Masters Of The Universe Is... (REVIEW)

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:04]By the power of gay school, I have the power.

[00:00:16]I'm attracted to men now.

[00:00:21]Oh, it's the power of gray skull.

[00:00:26]Oh, Masters of the Universe has finally had a new liveaction debut. This time around, we follow actor Nicholas Goldstein, who plays He-Man. After being sent away from Eternia as a child to Earth, Prince Adam must now look for the magical sword to find his way back home and save the people of Eternia from Skeletor. And that's all any spoilers, you guys. This will be a spoiler-free review. Come on now. We got to appreciate this freaking popcorn. Well, it's not even a popcorn bucket, but you do unscrew it and it has the world's longest straw so you can enjoy a beverage while you watch a oiled up half naked man fight a skeleton.

[00:01:10]But when it comes to the Masters of the Universe property, I did not grow up with it. I know I am uncked and chopped, but He-Man was past my time. And I've mentioned it before. The only things I really know about He-Man and Skeletor are whatever skits I saw in Robot Chicken. Even then, following movie news all my life, I have always seen the articles He-Man reboot, Masters of the Universe reboot, but something always gets in the way. But now it's finally come out with director Travis Knight. I was up and down with the trailers cuz although they looked colorful and fun, wasn't a big fan of this Earth plot. But I can't be too upset cuz like I said, I have no attachment to the property. I just want to see a good movie. So that's all I really expected is just to have a fun time. I brought my dad along who did grow up with He-Man. He's more hoping Hollywood eventually makes a Thundercats movie, but he was willing to settle for He-Man for now. And so there we were sitting down getting ready to enjoy it.

[00:02:03]And um you know what? I did enjoy it. I had fun, but I definitely think there will be things in this movie that will leave the old fans, the the fans who grew up with it maybe a little upset with it. I'll get into some of those things are, but I do think there is enough in here for most people to have a good time. It is not a perfect movie.

[00:02:23]Like, let me make that clear. There are certain choices in their tone and way they go about telling the story that I felt could have been better handled, but there is for sure a personality injected into this movie that Travis Knight tries to go for that I think when it works and it's going for what he's aiming for, the movie has some really high awesome moments. You hear sometimes the kids nowadays say like, "Oh, that movie, it's got the sauce." You know, it's got that special thing that makes it cool. This movie has the sauce every now and then.

[00:02:55]One of the things I was most afraid of when watching the trailer is that it would come off just a little generic, paint by the numbers. And while in moments it can feel that way, there are those standout parts all throughout it from beginning, middle, and end. Not just a little bit where Travis Knight in here really gives this movie its own personality, its own fun. I more specifically found it in the action sequences cuz that's really where the movie kind of shine for me. There are fights in here, not just between like He-Man and Skeletor, which honestly are some of my favorite parts of this entire movie, but man at arms played by Idris Elba, he has a really great fight scene early on with Trap Jaw that is stylized.

[00:03:33]It really actually felt like a Saturday cartoon brought to life, like someone was taking two He-Man action figures and just mashing them together. But I mean that complimentary, you know, branching off with the action scenes, you can feel Travis Knight was probably a fan of He-Man. There is definitely love taken with the world, the characters, and kind of the big moments that you as a fan going in are hoping for. Like the transformation scene, like I know I put in million-dollar effects into the opening. The first transformation scene of He-Man, bro, it was like watching the Hulk transform for the first time. Like, it was handled very well and respectfully. And well, speaking of He-Man, uh Nicholas Goldstein really great in this role. There are definitely things early on about his character that are going to be tough for dieh hard fans to get over, but he's not, you know, the He-Man you're hoping for in the very beginning, which is all part of his arc.

[00:04:25]He's a lot lower on life. Things have happened to him and he has to build his confidence to become He-Man. And while a different actor that could have maybe have come off really pathetic, he finds a way to find the charminess in the bumbling blonde who's just trying to go about life. He does seem a little clueless. But hey, when he gets those action scenes, he sells it, man. But probably the biggest shock I was not expecting to come out of this movie praising one because they really hid this character a lot in the marketing.

[00:04:54]And they also did not want you to know who was playing this character. Jared Leto as Skeletor. Probably not going to lie, best part of the entire movie.

[00:05:06]Yeah, hang it up. MorbiiUs life form and Tron Aries Joker in the Snider versse.

[00:05:12]No, this is now Jared Leto's best IP role. I really doubt Jared Leto was actually in the Skeletor outfit on set.

[00:05:20]They probably had an actor and body double, but even then the voice and mannerisms of Skeletor is so good. I've mentioned I didn't grow up watching the cartoon, but I always knew Skeletor had kind of the high-pitch wimpy voice that hey man. And while I know maybe that's iconic and nostalgic for some, I'm glad they didn't go with that. It's a menacing evil voice, but they kept the kind of weird personality Skeletor has.

[00:05:48]He is hamming it up and it is so enjoyable to watch. Not only do I love the effect on the face and body, like Skeletor in himself just looks awesome, but in his mannerisms when being evil, when busting out a joke, or when an awkward thing happens, I loved all the Skeletor stuff. There's even some really weird and out there things they do with Skeletor in the final moments of this movie that I'm like, how could they think this was okay? But I don't care.

[00:06:18]I'm glad they did it cuz I did not expect this from Skeletor. I think that also will leave an exciting part for people going in because they hid Skeletor so much in the marketing because of the Jared Leto attachment.

[00:06:30]You actually have a good big chunk of this movie that was saved cuz Skeletor is in it a lot and all of it to me was gold. All of it worked. In fact, that's another thing. A lot of the trailers just kind of gave off a generic look at the world. And that was one of my fears with this Earth plot is that we would just be spending time on Earth or maybe we'd go to Eternia for like 10 15 minutes then we be cutting back to Earth. Once you head to Eternia, you are just there and you get to take in the world. And they treat it like a big blockbuster. I'm really sad looking at the projections for this movie cuz they're not looking to be very high and it's going to be a tough journey for it to reach profitability. But dude, they put in work. Not just Skeletor looking good, all the V effects look good. I mean, you have your one or two moments that stand out, but for the most part, everything visually looks really great.

[00:07:19]I also think they do enough with having fun in this world of all the kooky characters that exist, the magic and humor in it that this could very well turn kids of today into He-Man fans. And so, to me, for real, I think that'll be enough for casual people going in to really get a kick out of it. If you're a He-Man fan that's a little bit more open to an interpretation and it not having to be exactly like what you grew up with or you were hoping for like a dead serious take and can be open to a more humorous one. I think this movie is actually quite a fun watch. But I know not everyone's going to be as open-minded. So, let's get into the mix to negative and be honest cuz this movie it has its flaws. I mean, the first 20 minutes is rough, man. I'm not going to lie. It takes a little bit for you to get used to the tone and humor of this movie because it has a very awkward humor and sometimes awkward humor is my thing. I I love awkward humor. There's a lot of jokes and funny things that happen in this that I actually found hysterical, but I feel almost equally there were other parts where the jokes just were not landing. The humor in here is really some call it MCU humor. I feel like it was a little bit more different than MCU humor, but it really tries to throw the jokes and humor at you in such a way that it actually does bog down and take away from the dramatic elements that this movie almost successfully has.

[00:08:47]I say almost successfully cuz there's enough like really good things done like with Adam and having to leave his home and then not being able to be back for several years. The way he feels isolated in Earth and no one believes him about his past. There's even a great relationship dynamic between Tila, Camila Mendes's character, and Idris Elba's man at arms, their father and daughter, and they have like a rough patch and they actually do treat it with some heart. So, like there actually is enough attention to detail to the characters and their personal struggles, but the movie is trying so hard to make you laugh. It actually does take away from that dramaticness. But again, that's not to say all the humor didn't work. All the Skeletor stuff, loved all the Nicholas Goldstein stuff, I loved, but there were moments where I'm like, they're dragging a joke just like a minute or two too long. We got to get going. Can we move on? So, I think that'll be the biggest hurdle is if you're able to jive with the humor or if the humor isn't working for you, the entire movie is not really going to be for you. Then the other part I mention is I do think and I even heard it walking out of the theater from some diehard He-Man fans. They just did not like how wimpy they treated Adam before he became He-Man. Like I I maybe a terrible comparison but kind of close.

[00:10:03]Prince Adam before he finally becomes He-Man in the movie is a lot like Morty from Rick and Morty or Oh jeez, Rick, I don't know. Oh jeez. And like I said, I feel like Nicholas Goldstein is able to pull it off in a kind of charming way, but it admittedly is a pathetic portrayal of someone that people think as the manly man. And although again, I have not like been part of the He-Man community, I have seen from outside looking in the controversies, the anger, especially when it came to that recent Netflix show and I was like, "Oh man, they it's a lot like the Ghostbuster fans. You don't mess with them. They will get mad if their manly, oiled up, naked dude is not manly, naked and oiled up. Hey yo, side note, this isn't even a negative. I found it funny the way Skeletor talks about He-Man in this.

[00:10:54]But I think this miss in the humor and tone is really them trying to be a lot like the recent Dungeons and Dragons movie, which was amazing. very similar in fact with the He-Man film. But I will give it to Dungeons and Dragons in handling that tone and those performances so much better. But I just mean in terms of that looking like a film that seemed generic and an obviously bad time at the theaters when I saw it, it was one of the biggest surprises with how much I enjoyed it.

[00:11:20]And I feel like on a lower pedestal, Masters of the Universe the same way, the humor is not going to hit as well, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Heck, I'd watch another one of these. And there are two postredit scenes in this, a mid-redit and one at the very end.

[00:11:35]Both of them tease something for the future. So, when it comes to Masters of the Universe, I'm going to give Action three and a half stars. Admittedly, not every action scene is stylized and big, but when we do get a big stylized action scene, whether it's Man-at-Arms versus Trap Jaw or every time He-Man and Skeletor fight, especially that final battle, it is glorious and fun to watch.

[00:11:57]Man, I really do like the personality Travis Knight added into those fights.

[00:12:01]Comedy in the movie, it's going to be the most hardest one, man. Cuz there were plenty of time, especially with Skeletor, things I was laughing and joining and giggling with the awkward humor, but just as much stuff didn't work for me. I I feel like I'm going to go three stars right in the middle. But this is where I think a lot of people are just going to be divided in the movie's tone. Driving the film, I'm going to give it three stars. I think there was enough sincerity in the heart with the characters and in some moments taking things seriously. I just wish again it wasn't bogged down by so much humor. I think if there was less of it, the movie would improve so much more for a lot of people. But I get it. They're aiming to make people have a fun time, not cry at the movies. And suspense in the film, I'm going to give it two and a half stars. I feel like you do find it predictable and even when things go wrong, you you can kind of tell where they're headed. There is a bit of a lull because of that in the middle of the movie, but it's still fun. When looking at the 3C's, I feel like honestly this will be best enjoyed by casual fans. I just think the people who did grow up with He-Man and are more protective of the property will be a little harsher on this and it'll be more people kind of new or not as attached to the property that'll be like, "Hey, I had a fun time.

[00:13:07]That was fun." So, when it comes to Masters of the Universe, I ended up having a nice enough time where I do think you could enjoy it in theaters.

[00:13:16]Again, that's just my opinion on the movie, guys. I can't wait to hear from you more diehard He-Man fans, what you love, didn't love, thoughts on the tone and humor. Would you watch another one? Do you think word of mouth will maybe help the box office of this one? Anything. Be sure and like, subscribe, follow my Twitter 3C films or on Tik Tok at 3C Films. But as always, I'm Chris. Take care.