Travis Knight’s “Masters of the Universe” is a mighty mixed bag, full of rousing action and choice moments.
It’s also suffering from an identity crisis that matches the struggles of He-Man, the film’s hero.
The story: Adam Glenn/He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine) works at a joyless cubicle job (shades of “The Matrix”) and just-barely hides his secret past from puzzled co-workers. What we know from an elaborate prologue is that Glenn is Prince Adam, the son of Eternia, a magical world that was taken over by the Evil Skeletor (Jared Leto).
Prince Adam was a boy when he and the Sword of Power, which holds the future of Eternia, were sent to live on Earth.
Now, 15 years later, the young heir of Eternia and his sword are reunited – it would have made more sense if Prince Adam had amnesia during this time and took this long to find a sword on Earth due to memory loss and not failed internet searches, but never mind.
Once Prince Adam returns to Eternia, he reunites with his best friend Teela (Camilla Mendes), her father and teacher Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) and Cringer, the talking green tiger who needed much more screen time. At some point, Prince Adam thrusts his sword into the air, says the magic words, and we’re off into another wild action sequence.
Camila Mendes stars as Teela in new featurette for MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. pic.twitter.com/qQVXCggfKV
— cinesthetic. (@TheCinesthetic) June 3, 2026
Coming from an enormous fan of the toy line, I was ready to embrace this film. The original animated series from Filmation was a passion of my ’80s childhood- I recall begging my mother to record episodes I missed on blank VHS tapes, which I would later watch and rewatch obsessively, as though it were the Zapruder footage.
The Evil Horde Slime Pit, where the heroes would be forcibly doused with “gruesome ooze” into slime monsters and subsequently possessed to join the villainous Hordak, is among my all-time favorite toys. I not only collected the He-Man action figures and comic books but regularly purchased He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine, which covered the arrival of the ’87 film as though it was a new work from Martin Scorsese.
Aside from “Star Wars,” no other toy or clothing line dominated my grade school years more than He-Man.
The 1987 “Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture,” with He-Man embodied by Dolph Lundgren, no less than the former Ivan Drago, and Skeletor played by a great, fittingly theatrical Frank Langella, is still a source of bliss, despite how completely absurd it is. That movie, even with a cheesiness that lasts the entire 106-minute running time, knew exactly what it was and embraced it.
Here, the filmmakers clearly want this to be “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) but never get the tonal balance of presenting a character comedy with a special effects extravaganza (I’d argue that the 1984 “Ghostbusters” is still the best at this tightrope act).
I wish this new “Masters of the Universe” was more like the take-it-or-leave-it “Krull” (1983), my favorite Arthurian Legend crossed with “Star Wars” flick, than the nudge-nudge, wink-wink “Flash Gordon” (1980). The latter also acknowledges its silliness as a precaution and comes across with an unspoken but obvious apology for being silly.
Rather than just let this be as campy as we all knew it would be, it settles for being a semi-spoof, when everyone involved would have been better off to just emerge unapologetic and sincere with how daffy it is.
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As with the ’87 film, Skeletor steals the show. Because he’s deemed a problematic actor, Leto’s involvement here has been downplayed by the studio, but he evokes a Tim Curry-like speaking voice and gives a robust performance.
All of Leto’s scenes with Alison Brie (also great and pitch-perfect as Evil-Lyn) work perfectly and the grand finale is wonderful – the ’87 film famously fell short during its climactic He-Man/Skeletor showdown but not here.
Mild Spoiler: there’s a moment that place Skeletor in a real-world context, a touch that will be divisive but I loved for how funny it comes across.
While this is not Elba’s finest work, he gives Man-At-Arms his professional best (a lesser actor would have had a losing battle with that costume alone). I liked Galitzine as Prince Adam (yes, the origin of the name “He-Man” is belatedly addressed, and it’s the film’s biggest groaner) but I still prefer Lundgren (old habits die hard).
There’s so much CGI on display; why didn’t they just make an animated film? On the other hand, the score by Daniel Pemberton, aided by no less than Brian May on the guitar, makes this one of the must-have soundtracks of 2026.
Yes, the old theme resurfaces, but the rockin’ new music here is a Queen-worthy wonder.
There are lots of Easter Eggs and references to the franchise (note how the villainous, hook-adorned Karg is in both the ’87 movie AND this one!) that will probably only connect with the film’s perceived demographic of 50-year-olds (guilty as charged).
The whole thing would have been better served with a twinkle in its eye and a more sincere approach, instead of repeatedly assuring us that this is the Honest Trailers/ How It Should Have Ended version of a blissfully absurd and glorious cartoon.
Knight previously made “Bumblebee” (2018), which is still exemplary, and few would argue that anyone has ever made a better live-action movie from “The Transformers.” A key to the success of “Bumblebee” is that it invests fully in the emotions of the story and, unlike here, doesn’t constantly pull its punches with we-were-just-kidding jabs to the ribs.
Likewise, Knight’s enthralling animated epic “Kubo and the Two Strings” was one of the best films of 2016.
Knight gives his audience, particularly those of a certain age, dopamine hits of Toys ‘R Us nostalgia, which is appreciated. Yet, had this been more like “Bumblebee,” the emotional stakes could have been countered with a story we could get invested in, no matter how goofy it all comes across.
Knight’s film is awfully fun for the most part but tonally uneven.
If there’s a sequel and they decide to go “dark and grim,” that wouldn’t be right, either, as the franchise (certainly in the ’80s version) sported a sense of humor and never needed to get gritty. However, if the follow-up includes a scene where He-Man is strapped to that dastardly Hordak’s slime pit, giving Eternia’s savior yet another identity crisis, then I’ll pre-order my tickets right now!
Two and a half stars (out of four)
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