Movie Review: Masters of the Universe (2026)
Synopsis: When his home planet of Eternia is attacked by an army led by the skull-faced villain, Skeletor, Prince Adam is tasked with protecting the Sword of Power and sent through a portal that takes him to the planet Earth. Fifteen years later, Adam is working in a human resources department while searching for the sword, which he lost along the way. When he finally finds it, he returns to his home planet with the help of his childhood friend, Teela and discovers the sword can turn him into a mighty warrior. However, that might not be enough to beat Skeletor.
Who's in it? The movie stars Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto and Alison Brie.
Review: While I know there are those who don't share this opinion, I think the 1987 version of Masters of the Universe isn't as bad as people say it is. Despite that, when I saw they were once again attempting to make a live-action version of the cartoon I grew up with, I was admittedly skeptical. However, despite plenty of doubts, my wife and I ended up watching it tonight.
As it turns out, I liked it.
Let me start out by saying, if you think a live-action film needs to stay 100 percent true to the source material, this probably isn't going to be the film for you. It has many of the same characters (some of which I had to look up to refresh my memory) and mostly the same basic plot. The film, however, also takes plenty of liberties as well, some that don't work (more on that in a bit) but are mostly good.
In particular, I liked how the film made Adam (Galitzine) a bit of a screw up. Some of this was because he was a runt as a child. Some of it was he grew up on Earth with people telling him his stories about Eternia were just his imagination. And some of it was him getting a great deal of power but not quite knowing how to wield it. It was a combination that made him funny but also made him about as believable as a character holding a magical sword that turned him super strong could be.
I also liked how, despite his new-found power, Adam, Teela (Mendes) and the rest of their group were still the underdogs. Skeletor (Leto), while a bit of a goof at times, was powerful too. Plus, he had both an army and his witch, Evil-Lyn (Brie), which made him seem unstoppable at times. The ending wasn't nearly as predictable as it could have been as a result.
Will I enjoyed watching it, the film was far from perfect. There was a lot of CGI, to the point I'd argue it was overused (what's the point of being live action if it looks like a cartoon?). And, while I didn't necessarily mind the sexual innuendos scattered throughout the film, it was starting to feel as though someone let their middle schooler write some of the dialog.
I also wished the movie would have given us a bit more background about Adam's life on Earth. It shows him arriving as a child and then skips ahead to him as an adult. Who raised him? For that matter, how did his mom, who was from Earth, get to Eternia and did she still have family on her home planet? It wasn't anything that hurt the movie. It just made me curious what parts were being left out.
Final Opinion: It's probably not a movie for die-hard He-man fans who take their fandom seriously. However, I thought it was an entertaining film and would recommend it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 2026:
Movie Review: Scary Movie (2026)
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