"Masters of the Universe" is Masterfully Fun

Despite being born in the 80s, I was primarily a 90s kid, and as such, the character of He-Man was never a constant presence in my life. I bring this up because, as long as I’ve been alive, there have been various versions of “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” in one form or another, with no one ever able to figure out where the franchise stood. Was it a campy series from the '80s, or did it need a gritty, animated reboot from an indie legend via Netflix? The world, it appears, could never quite figure out what to do with He-Man, She-Ra, and the rest of the gang once the 80s came to a close. Even a previous live-action adaptation (starring Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella) seemed disconnected from its own source material.

With all that in mind, it's easy to see this as a franchise primarily loved (sincerely) by Gen X and (ironically) young teenagers who find humor in the unintentional campiness the franchise has cultivated over the years. A new big-budget reboot from MGM (owned by Amazon.com) would seem, at least on paper, to be a massive miscalculation from a bunch of suits who sat in a boardroom and thought, “What IPs do we own that were popular at one point in time?” They settle on this, don’t know much about the franchise, but since it's a recognizable brand, they figure it is worth dusting off and reintroducing to a new generation. While this almost certainly explains why such a project could secure a staggering $200 million budget, the news I’m happy to report is that “Masters of the Universe” is, in reality, quite entertaining.

I’m not entirely sure if it is genuinely entertaining or good despite itself, but I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt here. The film is helmed by Travis Knight, who was smart enough to save the Transformers franchise from itself with the charming “Bumblebee,” and he appears to see something here that many have not: He-Man is, inherently, a silly-looking character, and the franchise is a goofy premise. Yet the concept is also fun, and it does feature villains that can be genuinely terrifying when given the right thing to do. His approach (if I am looking at this correctly) seems to be to find a middle ground: acknowledging the aspects of the story that are silly and leaning into them, while giving the action sequences and dangers gravitas.

It might not make the movie flawless, but it means that we follow the journey of Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine) to become the savior of Eternia with a fun anticipation while getting invested in the battle with Skeletor (oh my, is that Jared Leto…why yes it is) later on down the road. It's a simple compromise, but one that works surprisingly well. Even the aesthetic of the movie seems to be built with this mindset, as, despite the (in my opinion) stupid budget, the visual effects look almost like a cartoon in many pivotal sequences. While this would normally inspire jokes of “where did the money go,” this certainly strikes me as more of an artistic choice rather than a cheap copout, as Knight’s thought process seems “make this version of the story look visually better than the original, but not so realistic that people stop having fun” (a scene of Skeletor dressed in a suit in corporate HR got the biggest laugh at my screening).

Will “Masters of the Universe” be a success? I have no idea. Normally, I don’t bring potential box office into my reviews, as that’s not an indicator of quality. That being said, it's clear that the franchise keeps getting new incarnations because of the hope in reviving a potential toy juggernaut (the movie is produced by Mattel, whose previous success with “Barbie” certainly taught them that a hit movie can revive a huge toy brand), so I suppose I must touch upon it. The reality is, I believe most people who watch this - provided they enter with a lighthearted mindset - are likely to have at least a little fun. They aren’t going to be swayed by revolutionary visual effects, cinematography, and no actor is getting an Oscar nomination for this.

But teens will likely walk out of the theater quoting funny lines (it’s one of the few movies I’ve seen where the metric for being a bad guy is because “he has a skull for a head”). Younger kids (despite the PG-13 rating) will likely find the battle sequences to be cool, and I wouldn’t be surprised if new He-Man fans are born from these screenings. Even the script's willingness to poke fun at some of the funny names will condition older audience members to relax a little and accept a battle sequence involving a man with a giant, iron fist fighting alongside a man with a long, metal neck. “Masters of the Universe” is likely a corporate product. There’s little denying that. At least it was helmed by a man who seemed to understand why the material was a hit in the first place, and the balance needed if the franchise was going to come back in a big way. If the franchise does come back, though, hopefully no one is inspired to run around in a loincloth.

Note: This review was originally published on The Fandom Post.