WALRUS SCORE: C+
I know what you’re thinking… “A C+? That’s actually pretty generous.”
Trust me—it is. For a movie with this many problems, a C+ is practically an achievement.
So why not a D?
Because Masters of the Universe has something a lot of bad movies don’t…
It’s fun.
The movie made me smile. That’s really the simplest way to put it. And let’s be honest—if you’re an 8-year-old kid, this could absolutely become your Star Wars.
I was a little too old when the He-Man craze exploded, but my younger brother—who’s six years younger than I am—was right in the sweet spot. We spent countless hours playing with the action figures, and I watched plenty of the cartoon with him. I even took him to see the original Dolph Lundgren movie back in the day.
So getting to revisit Eternia was a blast. Seeing characters like Man-at-Arms, Trap Jaw, Fisto, and Ram Man brought to life with modern visual effects was genuinely entertaining. The vehicles looked fantastic, the action had some real energy, and there were several moments where I caught myself grinning like a kid again.
So…
What went wrong?
One word: Tone.
This movie has absolutely no idea what it wants to be.
One minute it’s embracing its campy Saturday morning cartoon roots. The next it’s trying to be an emotional nostalgia trip. You’ll get a genuinely cool sword fight backed by an epic score… immediately followed by awkward sexual innuendo. Then another joke. And another. Before a dramatic scene? Joke. During an emotional speech? Joke. Right after an important battle? Believe it or not… another joke.
It’s exhausting.
The frustrating part is that underneath all of that, you can actually see glimpses of a really good movie. It’s like watching someone constantly interrupt a great story with bad stand-up comedy.
The cast deserved better.
The actor playing He-Man is genuinely likable—even if he isn’t built like the mountain of muscles the character is famous for. Idris Elba is… well… Idris Elba. He’s great in almost everything. And Jared Leto? Say what you want about him personally, but he’s an inspired choice for Skeletor. I also thought the way the film explained how many of the characters got their names was surprisingly clever, even if the movie wasn’t always consistent with its own ideas.
More than anything, I’d love to sit down with the writers and director and ask them why they made some of these creative decisions. Seriously. I could spend five hours in a film class dissecting this movie. There’s so much that almost works… and that’s what makes it so fascinating.
So…
Is Masters of the Universe worth watching?
Absolutely.
Will I ever watch it again?
Probably not.
But if you’re between 6 and 10 years old? I think this movie is going to absolutely blow your mind. And honestly… that’s probably who it was made for.
