‘Masters of the Universe’, the eighties sci-fi/fantasy franchise of pumped-up heroes and villains, is back! 

I was ten and the perfect demographic when MotU (that’s what fans have abbreviated the franchise’s name to) first appeared on toy shelves in 1983. The toyline was supported by Filmation’s tie-in cartoon series ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,’ the comics that came with the figures, DC’s 3-issue mini-series comic, and here in the UK the comic published by London Editions. I was hooked! So much so, I even went and saw the original 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe film, which I still have a soft spot for and, despite the poor reception from fans and critics alike, I believe is actually a good, fun movie. It delivers all the action and spectacle you could want, despite being limited by its budget and 1980s special effects (hence, no Orko or Battle Cat and why much of the action takes place on Earth). Bill Conti’s soundtrack was incredible and still holds up to this day, and the set, costume, and vehicle designs were superb! 

But this isn’t a review of the ’87 movie; this is about the new film from Sony, MGM, Mattel, and Amazon, starring Nicolas Galitzine as the main lead, playing Prince Adam. I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow synopsis of the film; suffice to say that no, the movie doesn’t suffer like its predecessor for having some of its action set on Earth. The film does set everything up beautifully by introducing us to 10-year-old Adam, the wondrous and fantastic world of Eternia, and our main cast of characters, such as Idris Elba as Duncan, AKA Man-At-Arms, and Teela’s adopted father. Teela, who is played by Camile Mendes, kicks butt! The entire opening sequence is perfectly crafted so that it carries the audience along, explaining as it goes so you don’t feel lost before the action hots up and the villains appear and Adam’s world explodes, resulting in the young lad stranded on Earth. We then pick up fifteen years later with a 25-year-old Adam, who now works in human resources. Yep, there is a lot of humour in this movie, and it all the better for it. 

Travis Knight and his team lean into the campy side of MotU with its gimmicky characters (remember, this was a toyline first), but does it in such an affectionate way it’s not ridiculing the very rich MotU lore but instead elevates it. In fact, the entire cast are superb and give their all, playing their characters with sincerity and humour that the gags land perfectly and powerful, emotional moments have the weight they deserve. Nicolas Galtzine is perfect as Prince Adam. He is likeable, vulnerable, and believable in the role. Jared Leto is superb as Skeletor and appears to be having just as much fun as his predecessor, Frank Langela, did in the ’87 movie. While Langela’s Skeletor was dripping with menace, Leto’s channels a bit more of the cartoon’s villain, even slinging insults worthy of Alan Oppenheimer (the original voice actor for the Evil Lord of Destruction). However, do not think that this Skeletor is played purely for laughs; he is definitely a worthy villain and commits several shocking acts, cementing him as a believable antagonist for our heroes. You do not doubt for a moment that this Skeletor is a warlord who rules Eternia with an iron fist. 

The action set pieces are superb and perfectly accompanied by an epic soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), accompanied by some rocking glam metal tunes provided by The Darkness.

Now, I didn’t go to this press screening alone. I was able to take my 13-year-old daughter, who, thanks to me (or blame me) has grown up with MotU as well. She thoroughly enjoyed it and gave it a 9/10. She appreciated the humour and summed it up with ‘I think that it was good that they leaned into the campiness of the TV show. If they tried to play it too seriously, they probably wouldn’t have pulled it off.’ Like me, her only criticism was ‘that Skeletor’s voice got muffled a bit, so the words got slightly lost.’ Yeah, I don’t know whether this was the sound system at the Vue cinema or on the actual sound recording, but occasionally (and I mean occasionally) Leto’s lines seemed slurred and were hard to hear. It reminded me of struggling to hear Tom Hardy’s Bane in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.

Overall, Masters of the Universe deserves to be a success. It has been made with such love and affection by the entire cast and crew, who you can clearly see have strived to make it as entertaining as possible. This is not high art. It was never meant to be, but they have managed the seemingly impossible task of bringing the world of Eternia and its blend of science, magic, and crazy characters to life and making it work.

Oh, and if you do go and see this movie (I guarantee you’ll have a fun time), just know that there are two end-credit scenes. The first is immediately at the end, and my daughter loved it for its nod to the original cartoon. The second… well, stay in your seats for a bit, it is certainly worth it.  Brady Webb 

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