MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

Director
Travis Knight

Starring
Nicholas Galitzine
Jared Leto
Camila Mendes
Idris Elba

15 years ago, the planet of Eternia was attacked by Skeletor [Leto] and young Prince Adam was given the sword of power and sent to Earth to keep it safe. Unfortunately, having lost the sword on arrival, a now adult Adam [Galitzine] is stuck on our planet in a human resources job. However, when he’s finally reunited with the weapon, he returns to Eternia to find it decimated by a decade and a half of Skeletor’s oppressive rule. Banding together with his childhood heroes and champions, Adam steps up to overcome his fears of inadequacy and reclaim his kingdom.

The first thing to get out of the way is the cultural footprint of the He-Man franchise. Despite its importance and significance in action figure manufacturing, and the economy shifting FCC easing on toy-based programming, He-Man was never much more than a shallow cash grab to generate toy sales. So when we’re talking about authenticity, the bar is incredibly low. But equally, the canvas is pretty blank. It also means that the intended audience is quite skewed. It’s not abundantly clear who this film is made for. On the one hand, it’s a 12a action fantasy film with grandiose fight scenes, irreverent humour, and young stars with established social reach; so it’s a kid’s film, right? But it’s also littered with references to the 1987 Masters Of The Universe live action film, the original cartoon, 35+ year old songs, and countless memes; making it feel more like it’s targeted at older millennials and Gen X. And it’s this clumsy attempt to appeal to both that makes it a film without a core audience.

I should note, this isn’t Barbie. There are plenty of parallels – like taking an uncomplicated commercial toy line and injecting heavy values of empathy, understanding, the corrosive effect of toxic masculinity, and humanity over brute strength – but the meta commentary and wider deconstruction that made Barbie so successful, aren’t explored in the same way. Sure, Masters Of The Universe bluntly addresses masculinity and challenges what it is to be a man, but never takes that concept far enough to make enough of an impact. Case in point, the movie desperately wants you to understand that compassion is more impactful than muscle, but the film never surrenders the concept that true strength can be boiled down to a one-sided punching contest. That and the grace afforded to Adam’s father, despite him being a shitty dad, is not only rushed, but entirely undeserved.

One thing the marketing didn’t really get right, was to convey the actual tone of this movie. Sold as just another toy-based money-grabbing release, it actually takes the baton from the likes of Thor: Ragnarok and Aquaman, that paved the way for Knight to just slip in and make a solid, fun straightforward story out of a flimsy starting point. All of which hinges on Nicholas Galitzine’s performance. Where Dolph Lundgren had heart (for an 80s film at least) he lacked softness. By stark contrast, Galitzine’s himbo goofiness tempers the muscular nonsense and vacuousness of not only the character but the franchise as a whole. Adam is sensitive, insecure, and charmingly dumb in a way that somewhat neutralises the imposing nature of his physical presence, and privilege of birth as prince of this planet. But what of the other side of the coin? What about Skeletor?

I maintain that there are very few bad actors, just roles that don’t necessarily suit their strengths. And for many years we’ve had to endure post-Oscar win Jared Leto crowbarred into countless features and franchises; with diminishing results. But with a level of excessive camp theatricality and dialogue that’s deliciously flamboyant, Leto is genuinely enjoyable as Skeletor. A halfway compromise between the high pitched cackling cartoon and the 80s live action opulent monologuing, this could be his best role in years. Swishing around his cape, maniacally laughing, then immediately switching to menacing and cruel – so much comes through the motion capture. And yes, the voice isn’t exactly the same as the cartoon but, much like Chris Pratt as Mario, you wouldn’t actually want that, and Leto definitely carves his own path and revels in exchanges like responding to “Face me like a man” with “Well first of all, I don’t have a face, and secondly, I don’t want to.”

Outside of the central duality of good and evil, things get a little ropier. But we shouldn’t be overly surprised considering the majority of the supports are a bunch of toys that were designed with playability first, and characterisation as a very distant second. That said, the father-daughter dynamic between the disgraced Man-Aat-Arms, Duncan [Elba] and his daughter, Teela [Mendes] is engaging enough and delivers a reasonable amount of pathos and resolution. The same depth isn’t afforded to the likes of Fisto, Ram-Man or Moss Man, who are constantly the butt of jokes and their only dialogue seems to centre on the eye-rolling absurdity of their design.

In terms of technical execution, Masters Of The Universe is quite decent to look at with a mix of commendable production design, bold costuming, and CGI that only gets wobbly in certain places. On top of that, the action choreography is refreshingly clean, fast and pleasantly easy to follow. Although, oddly, despite all the actual violence and death, it plays off with a cartoonishness whimsy. These creatures are skewered, sliced, blown up, bones are broken, and they’re launched into lakes of lava, but at no point does it feel mean. Possibly due to the myriad 80s & 90s needle drops and wailing electric guitars that all work oddly well to complement the intended tone – ultimately culminating in Queen’s Princes Of The Universe.

But, I should note, this isn’t a great, unmissable feature. It ticks off all the writing basics, such as setup, payoff, strong moral compasses, foreshadowing, comedic barbs, character arcs, etc. It just doesn’t go beyond any of them, and far too often falls back on undercutting with humour that repeatedly kills the pacing. But most damningly, it learns nothing from the pitfalls of modern blockbuster storytelling and in fact seemingly leans into them to get itself made. But I believe that if you meet the film where it lives, rather than projecting expectations and biases, then there’s a strong chance you’ll at least enjoy it.

Looking back at Knight’s career, he has a habit of making incredibly good but underperforming films. Masters Of The Universe definitely has flashes of that brilliance but there’s a clear gap between the legitimately franchise-best Bumblebee and the various compromises and concessions on display here, so it will be interesting to see if this breaks the streak and warrants multiple sequels. My hope is that we’ll see a mirrored trajectory to the Sonic franchise, which slowly improves with each passing release. The question at this point is, will audiences turn up?

Release Date:
05 June 2026

The Scene To Look Out For:
**mild spoilers**
During a heated clash between Skeletor and Adam, the former probes our hero’s mind, popping up in his memories to weaken his nerve and resolve. On paper it’s a very tried and tested confrontation that we’ve seen countless times. But the self-aware humour of showing an absurd looking muscular skeleton man in real life settings, is undeniably funny, and highlights that the creatives behind this movie know exactly what they’re doing.

Notable Characters:
Despite the brilliant casting of Alison Brie, Evil Lyn is quite undeveloped and relegated to the background. Yes, I know she’s just a henchman in a long lineup of references and callouts, but it’s still a shame to see a talented individual impeded by a cluttered script and cast roster.

Highlighted Quote:
“I’m pretty sure I saw you fist a goblin one time.”

In A Few Words:
“Big, bombastic, unashamed fantasy silliness.”

Total Score: 3/5

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