Does Masters of the Universe Have the Power for Mainstream Audiences?

By: R.A. Rayne

Masters of the Universe is a fun, nostalgic 2 hours and 12 minutes that takes some of us back to a time before taxes, prostate exams, and having to ask our kids how to unlock our phones, but is it for everyone?

If you were to ask the average Gen Z person who Ram Man, Spikor, and Fisto were, they might ask if they were on OnlyFans or look at you like you’re cringe. If you asked a Gen Alpha the same question, they’d just look at you and say “Six Seven.” Let’s face it, this movie was never meant for them.

Masters of the Universe (MOTU), much to its own detriment, was written for Gen X’ers, or at least that’s what it felt like and how most audiences have perceived it, causing many people to forgo the movie theater experience in order to wait a couple of months for the film to be available to stream. Unfortunately, the box office numbers prove just that. The largest share of viewers during the film’s opening weekend was males aged 40-55, which led to its very low domestic box office draw of $29 million.

Masters of the Universe is a nostalgic Hallmark card to the 1980s cartoon. Travis Knight, a big fan of the original cartoon, directed the film, which was written by Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and David Callaham. While the film had all the tropes, charm, and yes, sexual undertones of the original show, it was not afraid to make fun of itself and call out its silliness. One of the film’s continuous running jokes was the characters’ names, something that, even as a child, I felt was written by a 10-year-old. The film cleverly makes fun of this by having 10-year-old Prince Adam come up with names for each of the “Heroes of Eternia” because he couldn’t remember their real names.

Although it is worth noting that you would think the heir to the throne of Eternos would know the heroes’ real names, but I digress, since Adam was not one for politics or military strategy. In the film, Adam, like Adam in the cartoon, would much rather hang out with his oversized talking cat, Cringer, than go to combat training, but let’s face it, if you had a cat that looked like a green and yellow tiger and talked, you’d rather hang out with him, too. I know I would.

While the self-awareness about how absurd the characters’ names were was funny, and the double entendre, while juvenile, made me snicker, the problem with the “Name Joke” is that Knight and his writers seemed to forget the “Rule of Three,” especially when it comes to comedy. The “Rule of Three” is that you tell a joke only 3 times. The first time is the setup, the second escalates the joke, and the 3rd punches the joke home. MOTU carried the joke throughout the film, and it started to get old when it drove it home at the end. While I enjoyed the joke and laughed at it a few times, it became predictable.

One of the Masters of the Universe’s strengths is its cast. Nicholas Galitzine (Prince Adam / He-Man), Camila Mendes (Teela), Alison Brie (Evil-Lin), James Purefoy (King Randor), Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Fisto), Charlotte Riley (Queen Marlena), Kristen Wiig (Roboto), Morena Baccarin (The Sorceress), Idris Elba (Man at Arms), and Jared Leto (Skeletor). While most of the cast’s performances were good and true to their characters, Jared Leto was the standout, nailing Skeletor. While some of his dialogue was cartoonish, which was the point, Leto’s portrayal of the skull-faced villain was spot on, minus the nasally, high-pitched, screeching cackle. Leto’s live-action voice was raspy, dark, over-dramatic, and a little unhinged, especially with his maniacal laughter.

Another of MOTU’s strengths is its plot. The film didn’t try to do too much or take the audience down some path to deeply explain why Skeletor wanted to destroy Eternia’s capital city, Eternos. As Skeletor tells Adam, “He has no deep-seated trauma or need for revenge. He is the villain.” Which to me makes the character even more interesting. Like the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Skeletor is an agent of Chaos, who only wants to sit upon his throne of anarchy and watch the world burn. Skeletor wants to ruin people’s lives, and acquiring the Sword of Power will ‘give him the power’ so that no one can stop him.

Knowing this, the Sorceress, the guardian of Grayskull, sends Prince Adam and the Sword of Power to Earth to keep them from falling into the hands of Skeletor and his evil horde. While we, the audience, don’t spend much time on Earth, Adam spends 15 years here. As the movie jumps fifteen years into the future, we find Adam working as a Human Resources rep, a kind man who is good at his job despite his obsession with reclaiming his sword and returning to Eternia. Once Adam finds the Sword of Power and returns home, he must embrace his destiny by becoming the “Champion of Grayskull” and saving his planet from the evil forces of Skeletor.

Master of the Universe is a fun film, packed with nostalgia, Easter eggs, and references to previous films, comic books, cartoons, and memes. Unlike the previous live-action film, this adaptation stays true to its origins, which might be its downfall. The film’s post-credits scenes set up the franchise’s future.

Let’s just hope the box office numbers don’t keep us from getting more films. Yes, MOTU has some issues, so do most films, but from what I hear, ‘the sequel is almost always better.’