Masters of the Universe: He-Man is Back — And It Works
If you grew up watching He-Man on Saturday mornings with a bowl of cereal, this one is for you. Todd from Moviesguyslike gives you the full breakdown.
Hey everybody, this is Todd here with Moviesguyslike, and I'm back today to review Masters of the Universe — He-Man.
If you are a child of the 80s, you remember that cartoon. Watching it after school, Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal in front of the TV. Kids today don't even know what Saturday morning cartoons are anymore, but it was a thing for us. And now He-Man is back on the big screen.
Genre: Action / Fantasy | Year: 2025
The Cast
The movie was directed by Travis Knight and stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man. Camila Mendes is in there, Idris Elba is really good as Man-at-Arms, and then there's Morena Baccarin. She is one of my favorite actresses — she's been in Greenland, Greenland 2, and several years ago she played a lizard in the TV series V. She was strangely hot as a lizard. But I digress.
The Previews Set the Tone
The previews for this movie were awesome. I was entertained and I wanted to see more. Spider-Man looked really good. There was a film with Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway — a town gets pulled into a dinosaur world, looks pretty cool. Jason Statham is the ultimate actor in man movies so I'm looking forward to his next one. The previews gave me a good feeling going in, and the movie delivered.
The Story
In a nutshell, this is the story of He-Man. It covers how he leaves Eternia, gets to Earth, how he gets back, and how he fights Skeletor. It goes in depth on the characters — especially Man-at-Arms Duncan, who is somebody we can all relate with. He's very human. He has his trials and tribulations, has a bit of an issue with the drink if you know what I mean. His daughter does a great job as Teela, and all the characters show up.
There is one main character from the cartoon that doesn't show up until the very end in the credits — but that's okay. Other than that, everyone is there.
What Works Really Well
The movie flowed quickly and kept me in it. I only looked at my watch a couple of times and that was not because of the movie itself. I felt like I was in the world — especially for those of us who grew up in the 80s. There's an awesome cameo I won't spoil, and there's great hidden adult humor throughout.
If you know humor, you're going to catch on to some of these jokes pretty quickly. They're jokes kids wouldn't necessarily get, but if you're an adult you'll get it. It's very funny and very well-placed.
There are a lot of death scenes, a lot of good fighting. The graphics are pretty good — a couple of areas looked a little off, but a lot of it came out really well.
The movie also takes a shot at the whole "everybody gets a medal" culture that's been going around, comparing Earth to the realm in the movie. They do a good job of making fun of that, and I liked that part.
There are some great credit scenes that set up what looks like a sequel. In my opinion, there should be a sequel. I'd love to see it. Stay for the credits.
A Movie You Can Watch With Your Kids
This is a movie that's safe to watch with your kids — no issues. Younger kids aren't going to catch the adult humor yet. When they get to our age and watch it again, they'll be like "oh my gosh." But yeah, it's really funny.
I saw it twice, as I do with all movies. It's great in the theater, but it's okay to see on TV as well.
The Ratings
Action / Death: Three Skulls and Crossbones. Lots of good action scenes, lots of good death scenes. The ending is really cool. It's not a five-level like John Wick, but it's still good.
Cheesy / Corny: Three Cheeses. There are absolutely some corny, cheesy parts — and most of that is them making fun of the 80s. It's really funny how they do it, and they do it tastefully.
Statement Movie: One Eye Roll. This movie is absolutely not trying to make a statement. It's not trying to save the trees, save the planet, or promote any specific type of sexuality. It's just an entertaining movie.
Attention Keeper: I did not find myself staring at my phone, checking emails, checking texts. I was excited for the movie and honestly I didn't want it to end.
The Verdict
Silver Star. I like this movie. I would recommend it to my friends, my family. I think it's entertaining — especially if you grew up when and where we grew up. You'll like it. Just go have fun with it, enjoy it, and escape from all the issues and problems in the world today.