Sony Pictures
After years of failed attempts to revive the franchise, director Travis Knight is bringing a new live action version of Masters of the Universe to the big screen. When Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) gets his hands on the Sword of Power again after fifteen years, he is led back to Eternia, his home world. There he discovers that the kingdom has completely changed. Skeletor (Jared Leto) has seized power and keeps Eternia firmly in his grasp. Together with Teela (Camila Mendes) and weapons master Duncan (Idris Elba), Adam must discover if he is ready to fulfill his destiny as He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe.
Amazon is betting big
During CinemaCon, Amazon MGM announced its intention to invest one billion dollars annually in cinema films. After the success of Project Hail Mary (2026). Masters of the Universe the next big franchise that the studio is aiming for. For Travis Knight, it is also only his second live action film since Bumblebee (2018), again based on an existing franchise. The film features a strong cast with Nicholas Galitzine (most recently seen in the great The Sheep Detectives (2026)), Camila Mendes (Striptease (1996)), Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club (2013)) and Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation (2015)). Add to this the start of a potential new film series and on paper there are plenty of reasons to enthusiastically head to the cinema.
The missing character work
The film opens with a young Adam’s training when Eternia is attacked by Skeletor. The film leaves little to the imagination about the villain’s intentions. A walking skull with glowing red eyes quickly makes it clear that there are no hidden good intentions behind this. Adam manages to escape and then spends fifteen years on Earth. That’s where an interesting character study seems to be up for grabs. What does it do to a teenager who grows up on a strange planet, separated from his parents and with the idea that he can never return home? Unfortunately, the film has no interest in that. Apart from a logical obsession with Eternia, Adam remains very flatly written and lacks almost any substantiation for the person he ultimately became.
A villain without a face
The same problem exists with the big villain of the story. Skeletor not only looks like a villain, he simply is the villain. That may sound lame, but the audience doesn’t get much more than that. In recent years, there has been a regular discussion in Hollywood about so-called ‘comic accurate suits’ Masters of the Universe shows why that is not always the best choice. Characters like Skeletor, Duncan and Mekaneck look like they walked straight out of a toy catalog from decades ago. Skeletor in particular falls victim to this approach. His character consists largely of lame jokes, a misplaced accent and predictable behavior. Background information about who he is, where he comes from or what drives him is completely missing. When a film falls short in its characters, as a viewer you still hope for spectacular action scenes, but you also know that Masters of the Universe rarely impress.
A missed opportunity for Eternia
With characters that have little depth, it becomes difficult to create a compelling story. Yet not everything is negative. The visual effects are well done and are undoubtedly among the strongest parts of the film, especially at a time when Hollywood is increasingly struggling with convincing CGI. The music also regularly hits the right note, although it sometimes makes certain moments feel a bit weaker than desired. Perhaps fans who grew up with He-Man will still get some enjoyment out of the nostalgic references, but for most film fans Masters of the Universe be a film to quickly forget.
Rating: 1.5* / 5
