Masters of the Universe

Masters of the Universe

Released May 18, 2026

Directed by Travis Knight

* No Spoilers - but some brief discussion about the overall themes and story*

A Saturday morning cartoon come to life with all its over the top action, crass humour, and glorious cheesiness. Masters of the Universe is far better than it has any business being, and it’s mainly because it never takes itself too seriously. It’s campy, fun, colourful, and straightforward.

The plot is not complex and the characters are not overly deep but they still get a respectable amount of development through the story. Themes of empathy, teamwork, failure and redemption are more well developed than expected but they have just slightly more depth than what you might see in a cartoon. All of that is totally fine because there is no pretending that this is anything other than nostalgic fun for millennials who grew up the show or its early 2000’s remake, or just carefree fun for a new generation. 

In many ways this feels like a blend of Thor, Thor: Ragnarok, and Deadpool. A big burly blonde prince, who feels like a fish out of water, finds his worth and gains power by grasping an enchanted weapon that was sent to earth with him on a glowing rainbow coloured energy beam. The brightly coloured aesthetic, spaceship chase scene, and juvenile (but fitting) humour are ripped straight out of Ragnarok. However, I don’t fault this for those parallels because there is existing overlap in the source material and this is a ton of fun.  

Nicholas Gallitzine is great as both Adam and He-man, goofy, bumbling but with a heart of gold. The plot using his childhood memories of Eternia is a great way to poke fun at the ridiculous characters and their equally cringe names. Camilla Mendez is a great straightwoman to his goofiness and Idris Elba is wonderful as Adam’s mentor and trainer. Alison Brie was made to play Evil-lyn and is clearly having tonnes of fun with being…well…evil.  

The real stand out performance was Jared Leto (Tron: Ares). Surprisingly so because he absolutely kills it in this role. Maybe one of his best in a long time. Unhinged, campy, and the ultimate cartoon villain. He could be intimidating and menacing if this was a more serious adaptation but I am so glad they decided to make him as ridiculous as he was in the show. Leto’s over the top movements, sharply rolled R’s, and his perfectly maniacal laugh are just so good I can’t help be enjoy seeing him on screen. It’s a shame he is such a terrible person, because I hate to give him praise even when he deserves it. 

Masters of the Universe’s biggest strength is its visual flair and creativity in the fight scenes. The snappy camera moves and impact frames feel like they are taken out of an anime. Travis Knight (Bumblebee) did a lot of these using sophisticated camera rather than using an entirely virtual camera. These are real actors in costume landing the choreography and it makes a world of difference in how satisfying it is to watch, especially that last fight sequence. The visual flair is top notch with bedazzling effects, incredible costume and character design, and literal flashing impact frames coinciding with the power ups. Oh and the fact that it’s all set to catchy 80’s inspired power ballads and epic guitar riffs is even better. 

As much as I roll my eyes at toy brands continuing to pump out glorified feature length commercials for their action figures, I appreciate when they are self aware. Masters of the Universe isn’t trying to be anything other than tongue in cheek, action adventure goodness, with a healthy dose of humour catered to teenage boys (or adult men who continue to embrace their cringey but endearing inner child). It succeeds in doing all those things and makes for a fun, albeit derivative, adventure story packed with creatively crafted action scenes and impressive presentation. 

6.5/10 - Expect a cheesy yet self aware Saturday morning cartoon, ease up so you enjoy the silliness, and you will probably enjoy this as much as I did.

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