For anyone born after Masters of the Universe’s dominance in the 1980s, it’s impossible to watch the new Masters of the Universe without thinking, “Who exactly is this for?” The easy answer (and perhaps the most cynical) is that the audience matters less than Mattel’s desire to sell more He-Man toys, or at the very least, remind us that these were, and are, objectively, great toys. There’s a very good reason the star of the ‘80s cartoon looked like an action figure come to life, because that’s exactly what He-Man was before he became the subject of a Saturday morning classic. And so, Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe often grinds to a halt to remind us that these characters also exist in toy form.
Admittedly, it does find a clever way to do it, as its hero, Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine), associates the warriors of Eternia with the silly nicknames he gave them in his youth. When he reunites with them after years displaced on Earth, it’s with that same childlike wonder: “You’re Ram-Man! And you’re Mekaneck!” And yes, it can still be cringey — the links to tie-in action figures would be hovering in a corner of the screen if the film had premiered on Prime Video and not in theaters — but Masters is fortunately more than a marketing ploy. Director Travis Knight owes about as much to the toys as he does to the cartoon that spun off from them, and the latter allegiance infuses this colorful origin story with a vintage charm, delivering the kind of hero that’s long gone out of fashion but is just as overdue for a return.
