The most refreshing thing about Masters of the Universe is its sincerity. The film commits to the fantasy, its inherent goofiness, and the childlike wonder of it all. There is no ironic cynicism, self-referential humour, you know, the Marvel-esque ‘this is so corny, amirite?’ zingers. That doesn’t mean it takes itself too seriously. We have plenty of humour that winks at the audience, but none of it ever comes off as an apology. It is not ashamed of its over-the-top imagination. The humour never comes in the way of its whimsy. The lightheartedness invites you to observe and relish the setting's low dimensionality, not to throw eggs at it.
Director: Travis Knight
Cast: Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Morena Baccarin
When the estranged Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) finally returns to Eternia after being in exile on Earth for a decade, he looks at the ruined state of his home city and turns to his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes) to ask, “Why would Skeletor do this?” to which she replies, “What else do you expect from a guy who has a skeleton for a face?” That is the tone of the film, and whether or not you like the film is based on whether the tone works for you. The film keeps pushing Adam to accept reality as it is, and he always pushes back because it was only their version of reality. Back on Earth, nobody believes his crazy backstory of being from a planet with talking tigers and flying ships, and yet, even after years of being on Earth, we see him relentlessly narrating his story to anyone who would listen. In Eternia, even Skeletor comes out and admits that he is just a one-dimensional “villain,” but Adam still takes the time to see if he could reason with Skeletor. There is not too much focus on whether Adam was right or wrong about adamantly (or should I say Adam-adantly) holding on to his beliefs. More often than not, Adam’s defiant hold on his fantasies feels pointless, but the film finds warmth in allowing him to keep his beliefs, whether they are moralistic or simple childlike fantasies. It is best exemplified in the final scene when his friends initially make fun of him for calling himself He-Man, but they are still happy to let him have his fantasy.
Jared Leto has the most fun with his performance as Skeletor. As I mentioned before, he is not an “antagonist”, but a “villain”. We have been bashing “moustache-twirling villains” for so long, but Leto sweeps in to correct the discourse by showing how it is never a bad thing when done right. Skeletor can be cruel, like when he pushes his henchman to bow down and is not satisfied until he keeps pushing him all the way to the floor. He can also be funny, like when Adam commands, “Face me like a man,” to which Skeletor cheekily replies, “First of all I don’t have a face, second of all I don’t want to.” Since he has a skeleton for a face, Leto amplifies the body language, which naturally accentuates the pomposity of the character, which works when he wants to be funny or intimidating.
While the film greatly benefits from its simplicity, it also suffers in places from a lack of intricacy. A lot of things, including Adam’s upbringing on Earth, the lack of detailing in how Adam adapts to his new powers, and the infinite lore potential (the Scorseress, the origin of Greyskull’s powers, Eternia’s ecology etc) are left unexplored. The character designs and the whimsical use of bright colours bring fresh air into modern on-screen fantasy, which has been under the grip of grimdark aesthetics for quite some time. While you are watching He-Man beat Skeletor to a pulp in slow motion, you realise how awesome it looks, but you also understand one thing: Masters of the Universe understands the power fantasy at the heart of He-Man and how the character and his adventures captured the imagination of young boys in the 80s and 90s. The film adaptation is ostensibly aimed at the same demographic, but it is mostly for the adults who grew up watching the He-Man cartoon. It works because it feels like the film is directly talking to your inner child, saying, “You still want to hold that magical sword aloft and scream ‘I have the power’, don’t you?” and you can feel the child nod and smile.
