Eri Reviews Things

If you ask me what first comes to mind when you say Masters of the Universe, I would say the “HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA” meme, but the Minecraft parody by Yogscast. The other is a scene in the Bluey episode ‘Fairytale,’ where a young Bandit meets a young Chilli wearing a She-Ra costume. I wasn’t born when that franchise came to life, but I was aware of its existence. But when I heard that a Masters of the Universe movie was being made, it intrigued me. Considering the success of the Barbie movie and Mattel’s desire to keep making cinematic masterpieces based on its toy line, will this film finally hook me into this iconic ’80s franchise?

Masters of the Universe stars Nicholas Galitzine as Adam Glenn / He-Man, the Prince of Eternia who fled to Earth with the Sword of Power after Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his army invaded his home planet. 15 years later, he returns, and by his side is his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes), her father, Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and a robot called Roboto (Kristen Wiig). At first glance, Masters of the Universe feels like a kids’ film, but after watching the whole thing, it turns out to be a mature movie in disguise, mixing a story of war and resistance with the whimsical mindset of a 10-year-old in a 25-year-old man’s body.

Masters of the Universe is an origin story, which is good because there are people who know the franchise but have never seen the previous content, unless they streamed She-Ra and the Princess of Power on Netflix. So, giving newer audiences a proper introduction to who He-Man is is a good choice. Another good choice is having Prince Adam reconnect with his culture using his knowledge from when he was 10. It gives the story whimsy, making it feel like a kids’ movie, even though it’s also for grown-ups to enjoy. Because, let’s be real, if a 25-year-old man tells you their favourite warrior goes by “Fisto” (played by Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) in a straight face, you’d be like “wtf?” But given the movie’s context, it checks out, since this is a man returning home with only his childhood knowledge of his culture.

The acting of everyone involved in the film was pretty good, and at most, I didn’t realise it was them until I looked at the credits. The first and last time I saw Galitzine on screen was in Red, White & Royal Blue. Seeing him in this feature, he makes a convincing live-action action figure. He has that charm that can convince me he belongs to the MCU, but he can be his own superhero star. And despite having mixed feelings about his previous performances, Leto as Skeletor was great. It was cheesy in some cases, but Skeletor was written well, and his motives were not bad. It’s what you’d expect a villain to be due to the nature of the movie’s plot. Even I didn’t know it was him, and that made it cool. Teela makes a great partner in crime, gives off “hyper-independent” vibes given what she witnessed 10 years ago, and is perhaps the only person, aside from He-Man, who has a chance of bringing back peace and beauty to her planet. Also, her chemistry with He-Man is not bad. Man-At-Arms, on the other hand, Elba did a solid job playing a soldier filled with regret, and his comeback during the final scene makes his moments in between worth watching, and possibly gives a laugh or two—a solid comedy relief character.

While I don’t mind the numerous cliches found in Masters of the Universe, like your generic bad guy who’s bad cuz he is, or the death of a parent, something that caught me off guard is that it feels like a James Gunn superhero movie, but without the right execution. There was comedy intertwined with the action, but for some reason, at least some of it didn’t land as well as I hoped. Others were alright, but in the end, it just feels like I’m watching something attempting to recreate what James Gunn has done.

However, it feels like the story of Master of the Universe moves too quickly, with everything happening so fast that I questioned the pacing. Because what do you mean, a man who manages to unlock God-level power can control his abilities in one go, despite being the weak one growing up? Or were they away from their culture, or did they never continue their training for 15 years? And why must the hunt for the Sword of Power be through an internet search? At first, I thought it was going to be a fake-out and that they had to do a real search. But nope, the sword in the comic book store is a real sword. Or what about when Adam uses his powers for the first time, he immediately knows how to fight, despite being depicted as weak as a child. There are no hints of him doing martial arts training on Earth, and the closest thing we get to “training” is his attempt to go to the gym. There is no challenge for Adam, and everything just happened, and he knows what to do from the get-go. He says he knows how to use it, but he was away from home for over a decade, as a kid, with little training. How????

Regardless, the art and music direction is pretty nostalgic – or at least gives me nostalgia, even though I never grew up with the franchise. There was a mix of song choices that felt like they belonged to the franchise while also acknowledging the pop culture content it ties into. Yes, the movie has meme references, which is great for those who are only aware of Masters of the Universe or He-Man through online culture. Additionally, the SFX and background make the world of Eternia as beautiful as Asgard in the MCU, which is funny because some of the battles remind me of watching the Thor movies.

But unlike in the latest MCU films, the effects are well-made. It is not overly produced, as is common in many superhero films lately, but it is enough to light up the scene and showcase the power and technology of this fictional world. The worldbuilding is generic, but then again, it’s an IP targeted towards kids, first created in the 80s, so I didn’t expect too much from Eternia’s history. The only sad thing was that there was only ONE magical girl transformation sequence, and it is a shame that it was never reused. In the end, it was well-designed and succeeded in convincing the audience that this magical place could exist, but it could have done more with some of its special effects.

Overall, Masters of the Universe is a great film for fans of the franchise and those who want a proper introduction to He-Man and the planet of Eternia. It’s whimsical, and it sets itself apart from Barbie, making it a standalone feature and giving you everything you need to know about this 80’s IP. While the acting and art direction were great, the plot and writing are questionable to some extent. Nevertheless, doesn’t stop me from wanting to see He-Man once more, as it gave me a great introduction to the franchise.

EriReviewsThings attended a screening of Masters of the Universe thanks to Sony Pictures Australia