I’m old now, but not quite old enough to have nostalgia for Masters of the Universe. The original Mattel figurines came out in 1982, followed by a reasonably popular cartoon series in 1983. A film adaptation followed in 1987, with Dolph Lundgren playing the muscle-bound hero and, interestingly, Frank Langella, as his evil nemesis Skeletor. But it’s hardly canon for anyone under 40. By my estimation, you have to be about 47 to be genuinely nostalgic about Masters of the Universe.  My brother’s age.

And yet, elements of He-Man permeated my cultural understanding. In Ghostbusters II  (itself, a 1989 film), I remember the kids at the birthday party wanted He-Man, not the ghostbusters. In the intervening years, the concept of “He-Man” became the embodiment of something archaic and ridiculous, desirable but wholly impractical. Ladies, get yourself a He-Man. But also, girl, you don’t want a He-Man, you want someone like Paul Rudd, who knows how to fold the towels and drop the kids off at soccer practice.

So in 2026, a self-referential He-Man project is perfect for a nostalgia-chasing audience, and the good people at Mattel are having another crack. Remember, Barbie made about $1.5 billion. This will not be the end of it. The good news is that Masters of the Universe, directed by Travis Knight, is surprisingly fun and buoyant. Far from the gritty dirt-laden robots of Michael Bay’s Transformers films (which were toys from Hasbro, if you’re interested), Masters is a completely harmless piece of good-natured fun that riffs (a bit) on masculinity and how it’s changed in the last 40 years.

The main figurines are: He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine), his love interest Teela (Camila Mendes), and his trainer Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba). He-Man’s nemesis is the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto, mainly a voice), who is seeking to harness the Sword of Power to rule the planet of Eternia.

After an extended preamble setting up the conflict, He-Man is relegated to a life on Earth, where he is forced to do the menial stuff that humans do. Work in an office, be broke, go on sad Hinge dates, all the rest of it. By a series of contrivances, He-Man returns to Eternia to confront Skeletor and save the day. I’m being deliberately vague, because He-Man’s journey from humdrum Earth life to immortal warrior is perfunctory but fun and you don’t need to have it spoiled. That journey should have gone for about 110 minutes instead of 140, but unfortunately, every blockbuster now requires a 45-minute climactic battle and Masters of the Universe is no exception.

Alison Brie, as Skeletor’s witchy sidekick Evil-Lyn, is having a lot of fun and gets most of the laughs in the film. And look, full disclosure, I was also drawn to Skeletor, who’s presented as a campy antagonist with no particular motives other than a desperate need to possess the Sword. This is a particularly 80s cartoon thing; Skeletor, Shredder, Megatron; these guys are all just having a go. Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight started a trend where every villain was a Machiavellian polymath, but to be honest, it is getting tiresome and Masters avoids the trap. Skeletor, thankfully, is a charming buffoon with a skull for a face. He just wants that damn sword and I dig that.

 

Masters of the Universe opens today in Australian cinemas.