Does 'Masters of the Universe' have the power?

Kinda. Sorta. And only by mistake.

You remember He-Man, right? The 80s toy franchise-turned-cartoon?

No?

Well this film is counting on you to remember and absolutely love He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, because it is an unapologetic nostalgia trip trying to be Barbie, but for boys.

And sometimes, it actually works. In spite of itself.

Masters of the Universe (2026) follows Adam, a Prince of Eternia who was sent to Earth as a young boy following the conquest of his father’s kingdom by the nefarious Skeletor. For fifteen years, Adam searches for the sword he lost on the journey which has the power to take him home, while also trying to navigate a corporate job and the mundanities of modern life. The first 20 minutes or so of this movie are incredibly satirical, essentially portraying our own planet as a dystopia and openly mocking HR culture, preferred pronouns, and the metrosexual masculinity that has dominated American city life for at least 15 years now. He-Man is not allowed to become a man, instead staying a stunted man-child obsessed with childish drawings and unable to make meaningful connections with others. I was honestly shocked by this particular sequence: it is so counter-cultural and honestly critical of our current cultural zeitgeist that I was stunned I was seeing it on a movie screen.

The return to Eternia is also quite fun and the film introduces its incredibly wacky cast of characters with a respectable balance of seriousness and humor, not completely undercutting the narrative but ensuring we know the filmmakers are in on the joke. There’s a shoddy nobility to the whole enterprise which is admirable, and despite myself I began to thoroughly enjoy the film, despite how hit-and-miss the writing and muddled the message is. Skeletor is appropriately campy, playing the evil villain with panache and even a twinge of pathos that was unexpected in a movie this obviously shallow.

The movie’s biggest problem is that it is at war with itself. On the one hand, it contains a good bit of honest satire about the mess that is urban American masculinity in 2026 and a call to recover some of the manly virtues of the past, including a willingness to sacrifice and protect the good of civilization. On the other hand, it wants to give a mealy-mouthed sermon about how dialogue is always better than violence and we have to try and understand everyone and get along and tolerate each other. On the other other hand, it recognizes that some people are just downright evil (one clue could be the naked skull for a head) and need to be punched into oblivion in order to defeat them. Tonally and thematically it’s all over the place, like a secret trad conservative dude wanted to make a cool movie about He-Man but the studio HR overladies made him put corporate-approved power of dialogue messaging in it. And then made sure it was marketed horrendously so no one would see it anyway.

It’s a shame because when the movie is good, it’s quite enjoyable and even (gasp) thematically rich, but it undercuts itself at every turn leaving the viewer confused and at times uncomfortable. I’d still encourage people to go see it (older teens and up; there is some PG-13 cussing throughout) because it is overall entertaining and I think there is some value to be gleaned from it. And the soundtrack absolutely rocks.