Masters of the Universe and all the images you see in this review are owned by Amazon MGM Studios
Directed by Travis Knight
Seriously, weren’t we done with eighties nostalgia by the end of the second Obama administration? I feel like that wave crested a while ago, which is perhaps why this movie has bombed as hard as it has. Transformers, GI Joe, Thunder Cats, all this stuff may still exist in some form today, but their hay-day has long since passed with TMNT being the only one to hang onto any sort of relevance in recent years. The eighties are dead and the nineties aren’t far behind, but I suppose that alone doesn’t mean a He-Man movie can’t work. Heck, the template for this kind of retro fantasy movie is still Flash Gordon which was an adaptation of a comic from fifty years prior, so perhaps there’s still a little juice to squeeze out of this lemon. Is this the kind of retro revival that will stand the test of time, or is this just another sad attempt to get Gen-Xers to flock to the theaters and relive their childhoods? Let’s find out!!
In the magical realm of Eternia, young Prince Adam is forced to leave his homeland when it’s attacked by the nefarious Skelator (Jared Leto) and his arm of skull themed minions. Unfortunately, the escape plan was rather slap dash, and he lands in the middle of Oklahoma without a way to get back and no one to give him any guidance, so he grows up to be a buff blonde dude (Nicholas Galitzine) who works in a cubical and lives in an apartment with a roommate; one that is very tired of hearing about his fantasy home world. Of course, destiny cannot be held off forever, and he’s brought back to Eternia by his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes) who is one of the few remaining heroes fighting back against Skelator’s empire. With his home, his friends, and his god like powers returned to him, is Adam ready to reclaim his lost kingdom from the forces of evil? Has his time on Earth prepared him for this moment, or is he simply unprepared to do what needs to be done to stop Skelator once and for all? For real, how does a guy look like this end up in HR? I get that he’s a sensitive kid underneath all that muscle, but you’d think he’d still end up as an indie wrestler or something!
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