Out this week in Irish cinemas is Masters of the Universe, the latest cinematic outing for He-Man. Starring Nicholas Galitzine, Masters of the Universe follows Prince Adam of Eternia (Galitzine) as he tries to get home to rescue his people from the heinous clutches of the dastardly devil Skeletor (Jared Leto).
I was never a fan of He-Man; I found him a bit too plain, honestly. In the era of cartoons were toy ads, he lost to his peers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Transformers. However, I was a fan of his 80s outing with Dolph Lundgren; Frank Langella as Skeletor was iconic. Now, several decades later, He-Man has returned to the big screen, and it is bloody brilliant.
Director Travis Knight had a herculean task ahead of him. Make a He-Man film in the modern day and have it cater to the needs of the fans as well as be accessible enough for general audiences. I believe that Knight has achieved this, mostly. This is mainly thanks to how he balances the over-the-top nature of He-Man and the world he comes from, meshing with a story about what makes a man. Throughout Masters of the Universe, Adam is faced with this challenge. He should be normal, not telling people about his unique origin; he should be the unwavering and powerful champion of Eternia. He is told almost constantly what he should be from an early age, and it feeds into this emotional narrative of what is expected of men.
Adam is the perfect avatar for all of this, bolstered by a charming performance from Galitzine. Galitzine is the beating heart of Masters of the Universe. You cheer him on in his successes, you worry for him with his failures. He suits the everyman that is Adam, and embodies the presence that is necessary for He-Man. It truly is The Hero’s Journey. And with Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), Teela (Camila Mendes) and Roboto (Kristen Wiig) in tow, he’ll save Eternia.
I am a devil, but I aim to be a god
As the perfect foil to the naive champion of Eternia is its deliciously despicable despot, Skeletor. One of the major sticking points put against Masters of the Universe was the casting of Leto. I am happy to report that Leto is easily the MVP. He commands every scene he enters, ripping the scenery apart with a performance that mixes Terence Stamp’s Zod and David Bowie’s Jareth. If Galitzine is the beating heart of Masters of the Universe, Leto is the flaming rhythm of that beat. His scene partner, Evil-Lyn (Brie), is a lot of fun too, bouncing off his prickly persona with glee.
The rest of the cast is a mixed bunch. Teela (Mendez) and Man-At-Arms (Elba) have a compelling father-daughter dynamic. He was her hero, and he fell from that pedestal. It’s a compelling subplot, and they both play it off well. The other characters, Ram-Man, Fisto, etc., are relatively one-note, but they still serve a purpose, and it adds to the cheeky comedy that is within Masters of the Universe. It doesn’t always land, but when it does, it’s great.
Helping the forces of good and evil clash is some of the most compelling fight choreography I’ve seen in a while. The cinematography is clean, and watching the battles is a lot of fun. One of the highlights of the film comes from He-Man clashing with the forces of Skeletor, showcasing him as a one-man army. Then there is the climactic confrontation of the film, and it’s a lot of fun with a wonderful full-circle moment for Adam.
Masters of the Universe balances the silliness and camp nature of the He-Man mythos well to tell a story about what it means to be a hero.
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