By the Power of Grayskull: ‘Masters of the Universe’ Review

Nostalgia sells, but it doesn’t always pay off. Over the last decade, production companies have been attempting to cash in on humanity’s collective adoration for things of the path. Who doesn’t look back on the days of couch coop and EctoCooler fondly? Enter the highly anticipated return of the Prince of Eternia himself, He-man. ‘Masters of the Universe’ has enjoyed a slight rise in popularity over the previous few years and with Travis Knight’s take on the Saturday Morning Hero, ‘Masters of the Universe,’ hitting the big screen tthis weekend that popularity is surely going to skyrocket.

Knight has given audiences the adaptation that fans have been craving for decades: a tongue in cheek, unserious serious big screen outting that doesn’t take itself too seriously. All around, pound for pound, ‘Masters of the Universe’ is the summer blockbuster to beat right out of the gate.

Adam is a Prince from a far off planet filled with dragons and talking green tigers. At least, that’s what he tells everyone on Earth from friends to first dates. When Adam finally finds the sword he’s been looking for, his two worlds collide. Bringing one of the small screen’s great cartoon heroes to the big screen, ‘Masters of the Universe’ is a ridiculously fun time at the movie theater. I don’t think there was a single second that there wasn’t a smile on my face for two hours straight. ‘Masters of the Universe’ is the definition of must see.

By The Power of Friendship

‘Masters of the Universe’ is immensely charming due in no small part to the famous characters that are making their second jump to the big screen. The cast is a collection of parts that work best when they are all together on screen. The chemistry oozes from them. Nicholas Galitzine nails the careful, empathetic Adam while also stunning as the big guy, himself. His acting needs work, but, truthfully, that’s ok. Much like Chris Hemsworth in ‘Thor,’ Galitzine will get better. The sequel is going to be a ton of fun and Galitzine is really gonna shine, I’m calling it now.

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The supporting cast is stacked with talent. Idris Elba’s ‘Man-At-Arms’ getting to spar with Kristen Wiig’s ‘Roboto’ was a delight I did not know I needed. Many forget that Idris Elba has comedic chops, he was, in fact, on ‘The Office.’ That aspect of his skill gets to shine throughout this film. Wiig to her credit is as sharp and clever as ever. It was enjoyable getting to watch each of them work so fluidly together.

Galitzine is charming, but Camila Mendes steals the show. Their chemistry is fun to watch as they engage in the age old ‘will they, won’t they’ game. Mendes portrays ‘Teela’ as if ‘Duncan’ had taught her, himself. She was dangerous when she needed to be and soft and kind when it was called for. Her performance was one of the standouts of the film.

Skeletor is real. He played himself. In no way, shape or form was he played by the 6th best actor to play The Joker.

Grab a SleepingBag and EctoCooler, The Nostalgias Thick

This film is dripping with nostalgia and, boy, did the audience eat it up. The entire theater had their ‘Leonardo di Caprio’ fingers ready and that made the viewing quite special. Everyone shared in a collective joyous occassion where they all remembered when they held the sword a loft and said the words: “By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!!” Moments like that are timeless and tap into the human want and NEED to be happy.

‘Masters of the Universe’ never felt like it was beating you over the head with nostalgia. It made good use of it, in fact. All of that effort that went into nostaglia, however, may have been better suited on improving the CGI.

I know. I know. If you’re talking about CGI, you don’t have much, but I think in this case it’s legitimate. Some of the CGI seemed clunky and jumpy. It was offputting. Did it ruin the movie? No. Did I notice it? Absolutely. This is another area where I think a future sequel will have a loftier budget and more focused CGI.

Final Thoughts:

Travis Knight gives audiences everything that they could possibly want with his big screen adaptation of the Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic, ‘Masters of the Universe.’ The film is pure joy, pure fun, and a purely good time. ‘Masters of the Universe’ is the Summer Blockbuster to beat.