Back in 2007, the rumor first started circulating that a new live-action He-Man film was in development. Almost 20 years later, the time has finally come: after the very trashy first attempt with Dolph Lundgren in 1987, the cult hero from Eternia can finally flex his muscles on the big screen again. Under the direction of “Bumblebee” director Travis Knight and with the financial resources of Amazon MGM Studios behind it, the toy brand is pulling itself out of production hell after all these years.
With “Masters Of The Universe” the result is a blatant declaration of love for the era of Saturday morning cartoons. When you look at the colorful worlds and bizarre characters, you’ll want to make yourself comfortable with a bowl of cornflakes. The fact that “Masters Of The Universe” is not completely convincing despite its driving rock score is due, on the one hand, to the extremely predictable story and, on the other hand, to too many meta-humor inserts, which repeatedly suffocate emotional moments prematurely.
Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) and his friends must save Eternia.
Ten-year-old Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) lives with his family on the fantastic planet Eternia. Contrary to his father’s ideas, Adam does not seem to be a born warrior. Instead, he presents himself as a sensitive and playful daydreamer who would rather fool around than swing a sword. When the unscrupulous Skeletor (Jared Leto) attacks with his henchmen and reduces the capital Eternos to rubble, the childish carefree attitude is suddenly over.
Only at the last moment does Adam manage to escape through a portal to Earth. However, on the journey between worlds, the legendary magic sword is lost – the only key to returning to Eternia. So the fugitive prince is forced to build a new life for himself on earth. Almost 20 years later, Adam (now: Nicholas Galitzine) works as a moderately successful HR manager – and is still looking for a way back. But everything changes when the missing sword suddenly reappears – in a toy store of all places…
The start hits well!
The entry into “Masters of the Universe” sets the bar high. Set to a banging rock score buoyed by Brian May’s unmistakable electric guitar, we’re introduced to the radiant world of Eternia. This is pure glam rock fantasy energy – and immediately brings back memories of the legendary B-movie “Flash Gordon”, to which Queen also contributed the soundtrack. In any case, the world of Eternia is the real heart of the adventure film. Colorful, playful and designed with great attention to detail, every shot conveys the honest enthusiasm with which Travis Knight and his team have brought the cult series back to life. Although a lot of it comes from the computer, the effects are visibly inspired by the cartoon template – and so the artificial look fits surprisingly harmoniously into the overall picture.
The same applies to the design of the figures, which have not been greatly modernized, but are clearly based on the toy templates. This decision works; Hardly any fan will be able to escape the unmistakable retro charm. Villains and heroes like Fisto, Mekaneck or Trap-Jaw simply look so wonderfully out of time in their design that “Masters Of The Universe” stands out pleasantly from comparable productions that are strenuously trimmed to be dark and modern. It’s unfortunate that we land on Earth after the epic prologue. Although it is certainly amusing to see the later He-Man as an HR manager, this insertion slows down the plot for the time being.
Figures like Trap-Jaw in particular impress with their retro design.
While the visual design fully relies on the history of the series, this self-confidence is noticeably missing elsewhere. With plenty of meta-humor, those responsible repeatedly poke fun at the peculiarities of their over 40-year-old fantasy world. This not only applies to the names of the characters (and yes, probably no hero today would be called Fisto), but also to narrative features. While the identity of He-Man – whose name is also commented on with a raised eyebrow – was still a closely guarded secret in the cartoons, here this mystery becomes a mere gag. Because even though Adam himself goes through with the charade, everyone knows who is really behind He-Man.
In addition, the humor sometimes acts as a safety net to demonstrate that you don’t take your own template too seriously. But that massively weakens the impact of some scenes. For example, a successful slow-motion sequence after a successful prison break is interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. Elsewhere, the emotional climax between Teela (Camila Mendes) and her foster father Duncan (Idris Elba) is abruptly ended by Adam inappropriately bursting into the scene.
Copied too much from the MCU
Such moments bring back memories of the comic blockbusters “Thor 3 + 4” – even if the humorous inserts here are fortunately not used with the same penetrance. Maybe it’s simply a case of over-saturation of the now overused Marvel formula, whose set pieces are also used in “Masters Of The Universe”. A little more trust in the power of its own brand and the emotionality of the scenes would have benefited the film.
The biggest question marks in advance were the cast. How would Netflix star Nicholas Galitzine (“Royal Blue”) and the man who has been frequently criticized in recent years Jared Leto Beat (“Morbius”) as He-Man and Skeletor? But despite all the prophecies of doom, both deliver remarkably strong performances. While Nicholas Galitzine effortlessly switches between impressive physicality and charming humor, Jared Leto gives one of his best performances in recent years – even though his face is not visible in the film. His Skeletor is not a broken figure with a tragic past, but a wonderfully old-fashioned antagonist who is evil at heart – and works precisely because of his simplicity.
Jared Leto delivers one of his best performances in a long time as Skeletor
Again and again, Jared Leto alternates between bizarre joke character and cruel tyrant – and thus captures the spirit of the original with astonishing precision without simply copying it. In addition to the two convincing main actors, the strongly staged action sequences ensure that lengths rarely creep into the 140-minute running time. And this despite the fact that the actual story is unlikely to surprise any fantasy fan.
Regardless of whether it’s an air battle reminiscent of “Star Wars”, the siege of the capital Eternos or a rampaging Beast Man in a major American city – the action remains entertaining throughout. However, the final confrontation between Skeletor and He-Man is particularly violent. Here, every hit is like an earthquake, while the change between slow motion and fast motion gives the confrontation a dynamic force.
Conclusion: “Masters Of The Universe” is visually pleasingly unconventional and celebrates the endearing madness of its original. At the same time, however, the narrative often follows well-known and now well-trodden Marvel paths – and successfully smothers scenes too often with a safety net of self-deprecating meta-humor. Nevertheless, fans of the original are unlikely to leave the cinema in a bad mood. This is ensured by the fast-paced action, the creative design of the fantasy world and an excellent performance by Jared Leto as the Bone Lord Skeletor.
PS: When the credits roll, you should definitely stay seated for a while – after all, there are two scenes that have been postponed. While in the first a fan favorite who has so far been shimmering due to his absence presents us with the moral of the story, the second sequence in particular is likely to cause real storms of celebration among fans.