Director
Travis Knight
Travis Knight
Cast
Nicholas Galitzine - Adam Glenn / He-Man
Jared Leto - Skeletor
Camila Mendes - Teela
Idris Elba - Man-At-Arms
Alison Brie - Evil-Lyn
James Purefoy - King Randor
Charlotte Riley - Queen Marlena
Morena Baccarin - the Sorceress
Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson - Fisto
Jon Xue Zhang - Ram-Man
Sam C. Wilson - Trap Jaw
James Wilkinson - Mekaneck
Nicholas Galitzine - Adam Glenn / He-Man
Jared Leto - Skeletor
Camila Mendes - Teela
Idris Elba - Man-At-Arms
Alison Brie - Evil-Lyn
James Purefoy - King Randor
Charlotte Riley - Queen Marlena
Morena Baccarin - the Sorceress
Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson - Fisto
Jon Xue Zhang - Ram-Man
Sam C. Wilson - Trap Jaw
James Wilkinson - Mekaneck
So, they needed an idea for a competing toyline. “He-Man” was that idea.
Adam, Prince of Eternia and defender of the secrets of Castle Grayskull, is the main hero in the line who turns into He-Man when he holds aloft his magic sword and says, "By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!"
He-Man protects Eternia against the evil lord Skeletor and all his partners in crime.
Those action figures were bigger and more muscular than those stiff-necked Star Wars action figures. Plus, the He-Man toys had special battle actions they could perform.
And while Luke Skywalker had “the Force,” He-Man had “the Power” by the Power of Grayskull.
It was a successful idea.
Plus, like all the crazy-looking aliens in the Star Wars galaxy, He-Man has quite a cast of weird-looking fellow heroes and villains, such as Moss Man, Mer-Man, Beast Man, Mekaneck, Trap Jaw, a skunk-looking character named Stinkor, and so on. There’s even a bee man named “Buzz-Off.” Tell me that idea wasn’t hastily conjured up.
The toys led to the cartoon series produced by a company called Filmation Associates, which ran for two seasons from 1983 until 1985, with 65 episodes each season.
The spin-off cartoon “She-Ra: Princess of Power,” which follows He-Man's twin sister, Princess Adora, dropped in 1985 and also ran for two seasons, until 1987. The company obviously wanted something marketable for the young girls in the audiences.
A reboot series, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” aired on Cartoon Network starting in 2002 and ran for two seasons, until 2004.
In 2021, Netflix released the series “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” along with a follow-up series called “Masters of the Universe: Revolution” in 2024.
It was a successful idea.
Plus, like all the crazy-looking aliens in the Star Wars galaxy, He-Man has quite a cast of weird-looking fellow heroes and villains, such as Moss Man, Mer-Man, Beast Man, Mekaneck, Trap Jaw, a skunk-looking character named Stinkor, and so on. There’s even a bee man named “Buzz-Off.” Tell me that idea wasn’t hastily conjured up.
The toys led to the cartoon series produced by a company called Filmation Associates, which ran for two seasons from 1983 until 1985, with 65 episodes each season.
The spin-off cartoon “She-Ra: Princess of Power,” which follows He-Man's twin sister, Princess Adora, dropped in 1985 and also ran for two seasons, until 1987. The company obviously wanted something marketable for the young girls in the audiences.
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| Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam in "Masters of the Universe." |
In 2021, Netflix released the series “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” along with a follow-up series called “Masters of the Universe: Revolution” in 2024.
One last point. This isn’t the first theatrical film based on the toy line.
An animated film, “He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword,” hit theaters in 1985.
A live-action film, "Masters of the Universe" premiered in theaters two years later, starring Dolph Lundgren as Prince Adam/He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, and Courtney Cox. While being quite an ’80s gem, the movie was, for all practical purposes, a cinematic flop.
It teased a possible sequel, but that never happened.
That takes us to this new movie.
“Masters of the Universe” starts with Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) in his youth. His parents, King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley), are forced to send him away from their home world of Eternia to Earth for his protection. The evil sorcerer Skeletor (Jared Leto) is waging war to conquer Eternia and kidnap Adam’s parents.
They send a magical sword with him called the Sword of Power, also known as the Sword of Castle Grayskull (the central location of Eternia), which can take him back to Eternia. However, he loses it during the trip to Earth.
Fifteen years go by, Adam lives a typical bachelor life somewhere in Oklahoma. He spends his days working in HR at some office and searching for the Sword of Power.
After getting a random tip-off about the Sword’s location, he finds and steals it.
An animated film, “He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword,” hit theaters in 1985.
A live-action film, "Masters of the Universe" premiered in theaters two years later, starring Dolph Lundgren as Prince Adam/He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, and Courtney Cox. While being quite an ’80s gem, the movie was, for all practical purposes, a cinematic flop.
It teased a possible sequel, but that never happened.
That takes us to this new movie.
“Masters of the Universe” starts with Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) in his youth. His parents, King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley), are forced to send him away from their home world of Eternia to Earth for his protection. The evil sorcerer Skeletor (Jared Leto) is waging war to conquer Eternia and kidnap Adam’s parents.
They send a magical sword with him called the Sword of Power, also known as the Sword of Castle Grayskull (the central location of Eternia), which can take him back to Eternia. However, he loses it during the trip to Earth.
Fifteen years go by, Adam lives a typical bachelor life somewhere in Oklahoma. He spends his days working in HR at some office and searching for the Sword of Power.
After getting a random tip-off about the Sword’s location, he finds and steals it.
Adam is soon reunited with Teela (Camila Mendes), the daughter of King Randor’s general, Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), whom he trained in defense with during his youth before leaving for Earth.
When Adam returns to Eternia, Skeletor has pretty much conquered everything. All of Adam’s old pals are imprisoned. The place looks like a wasteland. And all seems lost.
Then Adam discovers something about himself. He learns that the Power of Grayskull actually exists within himself rather than within the sword. Now that he can change to He-Man, it’s up to him to battle and defeat Skeletor and regain control of Eternia.
In my cartoon-watching youth, I wasn’t as much into “He-Man." I watched the cartoon now and then, but I was much more a devotee of “Thundercats." I dug Third Earth more than Eternia. Lion-O, Panthro, Jaga, and Tygra were more my thing. Also, I think Mumm-Ra is a much more intimidating villain than Skeletor. Snarf!
When Adam returns to Eternia, Skeletor has pretty much conquered everything. All of Adam’s old pals are imprisoned. The place looks like a wasteland. And all seems lost.
Then Adam discovers something about himself. He learns that the Power of Grayskull actually exists within himself rather than within the sword. Now that he can change to He-Man, it’s up to him to battle and defeat Skeletor and regain control of Eternia.
In my cartoon-watching youth, I wasn’t as much into “He-Man." I watched the cartoon now and then, but I was much more a devotee of “Thundercats." I dug Third Earth more than Eternia. Lion-O, Panthro, Jaga, and Tygra were more my thing. Also, I think Mumm-Ra is a much more intimidating villain than Skeletor. Snarf!
Still, I knew what He-Man was all about. And some of my pals had the action figures.
Nevertheless, this movie is enjoyable. So much so, I’m eager to see a sequel.
There’s a slight self-deprecating humor to the movie, as it occasionally laughs at itself. Some of that comes from Adam’s fish-out-of-water demeanor, both on Earth and in Eternia. It’s done playfully without over-doing it.
Despite the goofiness brought about by the cartoon, with characters that often feel hastily conjured up to compete as quickly as possible with “Star Wars,” this movie still manages to be a worthwhile entertaining picture that both respects and ribs, just a little, the source material.
The writers give Skeletor a much more treacherous mean streak, which Jared Leto’s voice acting has a lot to do with. He's not just sinister. Skeletor is out-right evil!
Nevertheless, this movie is enjoyable. So much so, I’m eager to see a sequel.
There’s a slight self-deprecating humor to the movie, as it occasionally laughs at itself. Some of that comes from Adam’s fish-out-of-water demeanor, both on Earth and in Eternia. It’s done playfully without over-doing it.
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| Jared Leto as the voice of Skeletor. |
The writers give Skeletor a much more treacherous mean streak, which Jared Leto’s voice acting has a lot to do with. He's not just sinister. Skeletor is out-right evil!
Thankfully he sounds like a villain this time instead of sounding like a cartoonish bully who speaks through his nasal passage as he does in the cartoon.
Also, I certainly appreciated seeing strong masculinity play a key factor in He-Man’s heroism and victory. I’m all for that. Long live the patriarchy! And bring back masculine men, too, while we’re at it.
Whoever cast Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms deserves applause. He plays a tough and authoritative character, being the king’s Man-At-Arms, with an enthusiasm that shows Elba is clearly enjoying the role. Elba is a great casting decision!
The story starts to drag in the middle of the move with too much dialogue and too many lessons to learn about being oneself, blah blah blah. But it picks up as tension builds between Skeletor and He-Man, culminating in a face-off.
The movie of course is a lot of fan service sprinkled with some nice touches such as all the good guys at the end standing around laughing after the conclusion of the dilemma, followed by Orko (He-Man’s floating wizard sidekick in the cartoons) summing up today’s lesson.
The movie also throws in a cameo from Dolph Lundgren along with the inclusion of the song “What’s Going On” by 4 Non Blondes. If you know, you know.
There’s not too much to take away from the movie outside of its entertainment value save for a few rather bland platitudes about being yourself and all that. Regardless, the movie has a certain charm and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fun, lively, colorful, satirical of modern society, and doesn’t hold back on the villainous side of the story, which makes Prince Adam/He-Man all the more heroic.
The best I can say is, I liked it.
Also, I certainly appreciated seeing strong masculinity play a key factor in He-Man’s heroism and victory. I’m all for that. Long live the patriarchy! And bring back masculine men, too, while we’re at it.
Whoever cast Idris Elba as Man-At-Arms deserves applause. He plays a tough and authoritative character, being the king’s Man-At-Arms, with an enthusiasm that shows Elba is clearly enjoying the role. Elba is a great casting decision!
The story starts to drag in the middle of the move with too much dialogue and too many lessons to learn about being oneself, blah blah blah. But it picks up as tension builds between Skeletor and He-Man, culminating in a face-off.
The movie of course is a lot of fan service sprinkled with some nice touches such as all the good guys at the end standing around laughing after the conclusion of the dilemma, followed by Orko (He-Man’s floating wizard sidekick in the cartoons) summing up today’s lesson.
The movie also throws in a cameo from Dolph Lundgren along with the inclusion of the song “What’s Going On” by 4 Non Blondes. If you know, you know.
There’s not too much to take away from the movie outside of its entertainment value save for a few rather bland platitudes about being yourself and all that. Regardless, the movie has a certain charm and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fun, lively, colorful, satirical of modern society, and doesn’t hold back on the villainous side of the story, which makes Prince Adam/He-Man all the more heroic.
The best I can say is, I liked it.
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