Masters Of The Universe

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Masters of the Universe is the latest adaptation of the Masters of the Universe media franchise, made famous by the early-80s animated series. In this feature, Adam works to return to his home, Eternia, and free it from the villainous Skeletor.

When I arrived to buy my tickets for the Masters of the Universe film, I watched a couple of guys, ten or fifteen years my elder, pick up the novelty holographic He-Man and Skeletor popcorn bucket. Another group dressed in retro t-shirts with some of the classic cartoon characters. The draw for Masters of the Universe is undeniably that call back to the past, when the Saturday morning cartoons promised adventure and the latest action figures inspired imagination. Across this film, the action was really zany, with a ricocheting Ram Man propelling his way into a man with a mechanical cyclops eye. It's a very colourful adventure that isn't afraid to be camp at times, with Adam throwing the sword above his head, declaring he has the power and becoming He-Man as that classic fixture of the Masters of the Universe adventure. 

Nicholas Galitzine does a phenomenal job leading this feature; he's worked out how to play Adam as this awkward, cocky himbo. His physical transformation is impressive, but he doesn't lose himself in just flexing his larger muscles. Galitzine makes sure his He-Man is a fighter who can be compassionate and even a bit comedic. He can only be paired with a great adversary, which is well captured by Jared Leto as Skeletor. His sinister skull-headed antagonist is completely cruel, yet capable of the camp silliness associated with the famous animated villain. Camila Mendes and Idris Elba give a good turn as a distant father-daughter duo, even if Elba isn't giving Masters his all. One cameo I particularly loved was the 'passing of the torch' scene between Dolph Lundgren and Galitzine; it was one of the better examples of one I've seen.

It's a colourful film, with the visual effects team working overtime to craft a wide range of designs. From the landscapes of Eternia, spaceships through to some of the unique character designs propelled into the heat of battle, this is a film that works hard to give the viewer everything they expect from the animated show. The film score by Daniel Pemberton is a remarkable example of what a sword and sorcery musical suite should be. Having a bit of Queen lifting up the soundtrack took me back to my childhood of watching Flash Gordon with my Dad.

Yet, while there are a lot of good ingredients in this blockbuster, Masters of the Universe rarely manages to come together coherently. We run through multiple chunks of exposition-heavy world-building that take up laborious chunks before returning us to a story. The introduction is a fun action sequence sandwiched between poor child acting and James Purefoy giving one of the worst performances of his career. This is a movie that wants to do things by the power of friendship at times, with an overbearing joke that Adam worked in Human Resources back on Earth. There are times when a camp tone works, but as the feature goes on, we descend into every action scene being undercut by a gag or one-liner. Sometimes it wanted to be a bit of a hero's journey that harkened back to its roots, but too often it fell into familiar traps of a modern blockbuster. Easter eggs, cheap fan service, performative humour and too many characters. The film ending in a 'the power was in you all along' moment didn't feel especially earned, particularly with Morena Baccarin giving an impressionless turn as the Sorceress. Alison Brie has a go at trying to find that classic sound of Evil-Lyn, but she becomes one of the chinks in the main cast.

Perhaps the worst quality of Master of the Universe is the sound editing. I cannot believe a blockbuster in 2026 is drowning voice-over and dialogue with film score and sound effects. There are moments where the sound is just trampling over itself. While Leto gives a great turn as Skeletor, he can be rendered incoherent at times due to this issue. Travis Knight tries for a lot; it's a special effects feast for the eyes, but that doesn't translate to the cinematography. This is a very blocky film to watch, with many shots placed to serve the CGI elements. It's a movie that does little to immerse the viewer, nor craft a particularly dynamic style.

He-Man might have the power, but he's struggling to find his modern-day audience. I would give Masters of the Universe a 5.5/10.