MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE – Review by Valerie Kalfrin
Masters of the Universe is a hoot, a comedic sword-and-sorcery adventure like 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok or 1980’s Flash Gordon—and not just because Brian May of Queen, which scored that film, has a hand in the soundtrack. Inspired by the 1980s toy line and cartoon series, this film pokes fun at itself (sometimes a bit too much) while serving fans who’ve long since grown up while commenting on what gives a true hero power.
I was a teen when He-Man and the Masters of the Universe first appeared on TV, complete with its bowl-cut hero and PSAs, and I enjoyed this version much more than I thought I would. The humor works well enough, and director Travis Knight (Bumblebee) and company thread the needle just right between revering nostalgia and winking at it.
As the film opens, former Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine, The Sheep Detectives) brings us up to speed about his home of Eternia, a magical world of griffins, dragons, talking tigers, and more. (“I swear I’m not high,” he says.) When the evil conqueror Skeletor (Jared Leto, Tron: Ares) attacked, his parents sent him through a wormhole to Earth, along with a special weapon: the Sword of Power.
Young Adam couldn’t hold on to the sword, which landed far from his new digs in Oklahoma, but his memories stayed with him, along with his desire to find the sword and reclaim his home world. (Unlike a young Clark Kent or Neo in The Matrix, Adam is fully aware of his special lineage.)
Adult Adam eventually finds the sword in a comics store and says the magic words (“I have the power”), summoning Teela (Camila Mendes, Riverdale), his childhood friend, who whisks him back home to see what Skeletor has wrought. On Eternia, the sword transforms the earnest Adam into the muscular He-Man in a gladiator skirt (Teela thankfully ditches the cartoon’s mini dress for practical pants), though he has a thing or two to learn about the power he now can wield.
Although Netflix recently aired two Masters of the Universe miniseries full of Eternia lore, this live-action version skips a lot of that, with a script by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and Dave Callaham that revels in charm. Adam on Earth works in human resources behind a “He/Him” nameplate, resolving conflicts thoughtfully and wearing a pink button-down that nods at his cartoon counterpart. At the gym, he humbly consults a laconic older man (Dolph Lundgren, who played He-Man in 1987’s Masters of the Universe). And before jetting off to Eternia, he flees with the sword as SNAP!’s “The Power” jingles on the soundtrack.
The film aims for some gravitas through Duncan (Idris Elba, Hijack), Teela’s father and Adam’s childhood trainer, who’d encourage the boy to get back up when King Randor (James Purefoy) would knock him down, trying that tough-love-makes-you-strong thing. Thinking he’s failed the kingdom, Duncan has become a drunk, and Adam’s return gives him a chance at redemption. It’s also an opportunity for Adam to rally others in hiding, with names like Mekaneck (James Wilkinson), Ram Man (Jon Xue Zhang), Fisto (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) because that’s how young Adam thought of them, double entendres be damned.
The action include kick-flips, punches, lightning bolts, and vehicles and characters that once were in the toy aisles, including Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie), the feathery Sorceress (Morena Baccarin), and Roboto (voiced by Kristen Wiig), a domesticated battle bot eager to jump back in action. (More CGI-heavy characters turn up sparingly.) Not everyone has lots to do, but Leto, lending his voice and cackle to Skeletor if not his face (hidden behind a skull, of course), seems to be having a ball. His Skeletor likes being bad, even if his minions aren’t good at it, and the saturated colors of the costumes and prosthetics get a fun workout toward the end as Skeletor in visions pops through other parts of Adam’s life.
The humor occasionally steps on some earned emotional moments (you’ll know when), but Masters of the Universe is an entertaining throwback, giving He-Man and his cohorts some additional staying power.
