The new “Masters of the Universe” movie is dumb. Incredibly dumb. And I loved it.
It accesses the part of the male brain that says, “Nothing,” when a man is asked what’s on his mind.
It’s not perfect, but if you are expecting perfection from a movie based on an 80s show whose purpose was to sell toys, then (as Ron Weasley would put it) you need to sort out your priorities.
With that in mind, “Masters of the Universe” had some commentaries that I wasn’t expecting while wanting to unwind and enter the campy land of Eternia.
Healthy masculinity
What I found immediately interesting about this “dumb” movie is that it seems to critique “woke” culture and attempts to find a healthy form of masculinity that lies in an Aristotelian golden mean between barbarian and beta male.
The opening moments of the movie find a young Adam Glenn (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) escaping to Earth as Skeletor (Jared Leto) and company launch an ambush on Eternos, the capital city of Eternia. He loses the Sword of Power in the mystical portal, and 15 years pass.
As a grown-up, Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is miserable. He can’t find the sword (his key to getting back home) and is suffering through a job in HR in a corporate environment that follows the current “woke” practices. It is noted that he is good at talking to people.
Once he finds the sword, Beast Man (Gary Martin) comes to Earth and pursues the sword. Adam can’t summon the sword’s power, and the conflict-resolution principles he has learned in his corporate environment aren’t helping him.
Teela (Camila Mendes), Adam’s childhood friend from Eternia, picked up the sword’s call as well and saves Adam.
A later scene finds Adam trying to de-escalate an attack by Trap Jaw (Sam C. Wilson) and Skeletor’s minions by talking through emotions. Adam’s efforts result in him getting thrown across the room. The Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) calls out to Adam and teaches him the words to summon the power of Grayskull through the sword. As He-Man, Adam defeats Trap Jaw and helps his party escape.
The movie then playfully explores how using brute strength to punch your way out of situations is not always the best solution, either. He-Man’s strength is not enough to defeat Skeletor when the two have their first fight on Snake Mountain.
RELATED | ‘The Odyssey’ Review: A Trojan horse for faith?
In the final conflict, Adam is wounded and visited by the Sorceress in a vision. She tells him that she chose him to wield the power of Grayskull not solely because he can fight, but also because he has understanding and empathy. It is a mixture of all of these qualities that help Adam defeat Skeletor.
While not exactly a perfect way to explain healthy masculinity (again, this is a He-Man movie), I did find it curious that these themes were explored. They made me think of Biblical heroes like David, a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22). David was a warrior and a poet. He succeeded in battle and composed psalms for every situation a person might go through. Though imperfect, David’s last instructions to Solomon land well when he tells his son in 1 Kings 2:2, “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and be a man!”
Where David was imperfect, Jesus was perfect. Jesus knew when to throw down and drive out the money-changers from the temple with a whip (John 2), but also knew when to weep over the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). Jesus, the real King of the Universe, taught us leadership through humility in washing his disciples’ feet and, ultimately, through the cross.
The classic definition of meekness
Meekness is often mistaken for passive submissiveness. There is, however, a classic definition of meekness which defines it as strength under control. It is the ability to defuse anger and foster a sense of calm. As St. Francis de Sales put it, “Since it is impossible for us to go through life without causing annoyance to one another, it is necessary to have a great supply of meekness from which to draw to check sudden bursts of anger and preserve peace of soul.”
In “Masters of the Universe,” Skeletor mocks Adam for being too scared to use his power. Adam retorts by saying, “I do know how to use it. I just prefer not to.” Adam chooses to act not by simply lording his power over others, but by using it with temperance and wisdom. In an action that also harkens to St. Augustine’s Just-War Theory, Adam uses his power to defeat Skeletor only after peaceful negotiations fail.
The way he yields his power to defeat Skeletor isn’t merely through brute strength or furious anger, but through peaceful channeling of his strength to do what has to be done to stop Skeletor’s reign of terror. Adam exemplifies meekness under extreme pressure, defeats Skeletor, and inherits Eternia (“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” – Matthew 5:5).
Spiritual warfare
One element of “Good vs. Evil” that I appreciated about “Masters of the Universe” was that Skeletor admits he is just a villain. Adam attempts to convert Skeletor to a path of goodness, but Skeletor shuts him down without any way to redeem the character. He is the embodiment of evil, and will not change his ways. The movie also tongue-in-cheek mentions that if you have a skull for a face, you are probably the villain.
This stark contrast between good and evil is not often presented in modern cinema. All humans are capable of being redeemed in reality, but the world of He-Man is far from being considered real.
What is real is the nature of the Devil. Satan and his demons made the eternal choice to turn away from God and work to make us choose the same. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) paragraph 391 states, “It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable. ‘There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death.’”[1]
Despite Satan’s best efforts, his power is finite: “The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign.” (CCC 395)
The power of God is infinite and always overcomes the power of Satan. Thankfully, we have God who will always welcome us back if we stray away from Him and His ways. Nonetheless, it is up to us to choose God.
RELATED | ‘Moana’ (2026) Review: Worth the voyage?
Where it worked/didn’t work
If you have ever watched the classic 80s cartoon, you know what you are getting yourself into as far as tone, atmosphere, and camp are concerned. The new movie does well to honor the source material.
The score set the right vibe. It was fun to learn that Queen guitarist Brian May plays electric guitar for the movie.
The movie dragged in the beginning, but picks up and is well-paced once Adam finds the sword.
The jokes were hit and miss. The jokes in the first quarter of the movie seemed more like Joss Whedon-style “Avengers” jokes, but the rest of the movie settles into proper He-Man-style camp. Still, sometimes the jokes undermined some heartfelt moments and threw the tone off.
There are also a few juvenile, innuendo-based jokes. Those mixed with several uses of the s-word, a-word, and violent scenes give the movie its PG-13 rating. There are also 6 uses of the Lord’s name in vain.
Casting was great. I’m hoping the sequel explores Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn a bit more because there were some moments that didn’t pay off and the character was generally underutilized.
Final Thoughts
As my mom says, “This movie is popcorn for the brain.”
“Masters of the Universe” is probably best utilized by a group of guys getting together to have some dumb, movie-watching fun.
[1] St. John Damascene, Defide orth. 2, 4: PG 94, 877.
