By Jasmine Ong
As someone who has family members born in the eighties, I have had my fair share of exposure to the culture of the era, from the music to the clothes and even the television programmes. But, being super familiar with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe… I was not.
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
Even though I was worried about going in to watch the film with zero context, my worries were for naught as Masters of the Universe does a brilliant job of catching you up to speed through a concise and informative version of the backstory through Adam’s (played by Nicholas Galitzine) recounting of his younger years in his home planet of Eternia, where he was eventually evacuated from, after it was attacked by Skeletor (voiced by Jared Leto) and his army.
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
From the get-go, the story was easy to digest and fast-paced, not wasting any time on filler scenes or unnecessary dialogue. Instead, we were treated to campy and action-packed scenarios, witty dialogue (and puns), and a fantastic soundtrack that does justice to a beloved ‘80s cartoon.
I particularly liked that the characters’ names were weaved into the story from Adam’s point of view, which really helped with easing the introduction of the many characters that Masters of the Universe has. It also made for quite a few guffaws when these characters related their names to their powers in an innocent but obviously inappropriate way.
Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
While I may not have knowledge of past portrayals to compare to (except maybe clips of the cartoon), I really liked how Nicholas’ portrayed Adam, introducing layers to the character and injecting new life with his charm and nuances.
The rest of the cast had great comedic timing too, which worked hilariously well when it came time for the slow hero-walk montage that quickly went from super cool to super funny in less than 30 seconds.
Keep an eye (and ear) out for nods to the animated version of He-Man too, which I really loved. From the use of “What’s Up” by the 4 Non Blondes that went viral as part of a He-Man meme, to the hilarious re-enactment of an ‘80s cartoon laughing scene — it felt like they knew what the adult audiences would enjoy and they delivered.
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
Though I can’t say that I am a complete He-Man fan convert after watching the movie, I can say, however, that I really enjoyed this reimagined version of the beloved series.
Even though Masters of the Universe has been updated for the new generation, it still retained its vibe and humor from the past, which was what made it so entertaining and quite possibly one of your top watches of 2026?
You can watch the trailer for Masters of the Universe below.
