Few things are as risky as a high wire act and Masters of the Universe might just be the cinematic equivalent. Relying on an incredibly difficult balance to achieve success. Does it do justice to a property over forty years old? Does it do enough to welcome a zero-baseline audience? Well, allow me to say that sanity can be left at the door because that will be the best way to experience this movie.
Adam doesn’t fit in. He does his best, but he isn’t for the office life or the minutiae of midwestern life. After all, he’s a prince of Eternia… if only he could find his sword and his way back. Not realizing what changes await him, Adam must save his world from the villainous Skeletor because there is no home to return to if he does nothing.
While I worry about Masters of the Universe performance at the box office, Mattel has made some incredibly smart decisions for their second cinematic outing. Most notably is the hiring of two teams: the Nee brothers for the script as they have proven talented at making ridiculous stories entertaining, as they did with The Lost City, and Travis Knight to direct, as he proved brilliant at world building and understanding toy properties with Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee, respectively.
The subject matter at its core is silly, but the simple humor and subtle brilliance in thumbing their noses at the sheer stupidity of some of the material actually gives the writing an edge that is subtle enough to not override the narrative but enhances the wit and delivery by the actors.
Despite an incredibly deep cast, Masters of the Universe will always go exactly as far as the star can carry the production. Honestly, I had never heard of Nicholas Galitzine nor knew that he had played a prince in at least three different properties, but his portrayal should net the casting director a huge bonus. He is perfectly charming and vulnerable despite the huge frame. It is an endearing performance that transcends the incredible universe (only pun I’ll make) built by the team.
Despite Galitzine being able to carry the entire film with his performance, the art department might be considered the real stars. They managed to simultaneously make Eternia feel like an over-the-top cartoon come to life, but in such a way that it felt like a genuinely lived in world. All of the alleged $200 million dollar budget can be seen on the screen without question.
I mentioned earlier about my concerns for the box office for Masters of the Universe, but I want to be clear that is not one felt after the movie. I missed the original run of the cartoon and do not have that nostalgia for the product, so when I say that MOTU is amazing fun even when you have no idea some of the preposterous references or names mean, It is worth everyone’s time to go see this film in the most premium format available starting on June 5th.