considering how important she is to the Masters of the Universe lore.

On the bright side, Camilla Mendes almost steals the show with her sassy, spicy, sexy, savvy, and slick Teela walking a tightrope between jaded and hopeful. Nicholas Galitzine also makes for a solid if not outstanding Prince Adam/He-Man, although he’s a little too dopey and cringey at times. (Director Knight and company’s attempts to hide his clearly jacked physique fail utterly by the way.) And even though he comes off as a notorious douchebag in real life, I have to give credit where it is due: Jared Leto is a phenomenal Skeletor. Equal parts malevolent and charmingly humorous, and sporting a darkly mellifluous baritone voice reminiscent of the best Shakespearean stage actors, he absolutely nails this role.

The 2026 version of Masters of the Universe sadly comes across as more frustrating than fun. While there is some joy to be had here, it’s too half-baked and tonally discordant to really connect. It’s really a shame because with the right people at the helm, this could have been fantastic.

My rating system:

1 God Awful Blind Yourself With Acid Bad

2 Straight Garbage

3 Bad

4 Sub Par

5 Average

6 Ok

7 Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 A Must See

Masterpiece

Masters of the Universe: 6/10