‘Masters of the Universe’ Review – Masterful or Underwhelming Disaster?
After an 18-year development hell as labyrinthine as the dungeons of Snake Mountain, He-Man has finally returned to the big screen. Let’s be clear: this isn’t a legendary homecoming.
It’s a corporate product that’s checked its pulse and realized it never had one to begin with. Director Travis Knight brings his usual professional craftsmanship to the table, but he’s playing from a tired, paint-by-numbers playbook that has no business being near this franchise.
The film opens on Eternia with fan service that recalls Bumblebee’s opening on Cybertron, but it soon moves over to Earth. Instead of a dramatic, earth-shaking payoff, the film’s earnestness is immediately folded like a lawn chair by a groan-worthy gag. We learn Prince Adam is explaining his entire epic origin to a bored woman on a blind Hinge date.
It’s a transparent attempt to mirror the MCU template — think Thor meets the Guardians of the Galaxy with some of that Love and Thunder energy — but forcing these characters into a “human and imperfect” mold is a total mismatch. By confusing the property’s unique, toy-chest charm for cheap wisecracks, the movie settles for a curated, exhausted formula that feels hollow to its core.
It’s hard not to look back at the 1987 adaptation with a newfound respect. Sure, that film was “bad” by traditional, polished metrics, but it possessed a strange, cult-status soul that’s the very essence of a Cannon film we all cherish. The 2026 iteration feels like it was engineered by a committee of consultants terrified of taking a risk. Travis Knight keeps the ship moving with visual clarity, but it’s all “universe” and lacking “mastery.”
That said, the casting isn’t all misses. Camilla Mendes as Teela allays any early fan fears; she brings a grounded intensity and a sharp, undeniable edge, anchoring the Eternian sequences.
Then there is Idris Elba. He’s good, bringing the commanding presence he’s perfected for years. But I’ll call it what it is: it’s a “greatest hits” version of his past roles. Between the stoic authority he brings and the despair he develops after failure, you see echoes of Heimdall and other archetypes he’s tackled in the comic book arena. He delivers, but we’ve seen this performance before.
Now for the one I know you’re all waiting to hear about: Jared Leto’s Skeletor, which I absolutely loved. It feels weird even writing that, but here we are. Because he’s buried under intense visual effects, the character should be much easier for his legion of critics and haters to roll with; in fact, the studio should have just left his name out of the credits entirely and let us guess. Leto acts as the nexus of the manic, theatrical energy the film desperately needs, injecting the project with life, verve, and vigor.
He keeps the heart beating, and there’s plenty of heart. The film is not the total disaster that a lot of people feared. Be that as it may, it misses the mark as the triumph we were promised. I went in looking for someone who had “THE POWERRR,” but I walked out not feeling it.
Masters of the Universe
PROS
- All the Easter eggs, including Pig Boy
- Prince Adam is a cross between MCU Thor and Star-Lord but Nicholas Galitzine did all right making him likable
- Jared Leto understood the assignment, like him or not
- Dolph Lundgren's appearance is amusing
- Fans I talked to afterwards really like it
CONS
- However, Lundgren's cameo is strictly a tribute; plot wise, it amounts to nothing
- Skeletor's voice is often hard to understand
- Not all the jokes land
- The film feels 15 years behind the curve
