Masters of the Universe (2026) Review: Metal '80s bliss
I've never watched an episode of He-Man, and my only true exposure to the franchise is the 1987 film, which, while it looked dope as crap, was a rough experience. This is due to the unfortunate fact that I'm 19 and have had nowhere near as much time to knock out the backlog as other cinephiles. However, this was ranked among my top five most anticipated films of the year. For some reason, the elementary/middle school teacher side of me took over, and ever since the first trailer, I've had a grin on my face and a tear in my eye.
I've imagined all the kids around the world who played with toys in the 80s, and how wonderfully it translated; I just felt that this film was going to be something truly special! While Travis Knight may be the son of a rich dad, he's a legend for bringing such lovingly crafted films to the screen for years, prioritizing execution over revenue. This year is full of film experiences that have made me emotional to go out and support, from Iron Lung to Mortal Kombat II to Obsession to Backrooms, and now this: films that feel like they've fought against all odds to become these massive phenomena that deserve their success due to their importance to so many fans around the world.
While the box office numbers have been very disheartening to see so far, what isn't disheartening is how this film beautifully lived up to the lofty, emotionally charged expectations I had for it. Thanks for joining me on The Reel Ranker, and I hope you have a great time seeing this overly sappy 19-year-old ramble about how rad this movie is.
I've only got a couple of negatives with this film. Firstly, there were a couple of small instances where the pacing slowed, but not in a way that felt beneficial for fleshing out the film or providing some breathing room. Secondly, the film had a major emotional moment that felt super rushed, forced, and out of nowhere. Nobody really reacted to it, either. And, honestly, I think that this film would've been better without that. Lastly, this film had a couple of instances of bathos that felt super awkward and undercut the tension.
Regardless of some small speed bumps along the way, this film was an extraordinary time at the cinema, a true theatrical extravaganza, and a holistic upgrade over the 1987 film in every way, as much of a classic as that film may be. This film leans more into comedy than MCU films and other recent blockbusters, and thrives off the unique, bizarro nature of He-Man comedy. The whole theater was rowdily guffawing throughout the film, and I can't think of a single joke that didn't land. Skeletor was hilarious; the sparse male-genitalia jokes were surprisingly effective; He-Man as an HR rep had me keeling over; Sasheer Zamata as Suzie is one of the funniest characters I've ever seen in a movie (consensually...); Hussein steals the screen in the couple of scenes he's in; the style of laughing at the end referencing the original series wonderfully (according to my dad); and the film's self-awareness about how silly the character names are is fantástico.
However, that comedic focus doesn't come at the expense of the action department! It's a phenomenal time, seeing every character in full action without any loss of the source material's flair. Gritty, grounded, and realistic adaptations can be great, but if this film didn't fully commit to the bit, it wouldn't have been one of the most magical films I've seen in a while. Every action sequence was so awesome here! There are swords and sorcery, spaceship battles, beasts trying to rip each other's heads off, fish-out-of-water sequences, and so much more. No character's unique abilities are disappointing, and they're all given just enough screen time to be awesome without detracting from the fact that it's He-Man's story.
I'm crossing my fingers so tightly that this film overperforms and we get to see all of these characters for at least one more film. This is one of my new favorite superhero flicks and one of the best projects in the genre since Avengers: Endgame. This year could pretty easily be the best for the superhero genre since 2019!
The dialogue and performances are absolutely hilarious and on point with what I was hoping for from this! While Mortal Kombat II's corny dialogue felt underbaked and a little stilted, this film was able to pull off the 80s cringe so delightfully that I'd seldom change a thing.
I was kind of worried about how the VFX and costumes would look (you never know these days), but both were so incredible for this film that I'm genuinely hoping that they got Oscar buzz. Sure, the fact that He-Man and Teela have super-hot, nerdy outfits doesn't hurt the film, but they're not the only things at play here. From the flight sequences to the CGI creatures; from the neck animations of Mekaneck to the magic of Annie from Community cosplaying in another universe as Evil-Lyn (my head canon is that this is actually Abed's first feature film), this film looks as incredible as it does everything else.
The score here is also absolutely incredible! It's currently in a tight race with The Mandalorian & Grogu, Mother Mary, I Love Boosters, and Project: Hail Mary for my favorite score of the year. But, I think it's winning for me. The cinematic, rock nature of it all takes me back to a more melodic period of film scores, and is comparable to both John Williams and Nobuo Uematsu in the best ways.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 93%
Letter Score: S
Star Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Masters of the Universe is one of the best superhero movies since Endgame, and is one of the most metal films in recent memory. With incomparably hilarious humor, excellent effects, dang-good dialogue that evokes the corny 80s tone, and radical-and-badical punch-kickery, this is SFF cinema at its finest.
Interested in checking out some recent reviews for some other sci-fi and action films? See them below!
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
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