By the power of Grayskull, He-Man is officially back on the big screen. I should probably lay my cards on the table right up front: when it comes to blockbuster fantasy, I like my action-adventure bright and colorful, my high-concept worldbuilding dialed up to eleven, and the dialogue delivered with tongues pressed firmly into cheeks. Thankfully, Masters of the Universe is trying remarkably hard to do all three.
Before diving into former Laika frontman Travis Knight’s vibrant take on the Prince of Eternia, we need to address a fascinating cultural conversation happening in the fandom right now. It is the classic “it’s a bad movie, but…” dilemma. It usually splits audiences down the middle: either a movie is a flawed, nostalgic blast that you love anyway, or it is an irredeemable mess. Lately, pop culture enthusiasts have been forced to have this conversation a lot. We saw it with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Mortal Kombat II, and The Mandalorian and Grogu. These are massive franchises with decades of lore, where liking the film often depends entirely on your personal brand loyalty.
If you are a die-hard fan who just wants to see your favorite action figures brought to life, you are going to have a spectacular time. If you have no connection to the source material, it is easy to dismiss the whole thing as corporate fan service. But that is exactly where this film pulls off its greatest magic trick. It manages to deliver unapologetic fan service while crafting a genuinely entertaining ride for the uninitiated, simply because the filmmakers realize exactly how wonderfully ridiculous the concept of He-Man actually is.
The Ultimate Nostalgia Trip: From After-School Cartoons to Live-Action Blockbuster
For those of us who grew up rushing home from school to catch the animated series on television, He-Man is a childhood staple. My own relationship with the franchise goes back decades, and Dolph Lundgren’s infamous 1987 cinematic run was likely my very first introduction to the “it’s a bad movie, but…” phenomenon. That deep-rooted nostalgia undoubtedly colors my reaction to this new iteration, but I am incredibly happy to report that this is a genuinely good, highly entertaining film.
Going in, the trailers had not exactly inspired massive confidence, but director Travis Knight gives the film a massive leg up. His previous stop-motion work with Laika on masterpieces like Kubo and the Two Strings proved his storytelling chops, and he managed to inject a surprising amount of genuine human heart into Bumblebee. Knight carries that exact same sensibilities over to Eternia. If this entire movie had been animated in stop-motion, the narrative structure, heart, and visual wit would have remained completely identical.
Punchy Choreography and Human Resources: Reimagining Prince Adam
The physical action throughout the movie is remarkably solid. The battle sequences are vibrant, cleanly shot, and visually engaging. While the choreography does not necessarily reinvent the wheel, the fights look just distinct enough from standard Hollywood superhero fare to keep the audience locked in. A few heavy CGI environments occasionally feel a bit empty, but whenever the heroes are actively trading blows on screen, the impact feels real.
Nicholas Galitzine steps into the dual role of Prince Adam and He-Man. In a hilarious, incredibly on-the-nose twist, Adam’s Earthly alter-ego is a career in human resources. He is introduced as a kid who has refused to grow up, living in a room still covered in his childhood drawings. It is a ballsy, clever metaphor for the very audience this movie is targeting. Instead of undergoing a massive personal transformation, Galitzine plays Adam as a heroic avatar for the film’s core themes, acting as a catalyst for the characters around him to realize that true strength is rooted in empathy rather than giant muscles.
Idris Elba absolutely shines as Duncan, better known to fans as Man-At-Arms. His entire character arc is built around his physical prowess, testing his rigid, traditional ideals of what it means to be a powerful warrior. Elba gets the most satisfying dramatic heavy lifting in the script, anchoring the high-concept fantasy with real emotional weight. Camila Mendes also turns in a great performance as Teela, maximizing her screen time with sharp comedic timing and localized bursts of solid action.
Embracing the Absurd: Why Camp is He-Man’s Greatest Superpower
The absolute best thing about Masters of the Universe is its grinning, unapologetic self-awareness. Let’s be completely honest: names pulled straight from a fifty-year-old toy line sound like a lazy first draft. Characters like Ram-Man, Fisto, Mekaneck, and Evil-Lyn are fundamentally silly. Rather than making the fatal mistake of forcing a guy named Ram-Man to have a deadpan, serious conversation with a barbarian named He-Man, Travis Knight leans completely into the comedy.
The movie functions almost like a brilliant, big-budget spoof. In the same way Spaceballs lovingly parodied Star Wars or Hot Shots! poked fun at Top Gun, this film actively laughs with the franchise. The musical score keeps the energy running at a sprint, blending retro synths with electric guitar shredding that sounds like it was pulled straight from Brian May’s playbook. Alison Brie is a comedic standout as a theatrical, scenery-chewing Evil-Lyn, while Kristen Wiig voices a disgruntled, angry battle droid that has been unfortunately downgraded to a maid. The film even slides in some incredibly funny, low-hanging sex jokes at the expense of Fisto and Ram-Man, delivered with such joyful innocence that the gags land perfectly.
Jared Leto’s Skeletor: A Hilariously Unhinged Triumph
The most surprising, utterly fantastic element of the entire film is Jared Leto’s performance as Skeletor. Leto has had a famously chaotic run with mainstream blockbusters in recent years, but his take on the iconic, skull-faced villain is a total triumph. He plays Skeletor as a swaggering, sany weirdo whose near-limitless magical power is matched only by his constant, paranoid fear of losing it.
There is a brilliant, Deadpool-style meta-layer to his performance. Leto delivers a sassy, self-referential energy that feels constantly on the verge of breaking the fourth wall and looking directly into the camera lens. At one point, when questioned about his terrible, villainous motivations, the movie gives us the ultimate, refreshing answer: he is just bad because he has a skull for a face, and there is absolutely nothing deeper to it than that.
The script does not try to blaze new narrative trails with Skeletor’s Staff of Havoc. Instead, it cheerfully points out the classic villain clichés as they happen, like a hilarious sequence where Skeletor laughs maniacally for way too long before awkwardly telling Evil-Lyn that he is done and they can finally move on. By pairing these meta-jokes with genuinely funny, modernized situations, Leto keeps the film’s pacing at an absolute sprint all the way to the final frame.
The Verdict: A Flawless Victory for Eternia
I fully expected Masters of the Universe to be another standard entry in the ongoing wave of exhausting franchise nostalgia, but I am thrilled to be proven wrong. Travis Knight has delivered a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision flawlessly. It might not be high art, but as a love letter to a beloved childhood sandbox, it is an absolute blast.
Final Score: 7.5/10 stars
The Bottom Line: Masters of the Universe is a total riot. By refusing to take its own muscle-bound, toy-centric lore seriously, Travis Knight has crafted a hilarious, action-packed high-fantasy comedy that stands tall as the most entertaining franchise revival of the year.
Join the Battle for Eternia: Have Your Say in the Comments!
Now that He-Man has officially reclaimed his cinematic throne, we want to hear from the ultimate defenders of Grayskull.
Did you love the self-aware, campy tone of the movie, or were you hoping for a more grounded, serious take on the world of Eternia? What did you think of Jared Leto’s wild performance as Skeletor? Which classic character do you want to see join the roster for the inevitable sequel?
Sound off in the comments down below and let’s talk shop!
