Masters of the Universe (2026 | USA | 132 minutes | Travis Knight)
In the beginning, there were the action figures.
1982 saw the initial release of the Masters of the Universe toy line, and Mattel, the line’s manufacturers, shrewdly took advantage of the brand recognition by producing an animated TV series (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) that ran for two seasons in the ‘80s. Animated spinoffs, a live-action 1987 movie, a couple of animated features, a series reboot, and a mountain of toys and collectibles followed.
The franchise has proven so persistent that Mattel and Amazon MGM greenlit an honest-to-God big budget theatrical reboot. The end result, Masters of the Universe, hits theaters tomorrow. So yes, blond and buff hero He-Man (and his equally buff gallery of allies and antagonists) are getting another shot at success on the big screen. And unlike the fascinatingly bad 1987 movie, this would-be blockbuster arrives with Amazon MGM’s deep pockets and promotional muscle on its side.
Whether the monetary and PR oomph leads to mastery of the box-office universe remains to be seen. But if you’re looking for a fix of frothy big-screen summer entertainment, this new Masters of the Universe scratches that itch pretty capably.
Things roll into action right off the bat, as the mythical world of Eternia is brutally attacked by the forces of the evil Skeletor (voiced by Jared Leto). Eternia’s king and queen (James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley) are imprisoned in their massive home, Castle Grayskull, and their young son Adam is hurtled across dimensions into the decidedly mundane reality of Oklahoma City.
Years later, the adult Adam (Nicholas Galatzine) winds up working in HR at an Oklahoma corporation, awkwardly navigating grown-up reality while prattling on about Eternia, magic swords, and epic battles at every opportunity. His fervor on the topic results in crushingly uncomfortable and ultimately failed first dates, and jeopardizes his job.
Adam then recovers the magical sword he lost during his childhood dimension-hop. And before you can say, “By the power of Grayskull,” he’s back on Eternia, reuniting with his former mentor, ex-Man at Arms Duncan (Idris Elba), and Duncan’s daughter Teela (Camila Mendes). One new set of abs and one familiar loincloth later, Adam’s become a literal He-Man, and he and his fellow fighters head into battle with Skeletor’s evil forces.
Director Travis Knight’s track record includes the fantastic Kubo and the Two Strings, and the strong Transformers theatrical offshoot Bumblebee. Both reveal a director with a knack for character building and interpreting established properties. Masters of the Universe, alas, can’t quite clear the very high bar set by those previous movies, largely due to a wobbly screenplay by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, and Adam Nee.
The script hits most of the notes required by Fantasy Blockbuster ordinance, but there’s a curious deficiency of forward motion to the plot, with the pacing lurching in odd fits and starts. The attempts at addressing gender roles satirically just don’t connect as sharply as they did in the previous Mattel toy-based hit, Barbie. And in the end, this big-screen He-Man opus lacks the Wow factor that makes the best tentpole fantasy-action movies stand out.
But for all its myriad flaws and missteps, Masters of the Universe still serves up a solid, entertaining good time at the movies. The abundant action sequences look great on a big screen, the world-building and production design deftly straddle the line between slavish homage and shrewd imagination, and though they lack Barbie’s sharp wit and rapid-fire consistency, the sometimes crude blasts of humor still land frequently.
Crucially in a movie like this, the cast clicks top to bottom. With his voice swaddled in a darkly flowery English accent and plenty of cavernous reverb, Leto makes the most of Skeletor’s blend of snowflake whininess and full-throttle menace. Elba knows how to invest humanity in even the most vaguely-sketched of stock characters, and Mendes’ Teela makes for an appealing foil/possible romantic interest/inveterate badass.
Ultimately, this adaptation rests on the brawny shoulders of Galitzine, and he’s the movie’s ace in the hole. It takes genuine acting chops to pull off Adam’s particular combination of schleppy charm, vulnerability, resolve, and innate sweetness, while still coming off as a genuinely formidable fighter when push comes to shove, and Galitzine’s more than up to the task. Even when Masters of the Universe descends into formula fantasy territory, the charismatic and effortlessly watchable actor at the center of this cartoon universe does, in fact, prove decisively that he has the power.
Masters of the Universe opens in theaters nationwide Friday June 5. Image courtesy Amazon MGM Films.