Quick, spoiler-free thoughts on Masters of the Universe (2026)

I grew up with MOTU.

There are two things I like most about it (as a property).

1. The toys.
   They were fun. I also remember them feeling pretty spendy because I only owned a handful.
2. Skeletor.
   
   The bad guy had a skull for a head. SOLD.
   
   
   This also meant I couldn’t own one.
   
   
   My dad got me a Battle Armor Skeletor for Christmas one year. My mom made me take it back to Target as soon as I got home from his house.

So what about the movie?

Well…

1. The toys for the movie are amazing. I’ve picked up two Skeletors (Chronicles and core) and 2 Skel-knights (core) and I will pick those two up when the origins versions hit shelves too.
   I am also going to grab a Chronicles He-Man as well.
2. 
   As for the movie itself, Skeletor was the clear highlight for me.
   
   
   The more screen time he got, the happier I was. The character leans hard into the dry comedy of his only real motivation being, “Because I’m evil.” I loved it.
   
   
   I’ll take an entire Skeletor movie, please.

What about the rest?

I’ve never been a huge fan of the ’80s cartoon.

I remember watching it as a little kid while my older brother Steve relentlessly made fun of it. I remember getting mad and yelling, “SHUT UP, STEVE!”

Fast-forward a few years and I caught an episode on TV.

“Oh.

Steve was right.

This is garbage.”

What captivated me was the imagination unlocked by the toys, not someone telling me how I should play with the toys. The mini-comics packed with the figures felt different from the cartoon anyway.

All of that is to say: this movie largely does its own thing.

It establishes Eternia and gives us the basic framework, but everything is filtered through Adam’s perspective, and Adam is very much an unreliable narrator.

I’m okay with that.

The movie aims for a sweet spot between fantasy and comedy, and most of the time it lands there. A few jokes fall flat, but that’s the risk you take when you’re actually trying to be funny.

The overall tone feels very Guardians of the Galaxy: colorful, bright, hopeful, action-packed, and occasionally a little ridiculous.

The action itself is great.

It’s also funny.

This feels like a kid smashing action figures together in the backyard, and I mean that as a compliment of the highest order.

The final showdown between He-Man and Skeletor was extremely satisfying.

My biggest complaints are honestly my own fault.

I’d heard from early screenings that there was a scene with, like, “every toy up there on screen.”

*sigh*

I’m too much of a nerd.

No. There isn’t.

There are some characters and vehicles, but nowhere near the glorious plastic avalanche I had built up in my head.

Secondly, I’ve recently started watching Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Netflix and have found it way more engaging, clever, and entertaining than I expected.

It takes the characters and concepts and pushes them in imaginative directions.

I tried to keep those two versions separate while watching this movie, but it was difficult. The film is very much a gateway introduction to the property, whereas Revelation feels more like, “Okay, let’s crank this thing up a notch.”

To sum up:

Masters of the Universe is a bright, hopeful fantasy-comedy romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It wants you to hop aboard its chaotic adventure, have a good time, leave the theater smiling…

…and then immediately buy toys.

Oh, and the soundtrack pretty much kicks all the ass.