The first English phrase I memorised with real meaning and proper understanding was not a nursery rhyme or a classroom lesson. It was not even a film dialogue that sticks with most people with a filmi mind. It was the opening narration of the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which aired in the 1980s and was available to us on video cassettes.
Long before I understood grammar, long before I realised the magic words can play, I knew about Eternia, Castle Grayskull, and the most powerful man in the universe. That should tell you how much this franchise means to me and how much I was looking forward to He-Man's return in live action.
When I walked into the theatre, my mind told me to keep expectations low because other reviewers didn’t like the film, while my heart said that as a reviewer, I should watch the film and decide for myself. So, with equal parts excitement and caution, I saw Travis Knight's reboot of Masters of the Universe and ended up somewhere between relieved and disappointed.
Let me first talk about the relief – finally, they showed Prince Adam's transformation into He-Man, a moment they missed in the last film due to budget constraints. As for the disappointment, it stemmed from multiple factors, the most prominent of which was that the film works in patches. It is very good when it wants to be, and frustratingly bad when it isn't.
I must call out the filmmakers for squandering an opportunity that has existed for more than four decades. The original animated series never truly provided origin stories for He-Man, Man-At-Arms, The Sorceress, or even Skeletor, making it the perfect time to explore that angle. However, the writers thought that creating their own Thor-esque storyline for He-Man would be better, and that’s where they faltered.
No film works without a younger audience, especially one as big-budget as Masters of the Universe. Gen Z has no idea who He-Man is, why he claims to be the most powerful man in the universe, what makes him so integral to Eternia’s politics, or why they should even care to watch a half-naked hero when they have other fully clothed superheroes to follow. The writing team could have used this film to explore Eternia's history, explain its politics, flesh out its heroes and villains, and give newcomers a reason to care. Instead, the film rushes through its mythology, assuming audiences are already invested.
Also, there is a reason I haven’t discussed the film’s plot, characters, performances, etc., in this piece until now. That’s because I am doing exactly what the director did in the film – he wastes the first half hour establishing that Adam Glenn is an alien from outer space in the most boring way imaginable. Hopefully, I didn’t waste time; I am just warming up to the possibility that my analysis was more thoughtful than the director’s performance.
The new Masters of the Universe begins strongly with an introduction to the characters, followed by a fight sequence in which Skeletor (Jared Leto) dethrones King Randor of Eternia, injures Queen Marlena, attacks the Sorceress, and forces Prince Adam to flee for his life with the Sword of Power. Like Superman, Prince Adam (Nicolas Galitzine) lands on Earth but loses his sword. To search for it, he uses something he didn’t have on Eternia -- the World Wide Web. When he finally gets the sword in his hand, it attracts both Teela (Camila Mendes) and Beast Man, who fight over it while Adam looks on as if he has no clue what is happening.
The battle then shifts to He-Man’s home planet, Eternia, where Prince Adam finally embraces the Power of Grayskull and announces his arrival in style. They also rescue Man-at-Arms from his cell (he was imprisoned for no clear reason), and together they decide to take on Skeletor, but not before realising that the master villain has many cards up his sleeve.
Good triumphs over evil, as usual, but many questions linger throughout the film. What exactly makes Eternia worth fighting for? Why is Skeletor so obsessed with ruling it? What are the deeper relationships among the characters in this world? Why was Prince Adam chosen as Grayskull’s saviour when he wasn’t even fit to fight a girl? It seems the director was more interested in moving pieces around the board than in explaining why they matter. Fortunately, what it lacks in storytelling, it often compensates for with spectacle, casting, and, of course, the action scenes.
My main argument remains simple: Why does everyone on Eternia know that Prince Adam is He-Man? Had the writers not watched the original animated series? Weren’t they being paid to write, or was it a pro bono job? There is a reason Prince Adam keeps his alter ego separate: he wants people to think he is lazy and stupid, which is why, whenever he transforms into He-Man, he brings hope. The opening narration of the original animated series (the one I memorised) also emphasises that ‘only three others share this secret – our friends The Sorceress, Man At Arms and Orko’. Duh!
Let’s talk about the performances. Nicholas Galitzine is easily the film's greatest strength, appearing in most of the scenes. His Prince Adam strikes the right balance of vulnerability, charm, and heroism, and he looks entirely believable when transformed into He-Man. However, he bears a strong resemblance to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and even sounds like him. The only difference between his Prince Adam and He-Man is the armour, which isn’t something to be taken lightly. When John Erwin voiced both characters, he made sure that Adam sounded scared and goofy, while He-Man was the perfect man.
Camila Mendes delivers a first-rate Teela, who seems to have transitioned from the animated series to the live-action one. Casting her is one of the producers’ best decisions, as she resembles Morena Baccarin (The Sorceress) in some scenes. For the uninitiated, she is The Sorceress’ daughter, as explained in the animated series episode ‘Teela’s Quest,’ but the director doesn’t explore that here. In fact, The Sorceress doesn’t have much to do in the film, which is disappointing, considering she is the guardian of Castle Grayskull. The scene where her alter ego Zoar speaks to Prince Adam shouldn’t have made it into the final cut, since it looks more comic than serious.
The only person in the film with a proper character arc is Duncan, aka Man-at-Arms, played by the legendary Sir Idris Elba. At the beginning, he is shown as the King’s most trusted man, but he later falls into bad habits before being rescued by the very boy he trained.
As for the bad guys, only two people seem to have understood the assignment - Jared Leto's Skeletor and Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn. Although neither character’s voice resembles the one in the animated series – Skeletor had a shrill voice; Evil-Lyn’s was husky – they managed to step out of the shadows of supporting characters and establish themselves as the bad guys we wanted to lose.
Rather than reinventing the villain, Jared Leto leans into the theatricality that has always made Skeletor memorable. His backstory demands another feature-length film, but the director is the boss and chose not to use it. As for Alison Brie, her character also deserved more screen time because she was that good, and one hopes she gets it in future sequels.
Let’s talk about the supporting characters the filmmakers seem to have unloaded onto the screen, straight from the Mattel brochure. Ram Man, Mekaneck, Trap Jaw, Fisto, and several other familiar faces finally make the jump to live action. Orko was missing, which was odd, since modern effects could have easily made him an integral part of the flick. After all, he does make an appearance at the very end in the signature He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ending.
The fight sequences are the saving grace of the film -- from watching He-Man ride the Sky Sled to seeing him dismantle the opponents’ spacecraft with his bare hands, everything looks great. If the director had taken a leaf from classic Hollywood flicks, a three-tier fight featuring He-Man and Skeletor, Teela and Evil-Lyn, and Battle Cat and Panthor (who wasn’t in the film) would have made the climax more interesting.
The special effects were impressive as well, and for the first time in live action, Castle Grayskull is appropriately imposing, and Eternia itself bursts with colour in ways modern fantasy blockbusters often avoid. This is where Masters of the Universe comfortably outshone the 1987 live-action film starring Dolph Lundgren, which took place mostly on Earth at night, for some odd reason. By the way, the only former actor to play He-Man in live-action does have an interesting cameo in this version.
The film isn’t without its faults. Some are narrative problems, while others are issues only longtime fans will notice. For starters, why doesn’t He-Man lower his sword when he says "I have the power"? The transformation is complete only when he lowers the sword and says the magic words, but here he keeps pointing to the heavens, as if no one knows what to do. Also, he is referred to as Adam by everyone, even when he is transformed, and the only time he calls himself He-Man is at the very end, meaning there is no He-Man theme throughout the movie.
If I knew Teela’s mother was the Sorceress, why didn’t the writers incorporate that into the script? Because they were busy penning cheesy jokes for newer fans instead of connecting with the real fans who have been building a mental checklist for a long time, the film doesn’t tick half the boxes on that list.
Then there are the story choices that feel fundamentally off, even though everyone knows Prince Adam is He-Man. Cringer somehow becomes Battle Cat without the classic transformation, and the same goes for He-Man, who reverts to Adam after being hit on the head. King Randor's fate raises more questions than it answers. The revelation that Randor and Skeletor are brothers – yes, they are -- is treated as unimportant by the makers, who conveniently forget about it rather than using it as a twist.
The film's greatest problem, however, is its length. At over two hours, the story begins to repeat itself long before the finale. The action remains competent, but the emotional investment never deepens. The Earth scenes were quite boring; the lack of an origin story was disappointing; and the absence of the He-Man chant in the background was frustrating. Perhaps the director thought that was the best way to describe Masters of the Universe as a whole. It understands what fans want to see, but not always why.
As someone who grew up reciting He-Man’s lines before I could speak English properly, I wanted this film to be definitive. Instead, it settles for being intermittently entertaining. Should you watch it? If you're over 40 and want He-Man to remain a viable live-action franchise for years to come, absolutely. Buy a ticket, support Eternia, and enjoy the nostalgia. However, if you have no idea who the most powerful man in the universe is, this film may leave you wondering what all the fuss is about.
The writer is a freelance contributor who writes about film, television, and popular culture
All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer
from Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/NoQry8T
0 Comments