By the power of Grayskull! You will have the power! In this fun live-action reboot of the franchise.
After numerous false starts from various studios since the cancellation of the sequel to the 1987 Dolph Lundgren version, Masters of the Universe finally returns in 2026 to defend Eternia from Skeletor and his hench people in this fun action-packed film.
The film begins in Eternia with young Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) and young Teela (Eire Farrell) being instructed in combat by Duncan (Idris Elba). Young Prince Adam is the smallest in the combat class and he believes his father, King Randor (James Purefoy) is disappointed by his lack of skills.
Eternia is attacked by Skeletor (Jared Leto) and his army seeking the Sword of Power that mythically holds the power of the universe, but his attempt is thwarted when The Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) creates a portal that transports young Prince Adam and the Sword of Power to modern day Oklahoma. Although young Prince Adam is told never to lose the sword, he immediately loses it in the transit through the portal.
The film then moves on 15 years later where older Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) works in HR but is constantly dreaming about Eternia and searching for the sword. He tells his story that he is a prince from Eternia, much to people’s disbelief, and he finally finds the sword in a nerdy collectables shop. However, in finding the sword, an alert is sent to Eternia that attracts a creature sent by Skeletor to get the sword and also brings older Teela (Camila Mendes) to help and to bring Adam back to Eternia.
Director Travis Knight pays respects to the origins of the franchise of Masters of the Universe including a very special guest appearance and the soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton and Queen guitarist Brian May featuring the very 80’s inspired theme song by The Darkness. However the storyline of this film doesn’t require any great insight into the original franchise making it accessible to new fans as well as old.
Knight is no stranger to live-action, previously directing Bumblebee in 2018, and the action in Masters of the Universe is well executed and engaging to watch. Visually it is also well crafted with the special effects being almost seamless and spectacular.
Galitzine in the lead is good, jumping from the split roles of Earth/HR Adam to He-Man Adam well. He and Mendes, along with Elba, perform the action sequences very well, as do the rest of the cast.
Rebooting Masters of the Universe in 2026 is an interesting choice by Amazon MGM Studios, however this is an entertaining live-action film which hopefully finds an audience.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating 3.5 out of 5
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
