I saw Masters of the Universe over the weekend and wanted to give my review as a long time fan of the cartoon and the toys.
Born in 1977, I was the exact right age for He-Man and I loved it. I played with the action figures, I watched the cartoon, I had the bed sheets. A person like me is probably exactly who they had in mind when they made this movie and judging by its box office reception, there’s not a lot of us. My kids (21 and 16) have no idea what a He-Man is and the trailer did nothing to arouse their curiosity. My wife agreed to go with me, I assume because this was one of those “bad times” our wedding vows talked about. Then there’s the whole Jared Leto thing. I will admit I passed on the last Tron movie simply because of his involvement and so I don’t blame anyone for not wanting to hear his take on Skeletor. My He-Mania drove me to the theatre this time though and I am glad it did because I loved this movie so much.
I think we can all agree that He-Man is ridiculous. It was an over the top toy line with not much thought given to the back story, but it was also “rad” in the minds of 10 year old boys. Characters like Moss Man, Mekaneck and Fisto are legitimately fucking goofy but the adventures I had with these action figures were epic in my imagination. Somehow this movie manages to capture both sides of He-Man so that you are laughing along with the ridiculousness of it all but they also manage to deliver some truly epic scenes that made the 10 year old in me scream.
I don’t want to spoil the way Masters of the Universe does this because I think it’s actually super clever. The end result is the movie equivalent of air brushed fantasy van art and I mean that as a compliment. It is unabashedly colorful and fun. As a kid I would have just called it rad but then this idea of "cringe" came about and we had to start feeling bad about having fun and liking things. Everyone in this movie knows exactly what movie they are in and they eat it the fuck up. I cannot speak to Jared Leto as a person but I will say without question this is his greatest performance as an actor. It sounds like a joke but I think this was the role he was born to play.
It’s also worth mentioning that Kara liked the move as well. She was laughing through the entire thing and had zero interest before going in. It’s not just nostalgia bait for old men, it’s actually just a great movie period.
I also have to say that they have some incredibly poignant things to say about fatherhood along with the sort of masculinity that was prevalent in the 80’s and how that affected a generation of boys. I am telling you there is no reason this movie should be as good as it is. Masters of the Universe is the perfect parody and magically it is also the ultimate homage. It is the loving sort of teasing that only family can deliver when they know your faults but also love you for them. I encourage anyone on the fence to go see it and be sure to stay in your seat for the post credit scenes that I hope to God they get to deliver on.
-Gabe Out
