Masters of the Universe: Movie Review

Thanks to a heartfelt story and great performances, Masters of the Universe is endlessly fun, with a surprising amount of heart.

I know that’s a lot to process, but the point is, director Travis Knight has created a modern version of Flash Gordon in more ways than one, rather than a Marvel clone. 

The film centers on a prince named Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine, of Bottoms) who was sent away from his home planet of Eternia to Earth for his own protection as a child. He’s also entrusted with the mystical Sword of Power, but loses it along the way. Years later, Adam is living a regular life all while continuing to search for the sword, hoping to find it so he can return to Eternia, claim his superhero destiny as He-Man, and defeat a dastardly warlock named Skeletor (Jared Leto, of Fight Club) who rules with an iron fist.

Once again, I know that sounds like a lot, and admittedly Masters of the Universe spends a little too much time going through all that, to the point where viewers might get bored. The payoff from all that set up is worth it though, as screenwriters Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and David Callaham aren’t afraid to poke fun at this iconic property while still having love for it. Much like with Barbie, you’ll be very aware how ridiculous this world is but easily get wrapped up in what’s happening, because the writers strike a balance between being silly and serious. 

At its core, Masters of the Universe is a story about becoming who you’re meant to be, and also what it means to be a man. What a treat it is to watch a film that thoughtfully discusses masculinity in a way that people (especially men) of all ages can appreciate. Seeing Adam find out just what kind of man he wanted to be made me smile. The truth is that you can be masculine and still have a silly side and show emotion. It doesn’t make you any less of a man, and that’s a message that will never get old.  

In this day and age, it’s important for people to see that you don’t always have to act a certain way because society tells you to. You should be who you want to be and do what speaks to you. Adam comes into his own here, and he does it by being himself every step of the way. Sometimes that’s by talking rationally and other times he has to let his fists or the Sword of Power speak for him. 

It makes perfect sense that Nicholas Galitzine was chosen to portray Prince Adam/He-Man given those last two sentences. Galitzine is such a great actor with the ability to effortlessly bounce between being comedic, sensitive, and macho. He makes Adam feel like a real person which gets viewers to buy into his emotional, yet fantastical journey.

Honestly the entire cast perfectly plays their roles,  but along with Galitzine, two actors are critical to the success of Masters of the Universe. There’s Camila Mendes (Do Revenge) as Teela, the captain of the Guards of Eternia who serves as Adam’s lieutenant. Mendes acts as the straight woman to Galitzine’s Adam and helps him along his journey while showing off her own feats of strength as the film goes on. Teela has such a kindness about her and Mendes conveys that beautifully, when we’re around her, it feels like seeing our own friend. 

The final key piece to this superhero story is its villain and Jared Leto gives his finest performance in quite some time as Skeletor. When I walked into Masters of the Universe, it felt like a certainty that Leto would be the weak link. His work in Tron: Ares was more than enough proof of that. Imagine my shock when Leto embodied everything I expected from He-Man’s archenemy. Skeletor is an egomaniac who is never satisfied, has a knack for being petty, and putting the fear of God into his enemies. Leto uses a deeper, British like voice for the character but still makes line deliveries funny, whether he means to or not.

This is a scenario where Leto couldn’t mess it up even if a line didn’t land like he wanted, because Skeletor is supposed to be very theatrical and over-exaggerate. Having his voice be deeper also helped sell the deadly moments, which wouldn’t have hit as hard with  Skeletor’s usual shrill voice. Watching He-Man face off with Skeletor is truly a treat because Nicholas Galitzine and Jared Leto are giving it their all. 

Circling back to the Flash Gordon comparison, other than the characters and world, there are a couple of things that really make that a solid comp. Both films have stunning, but at times hit or miss visuals that are filled with color. In the case of Masters of the Universe, the colors never really stop and that’s honestly refreshing considering it seems like every film uses the same collection of bland, washed out colors. Having so much visual pop really makes Eternia look and feel like this far away planet. What puzzled me though is that with both films, the visual quality seems to dip at times. One of them is understandable – after all, Flash Gordon came out in 1980 – but the other doesn’t add up, especially considering Masters of the Universe carries a budget of $170–200 million. 

Their other common denominator is their musical scores. Flash Gordon was soundtracked by Queen, who gave the film a rock edge. All these years later, Masters of the Universe has a rocking score by Daniel Pemberton, who received an assist on the soundtrack from none other than Queen guitarist Brian May. It doesn’t come across as stealing Queen’s nachos though, as Pemberton and May put together an electric set of tunes that feel like they belong in the world of He-Man. These songs add to the fun of what we’re watching unfold on screen and you shouldn’t be surprised if a couple of them find their way into your listening rotation.

Masters of the Universe shouldn’t work, yet thanks to a heartfelt story and great performances from Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, and Jared Leto, it turns out to be an insane amount of fun. When this film was first announced, I wasn’t sure it was needed, but now I’m so happy it does.

Masters of the Universe is now available to watch in U.S. theaters, in U.K. and Irish cinemas, and globally in theaters.