Masters of the Universe: By the power of nostalgia!

The Masters of the Universe cartoon came out when I was around 10 or 11 years old. As a boy who loved fantasy, scifi and action, I was definitely the target audience. And I can’t help but think that while the new film is ostensibly for kids, I am still, as a middle aged man, the demographic that would most enjoy it.

I watched Masters of the Universe back in the day mostly because it was on and was vaguely fun. I wasn’t a huge fan or anything. At the time, I preferred the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, and if I wanted muscled warrior action, I’d read more Conan.

My main issue was that Prince Adam was a bit like Popeye in that there would be some trouble or other, and then, at a crucial point, they would wield the sword, summon the power, (or eat spinach), and then they won. And repeat.

That didn’t stop me watching tons of episodes, though. It was the 80s, and when the weather was rubbish, there wasn’t a lot to do.

So I went into this movie a bit sceptical, but fully versed. Knowing who the characters were and what they all look like in the cartoons, definitely added to the fun. It also made me keen to see how they would portray someone called Fisto or a guy whose neck comes out and hits people, or Ram-Man, a man who rams people.

Spoiler – I thought they did this well. And the way Fisto protests after hearing that he’s called that because he fists people was hilarious. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Masters of the Universe – what’s it all about?

The film’s plot is straightforward enough. Prince Adam, played by Nicholas Galitzine, has been separated from Eternia for years and is pulled back into his true destiny by the Sword of Power. Eternia has fallen under the rule of Skeletor, played by Jared Leto, and Adam has to join forces with Teela, Man-At-Arms and the rest of the familiar but weird gang to save both his family and his world. Fairly standard stuff.

The original cartoon began in 1983, after Mattel’s toy line had already introduced children to He-Man, Skeletor, Castle Grayskull and a collection of characters with names that sounded as if they had been invented five minutes before a toy catalogue deadline. Beast Man. Trap Jaw. Ram-Man. Fisto. Goat Man. Somehow, all of this became mythology. Not elegant mythology, perhaps, but it was vivid, colourful, and definitely instantly recognisable.

Then came the 1987 live-action film with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor. It was not a hit, but like a lot of strange 1980s fantasy and science-fiction films, it kind of hung around. There weren’t a lot of VHS tapes in the sci-fi or fantasy film section of Blockbusters, so despite not liking it, I watched it more than once. It didn’t really work as a He-Man film, or as a movie non-fans would enjoy.

The new version hits all the right spots

The new 2026 film did it right. It’s not trying to pretend Masters of the Universe is something sophisticated. It is not embarrassed by the silliness, but it does not sneer at it either. The balance spot on. A He-Man film that takes itself completely seriously would be ridiculous. A He-Man film that mocks the whole idea would be pointless. This one mostly understands that the material works best when it is bright, absurd, heroic and just self-aware enough.

It reminded me a bit of how people were mocking Marvel just before Guardians of the Galaxy came out. People claimed there was no possible way they could make a talking tree and a rackoon work in a film. They were wrong. Masters of the Universe is not as good as Guardians, but it gave me a similar vibe, made me laugh, and was a lot of fun.

The cast helps. Galitzine makes Adam likable rather than just muscular, which is harder than it sounds when the character’s main superpower is essentially becoming the most powerful man in the universe. Idris Elba gives Man-At-Arms a bit of weight and presence. Camila Mendes is a solid Teela, and Alison Brie clearly knows what kind of film she is in as Evil-Lyn.

Jared Leto’s Skeletor will probably divide people, but then Skeletor should divide people. He is a skull-faced villain with theatrical insecurity issues. For the record – I loved Skeletor in this film and thought he was perfect.

The film is also funnier than I expected. Some of the jokes are aimed at kids, and some are definitely aimed directly at the adults who used to be kids. That is part of the appeal. This is a children’s fantasy film filtered through forty years of nostalgia, self-awareness and blockbuster training.

Reactions have been positive but mixed – and there’s an obvious reason for that

Critics seem to have been reasonably kind but not overwhelmed. Audiences appear to like it much more. That makes sense to me. If you have no affection for He-Man, this may look like a noisy, expensive pile of glowing swords, old toy references and fantasy nonsense. If you do have affection for He-Man, it feels like someone finally worked out how to turn that nonsense into a proper modern adventure without sanding off all the weird edges.

I can see the flaws. Some of the effects are stronger than others and some characters inevitably get less to do than fans might like. Or not appear at all – Masters of the Universe has a ridiculous bench of heroes, villains, monsters and walking action-figure concepts.

The film also has the obvious problem that its most enthusiastic audience will probably be 10 year old boys and middle aged who watched it as a kid. And not a lot of others.

As one of the latter, I really enjoyed it.

Masters of the Universe is not a film that magically makes He-Man cool to people who never understood the appeal. It is a film for those who do understand it, or at least for those willing to accept a world where a man can raise a sword, shout a catchphrase, and become a hero while everyone around him treats this as basically normal. It’s fun, with just the right amount of fan service while not taking itself too seriously.

By the power of Grayskull! Give it a go.

You can check out the Masters of the Universe 2026 version here. Now in 4k!

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