There's not a lot to work with in the Masters of the Universe, uh, universe. There are good guys and bad guys, a handful of locations - one good, one evil, one they can fight over - and pretty much the closest any of them get to having a character is a rip-off from superhero comics where a nerdy guy turns into the hero by saying some magic words. So this is a movie we can safely sit out? Not so fast.
Taking not so much a leaf as a whole entire tree grown from the Barbie playbook, this take on the toy franchise is not only a solid (if a touch generic) action-adventure tale, but a story that interrogates exactly what the popularity of the toys means to the audience. Is a muscle-bound, scantily-clad sword-wielder a real role model? Is his nerdy, sensitive alter-ego more the way to go? Why not both?
Our story begins on He-Man's homeworld, where the eight year-old Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) is failing at being trained to be a deadly warrior by Man-at-Arms (Idris Elba), much to the displeasure of his father (James Purefoy). Why all the pressure? The answer soon arrives in the form of Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his army of freaks and thugs - plus magic user Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie).
When Castle Greyskull is breached, only the quick work of the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) sends Adam and the Sword of Power through a portal to Earth and safety. Only he loses the sword, and spends the next fifteen-odd years growing up to be a sensitive HR manager (complete with He/Him pronouns) who's also kind of a creepy weirdo obsessed with swords and living in a room covered with drawings of action figures (it's his way of remembering the people from his past).
All the Earth stuff is really just to establish that the adult Adam (Nicolas Galitzine) is a bit of a dork. So when he finally finds the sword, and touching it alerts everyone to where it is, he's far from ready to deal with what happens next. It's only when his now grown-up classmate Teela (Carmila Mendes) arrives to bring him home that he starts to get a grip on things beyond his sword - and even then he's far from ready to deal with a home planet now ruled by Skeletor.
Chances are if anyone's thought of a He-Man joke in the last few decades, it'll turn up here (memes included). It turns out the embarrassing names of all the classic toys - Fisto and Ram Man, to name two - were given to them by Adam as a child on Earth; he didn't know their real names, and they're not pleased to hear what he now calls them, even if he is their biggest fan.
On the evil side of the street, Skeletor is both menacing and extremely camp, an actual threat that gives the movie real stakes while also being a preening egomaniac constantly frustrated by his loser underlings. Most of all, he's fun; we might not see Leto's face, but this is his best performance in ages. Though he's a first amongst equals here, with strong performances across the board bringing this collection of action figures to life.
None of the individual elements here are a stand-out, but taken as a whole this is an enormously entertaining and wildly satisfying romp that respects the original IP while also treating it as a comedy goldmine. It's a film for all ages (parents might want to come up with an explanation for the multiple 'Fisto' jokes) that's big on both action and comedy while still managing to have a few things to say about growing up obsessed with action figures.
It also makes Trap Jaw an actual threat, which is pretty impressive in and of itself. C'mon, he's named Trap Jaw!
- Anthony Morris
