REVIEW: ‘Masters of the Universe’ Brings the Nostalgia in New Movie

For those who grew up in the 1980s, “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!”, may be a relatively familiar phrase. It was the iconic saying Prince Adam of Eternia yelled before becoming his alter ego, He-Man, in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series. It was the saying many children yelled as their He-Man toy battled He-Man’s archenemies, Skeletor on their bedroom floor or across the blacktop and playgrounds with peers. Now, fans of the toy brand and series are getting the chance to see their toys come to life on screen with Amazon MGM Studios’ live action, Masters of the Universe.

Directed by Travis Knight, this story finds Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) at the beginning of his hero’s journey. When his home of Eternia is attacked by the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto), Prince Adam is sent to Earth with the almighty “Power Sword” for protection. But there is one hiccup, Adam lost the sword on his journey to Earth. Left on Earth without his sword, Prince Adam will do anything to find it and return to his home, even if it means losing his job and ruining his Hinge date. When Prince Adam is finally reunited with his sword, a blast from his past appears in the shape of his best friend, Teela (Camila Mendes), who appears on Earth to take the sword, and Prince Adam, back to Eternia. However, Eternia isn’t how Prince Adams remembers it. Now overtaken by Skeletor, Prince Adam must use the “Power Sword” and help from some old friends to take back Eternia and stop Skeletor’s evil reign.

I will start by saying this, if you know nothing about the Master of the Universe franchise, you most likely aren’t going to have as much fun as someone who does. There are Easter eggs from the series and the comics all over this movie. Screenwriters, Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and David Callaham, did a nice job incorporating the nostalgia factor, but never fully fleshed out the lore behind the franchise. Details that would be considered useful to the general audience is quickly brushed over in the story. So much so. that a newcomer to the franchise may have a hard time understanding the dynamics between the character and the story itself.

The creative team also did not utlize CGI to their advantage. The world of Eternia is filled with green screen after green screen, which made it a little hard to fully immerse yourself in the story. Sure, it worked well with Skeletor’s face, but the decision to not continue that idea with Prince Adam is a little confusing. Prince Adam is supposed to be less muscular when he isn’t wielding the sword, but in this iteration, Galitzine is huge. He is so muscular that when he finally wields the sword and transforms, he doesn’t look any different. The only noticeable difference is his wardrobe change. This is where they could have used the CGI to make Galitzine look smaller when he wasn’t wielding the sword. That way, when he transformed into He-Man there was a noticeable difference.

The movie, though, is still enjoyable. Galitzine brings a loveable puppy dog approach to Prince Adam that will work for some and not for others. However, he does lead the movie extremely well, and if it’s received well, will definitely have a future playing this character. Mendes’ take on the strong warrior goddess Teela is impressive. As her first big box office movie, Mendes has a little growing to do when it comes to her nonverbals, but plays wonderfully off her costars. Idria Elba plays Duncan/Man at Arms and is a delight. His character is the exact opposite of his character from the Thor franchise, and you can tell he is enjoying every second he gets to play this character. Leto rounds out the cast as the movie’s villain, Skeletor. Leto is masked the entire time, so unless you know the cast beforehand you have no idea it is him. His physical portrayal of the character is spot on, but there were moments where it was hard to understand him. This has nothing to do with his performance, but everything to do with how they edited those parts of the movie.

All in all, Masters of the Universe is worth a watch. Maybe not in theaters, but if you are looking for a fun movie to watch this Summer, go check it out. If you have other plans this Summer, make sure to check it out when it hits Prime Video later this year. Regardless of how you view it though, there are a couple of post credit scenes, so plan to stay until the very end.

Grade: B-