(Masters of the Universe Official Movie poster, from Wikipedia)
I usually don't do movie reviews on this blog, and if I do, it's for movies that have some kind of Biblical theme. It feels almost sacrilegious to be doing a review of "Masters of the Universe" on this blog. I know there's a lot going on in the world and I AM going to share my thoughts on current events regarding Israel, Iran, Hezbollah and all the rest soon. But this movie actually had some things to say which I found worthy of comment.
By the way, I saw it kind of by accident because my wife wanted to go to the movies and see something else but the movie she wanted had been bumped up by a few days so this is the movie we chose as an alternative. I don't think I'd have gone out of my way to see this movie, and I don't go to the movies very often anymore.
By the way, I saw it kind of by accident because my wife wanted to go to the movies and see something else but the movie she wanted had been bumped up by a few days so this is the movie we chose as an alternative. I don't think I'd have gone out of my way to see this movie, and I don't go to the movies very often anymore.
In fact, I am so out of touch with popular culture that I hadn't even known this movie was available until an hour or so before we went in to see it. I had no expectations whatsoever, but as soon as the opening credits started rolling and I saw the the toy company Mattel was involved in its production, I somehow had a feeling that it was going to be something I'd enjoy. I have no idea why, but that just kind of reassured me somehow.
So with that in mind, let's get into the review.
The first thing I'll say about this movie is that if you didn't watch the He-Man cartoons back in the 1980s, there are a lot of inside jokes and Easter eggs which will go right past you. Also, if you didn't watch the last He-Man movie with Dolph Lundgren playing the protagonist you might also miss a few things, including the cameo Dolph has in this film.
This movie actually reminded me a lot of TOP GUN Maverick and also the Cobra Kai series on Netflix, in that it is trying to use whimsical humor and 80s nostalgia to tackle some of the more absurd elements of "woke" nonsense that have failed so miserably to address the legitimate issues of "toxic masculinity" and over the top macho nonsense that the Feminist movement has raised and, in truth, has come to define itself as being against.
Aside from that, this movie actually has a lot of very positive messages, including the fact that masculinity is not necessarily toxic, that a "real man" uses violence only to protect the innocent from the evil (and that evil DOES exist, it's not a joke or a metaphor) and that a "real man" has to be ready to do that when "dialogue" has failed, although there's no harm in TRYING dialogue because sometimes it can be useful and helpful. This movie also has a lot of positive things to say about fatherhood and father figures, for both men and women.
Above all, this movie is not "woke" and it's also not "MAGA".
It actually makes a very brave and even noble attempt at a sensible, common sense, cultural middle ground, and these days that's pretty much exactly where I'm at.
I can't fail to mention that it also makes some REALLY profound philosophical statements for a movie based on a cartoon.
One such statement that the movie makes, although not explicitly, is that both men and women have lost the plot, forgotten who they are and also who they aren't, and this confusion is causing everything to be out of balance, allowing evil actors to do tremendous damage to the world we all have to live in. In order to overcome that evil, we've got to "get behind ourselves and stop putting up a false front" as the movie's moral compass character very specifically tells the protagonist early in the film.
That's some good advice for all of us, even if it's not particularly Scriptural.
Another comment I heard a comedian make about this film is that "it teaches us that there's nothing wrong with America in 2026 that can't be solved by re-watching the TV shows we were watching in 1986."
I'm not sure that's true, but it's definitely a point worthy of contemplation.
In any case, I give "Masters' of the Universe" five stars. I enjoyed it immensely and I'm sure you will too, especially if you watched the cartoons back in the day. You can still enjoy it if you didn't watch the cartoons, but it helps if you did.