Masters of the Universe – Movie Review
Being a landmark in 1980s Saturday morning cartoon lore, and infamously brought to life on the big screen in 1987 with Dolph Lundgren in the lead role, He-Man and Masters of the Universe also crossed into the 21st century zeitgeist, mainly through meme form (He-Man lip-syncing to ‘What’s Going On’ or Skeletor running away after saying something out of pocket being the most notable). Which basically means for He-Man’s latest live-action film adaptation that the dads who were kids in the 80s and the millennials and Gen-Z’s who were raised on memes all have an entry point to this zany, colourful, fantasy world.
Directed by Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings), Masters of the Universe begins in Eternia, a planet part of a galaxy powered by Greyskull – an all-powerful celestial force of which the power is stored within an ancient sword, under the protection of the Sorceress (Monica Baccarin). When Eternia is attacked by the tyrannical Skeletor (Jared Leto), young Prince Adam is forced to flee from his home planet, leaving his family behind, in the hopes that one day he will return with the Sword of Power and save Eternia. But, on the intergalactic journey to Earth, the sword and Adam are separated. 15 years later, Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) finally finds the Sword of Power, and must team up with old friends Teela (Camila Mendes) and Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) to take down Skeletor once and for all.
No stranger to both rich, vivid, imaginative worlds (see Kubo) and high-stakes, blockbuster action (see Bumblebee), Knight dynamically directs Masters of the Universe in a way that genuinely feels like a cartoon come to life on the big screen. From the fantastical setting of Eternia itself, which feels like a technicolour Asgard, to the energetic and stylistic action set pieces, Knight injects so much excitement and visual flair into the film. The set design, both seen in the use of large practical sets and cartoonish CGI, feels so epic in scale, fully immersing the audience into this literally larger than life world. Even the costumes, which include the iconic He-Man harness and leather/spandex-y battle skirt (filled out quite bulkingly by Galitzine) and the brooding darkness of Skeletor’s iconic hooded cape (complete with solid CGI performance capture of his face) work well to bring the fantasy elements to life in a fun, visual way.
The action scenes are incredibly dynamic and exciting, with Knight moving the camera around our heroes in these long takes, capturing every bit of the smash-em-bash-em goodness. The choreography of the film’s heroes going to battle is brutal (in a family friendly way), mixing a stylised fighting style with bone crunching sound design, which makes each fight feel high-stakes. And being a sci-fi adventure, Knight doesn’t hold back from building the action with great scale and spectacle through spaceship chases, laser-gun battles, and explosive escapades to boot.
Where Masters of the Universe also succeeds is in its silly, but wildly fun tone. Harnessing the tried and tested space-opera campiness of recent movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, this film isn’t afraid to lovingly poke fun at the absurdity of its premise and setting, even throwing in a few meta references to the aforementioned memes and previous iterations of the He-Man character. But, underneath all of the visual awe of this fantastical world, is a really heartfelt and well-natured story that follows the traditional hero’s journey, but executes it very well.
The journey itself also works because of how committed Galitzine is to the character of He-Man, both emotionally and physically. When Adam is on Earth, the movie tries to hide the fact that Galitzine has put on a significant amount of muscle, and it comes as zero surprise that when He-Man acquires his traditional costume, that the dude is absolutely jacked. But outside of the muscles, and Galitzine’s impressive action choreography, he also has a great handle on Adam as a person. Being a child not born on Earth, and growing up completely focused on finding the Sword of Power, there is a puppy-dog like demeanour to Adam that is very endearing and makes him a hero that is impossible not to root for. That innocence and joy also translates to the film’s humorous moments very well too. The same can be said for Mendes and Elba, who in their respective roles, bring a lot of heart and fun to the film, while doing a lot of ass kicking at the same time, with the shared chemistry with Galitzine providing a lot of entertainment.
Even the film’s villains, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie) lean into the goofiness of it all, often coming off as inept cry-babies with a campy demeanour which works perfectly within the film’s tone. Leto and Brie have great comedic chemistry, and both understand the assignment when it comes to embodying the definition of “cartoon villains”. There are moments where Skeletor feels like a threat, but his actions have far less impact on Adam’s hero’s journey than Adam does himself, and there’s a connection that audiences will have with Adam as a character in those moments that pay off emotionally.
At points, Masters of the Universe can go a little bit too far with its joyful silliness, with some scenes that have a stronger emotional core ending with prolonged comedic bits that don’t always land. And the runtime is a touch on the long side, clocking in at almost 140 minutes. While the story is jam packed with storylines, there is a familiarity to the plot’s structure, seen many times before in other films, that could’ve been trimmed down or condensed to give the film a pacing that matches the energy and dynamic nature of the action and overall excitement.
All in all, Masters of the Universe truly has the power, serving as a truly fun, action-packed, visually dynamic and vivid, heartfelt journey that feels like a Saturday morning cartoon come to life on the big screen – a cinematic experience that can be enjoyed by all.
Masters of the Universe is in Australian cinemas June 4
