By Marc S. Sanders
You should never expect much from a movie about a hero who calls himself He-Man and allies with guys known as Ram Man and Fisto. If you are demanding too much, it’s not the movie. It’s you.
Based on the famous Mattel toy line and after school cartoon of the 1980s, an updated cinematic interpretation of Masters Of The Universe arrives in theaters. It’s fun, designed for all ages and is proudly self-deprecating and stupid. I mean all of this as a compliment. The MacGuffin is the well-known power sword. Why does the villain, Skeletor, want possession of the weapon and control over all of Eternia? Teela, the warrior goddess, played by Camila Mendes sums it up perfectly. “He’s bad!”
Okay, then!
Director Travis Knight clearly wants to salute all of the action figures and animated episodes that never weighed heavily into drama and concluded with a valuable lesson. Prince Adam, who is destined to be He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, is never mired in unbearable anguish like Bruce Wayne or Peter Parker. This invented fiction has the powerful Sorceress of Castle Greyskull (Morena Baccarin) sending young Adam to Earth after Skeletor and his minions besiege Eternia. He’s played by Jared Leto, who you’d never recognize behind an effective hooded skull head with beady red eyes.
On Earth, Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is separated from the power sword, and years go by where he is relegated to a dead-end cubicle job. He hopelessly searches for the item online while reminiscing of where he came from. Shortly after he finds the sword, a beast of a man attacks him on the city streets and then he’s escorted back to Eternia by Teela. Once Adam is caught up with everything that’s occurred in his absence, he must find a way to wield his sword so that he can be transformed into the heroic He-Man and rescue Eternia back from the clutches of the vile Skeletor.
Masters Of The Universe never hesitates to poke fun at itself. Skeletor delivers an evil laugh and when no one joins in, he whines about it. He exacts his frustrations with his underlings but it equates to terminology on a nincompoop level. Sidekick Evil Lyn (Allison Brie dressed bewitchingly) offers up apologies but she never gets slinky and sly like Michelle Pfeffer would.
You just gotta laugh at all of this. Either that or walk out and see the Brendan Frasier WWII film Pressure in the theater next door. This fantasy is especially designed for its longtime fans and the children they passed their toys and playsets down to. It is unfair to expect anything more.
Idris Elba is here as mentor Man At Arms. He’s doing comedy. Elba is not trying very hard because nothing in this script demands impactful dialogue or emotions. At best, he’s a depressed, hungover drunk who has lost his way. That’s fine.
Camila Mendes does the best work of the bunch. She looks primed for a promising career, and I would not be surprised if she earns her own action franchise one day.
Nicholas Galitzine is likable but he’s not effectively dorky enough with the part. It could be because he’s not as strong an actor as a Chris Hemsworth or a Channing Tatum. At the start of their careers, they would have taken this material further. Galitzine is fine but not as talented or endearing as those other guys. His physique does not promise a “He-Man” either. He’s not tall enough. He’s too petite to be the actual He-Man – the MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE UNIVERSE. It’s forgivable but it could have been better, stronger, and more imposing.
The designs in makeup, costumes and set pieces are wonderous. The vehicles make sense for fantasy and look familiar enough for the toy collectors. The names of people like Trap Jaw, Tri-Klops and Moss Man, earned by the appearance of these silly warriors and the aesthetics, all work nicely. Eternia is not as breathtaking as Thor’s Asgard, but there’s plenty to take in. Castle Greyskull is not as colorful as the memorable toy but it’s a giant of a structure. I would have liked to explore more of it actually. Have the drawbridge come down. Show me the trap door in the floor. Skeletor’s lair, Snake Mountain, is magnificent and brooding. This might all be CGI, but the designs are magnificent. More features from both well-known settings would have been welcome though. When you see the internals of the Death Star in Star Wars, you see how things operate. The lairs of Eternia needed more of this.
Masters Of The Universe is a fun romp. The film could have been at least a half hour shorter in run time by offering a little less on Adam finding his self-identity and purpose. When the adolescence of this movie attempts to get in touch with its feelings, the movie (not the story because there isn’t a story) drifts. Try all you want, but I will not take any of this seriously. So, abandon all the heaviness. It does not work. Some lines have a little sexual innuendo. Forgive it. Remember, there are characters named Ram Man and Fisto!!!! To ignore that would have been a disservice.
Travis Knight keeps the movie engaging when he circles back to the various battles and ships and swords and laser guns and silly Loony Tunes dialogue. You realize this when dorky Adam raises the sword and declares “BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL…” Every time that happened, a kid sitting in front of me raised both fists in the air, blocking my view for a second. I did not mind one bit. Masters Of The Universe touched someone.
Go see it. It’s fun!
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 