- The new 'Masters of the Universe' film embraces He-Man's absurdity and nostalgia.
- The movie balances humor, action and mythology, avoiding self-importance and gritty realism.
- It delivers intense action and humor, capturing the spirit of Eternia for nostalgic fans.
SALT LAKE CITY — There are certain toys that instantly transport you back to childhood. For some people, it's G.I. Joe. For others, it's Transformers. While both of those hit close to home for me, it was He-Man that took top spot.
My brother and I were fully invested in the world of Eternia. We had the action figures. We had the vehicles. We had the heroes. We had the villains. Somehow, through a combination of Christmas miracles and parental generosity, we even had both Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain.
At the time, that basically made us royalty. Our unfinished basement became Eternia. Every afternoon was a battle between good and evil. Every action figure eventually lost an arm, weapon or head. It was the best.
Then came the 1987 live-action "Masters of the Universe" starring Dolph Lundgren, which wasn't remotely good.
But I loved it.
As the years rolled on, though, He-Man slowly faded from the spotlight. The franchise never completely disappeared, but it certainly wasn't the cultural force it once was during the toy-dominated 1980s.
So, when a new live-action "Masters of the Universe" was announced, I was skeptical. Then the trailer arrived. I was worried — the marketing made the movie look incredibly serious. Grim. Epic. Important. And that felt like a fundamental misunderstanding of what He-Man actually is.
This is a franchise where a hero literally transforms into a muscle-bound warrior named He-Man. His best friend rides around on a giant green tiger. There's a floating skull-faced villain named Skeletor. The entire concept is gloriously ridiculous.
Trying to make it overly serious felt like a mistake.
Thankfully, the marketing department appears to have sold a very different movie than the one we actually got. And thank goodness they dropped that ball.
A quick setup
For those unfamiliar with the property, "Masters of the Universe" follows Prince Adam of Eternia, a scrawny, outmatched little boy who is supposed to one day be the champion of Grayskull.
When the forces of Skeletor threaten Eternia and beyond, Adam goes full Kal-El and ends up on Earth, trying to find his way back for years. When he finally does, it's all sorts of great fish-out-of-water nonsense and a healthy dose of He-Man.
That's really all you need to know.
Because if you've ever played with an action figure, watched a Saturday morning cartoon or shouted dramatic battle cries while swinging a stick around your backyard, you're already prepared.
The movie understands the assignment
The biggest compliment I can give this movie is that it finally realizes what makes He-Man fun. It embraces the absurdity. Instead of trying to apologize for Eternia's weirdness, it leans into it. Hard.
There are strange creatures, wild costumes, over-the-top villains, magic weapons, and ridiculous mythology.
The movie treats all of it with just enough sincerity to make it work while still acknowledging how wonderfully goofy the entire premise is. The tone reminded me quite a bit of "Thor: Ragnarok." Not because they're identical movies, but because both understand that fantasy worlds filled with bizarre characters can be exciting and funny at the same time.
The filmmakers seem to understand that audiences don't need everything explained through layers of gritty realism — sometimes we just want to watch a giant sword-wielding hero punch monsters.
The humor helps tremendously
One of the best surprises of the movie was how funny it was. Not nonstop comedy, but the jokes land far more often than I expected and come naturally from the characters and the situations.
More importantly, the comedy keeps the movie from becoming self-important. That's a trap many fantasy franchises fall into. "Masters of the Universe" wisely avoids that mistake. It knows this world is more than a little silly, and it uses that to its advantage.
Action fans should leave satisfied
The movie also delivers where it needed to ... a lot of action.
The nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime is packed with sword fights, chase sequences, large-scale battles and hand-to-hand combat. Some of the violence was actually more intense, not uncomfortably so, than I expected. The solidly choreographed action feels varied enough that it doesn't become repetitive.
That's important because action-heavy movies often fall into the trap of making every sequence feel identical. This one largely avoids that problem.
A nostalgia bomb for '80s kids
I may not be entirely objective here because this movie absolutely weaponized my nostalgia. Seeing familiar characters show up felt like opening an old toy chest I hadn't looked through in decades.
Every few minutes, another character, vehicle, weapon or creature would appear, and I'd suddenly be transported back to that unfinished basement where my brother and I spent countless hours creating our own Eternia adventures.
The filmmakers clearly understand the property and what made fans love it in the first place.
It isn't perfect
As much fun as I had, this isn't some flawless fantasy masterpiece. The movie wants to balance humor, action, mythology and emotional stakes. Most of the time it succeeds. Sometimes it doesn't. There are stretches where the pacing drags slightly.
A few characters don't get enough development.
And while the humor generally works, it never reaches the sharp consistency that made "Thor: Ragnarok" so memorable.
What parents should know
"Masters of the Universe" contains frequent fantasy violence, large-scale battles, creature combat and action sequences throughout. Some of the action is surprisingly intense, though it remains firmly in blockbuster adventure territory.
There's very little concerning language or mature content beyond the violence. There are a few swear words and some veiled adult humor, but nothing overly offensive.
Older kids, teens and families familiar with fantasy action films should handle it just fine.
Conclusion
I walked into "Masters of the Universe" expecting disappointment. The trailers had me convinced this would be another overly serious attempt to reinvent a property that was never meant to be taken too seriously.
Instead, I got a movie that understands exactly what He-Man should be — funny, weird, nostalgic and occasionally ridiculous. And that's precisely why it works. It captures the spirit of Eternia far better than I expected.
Most importantly, it made me want to come back.
And for a franchise that has spent years wandering the wilderness looking for its place in modern pop culture, that's a pretty significant victory.
By the time the credits rolled, I wasn't thinking about the flaws.
