This morning I found myself struggling to find a good way to talk about Mattel’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film. I liked it; I didn’t love it. To quote the adage often repeated by parents: I’m not mad, just disappointed.
As I said in my response to the trailer, Nicholas Galitzine looks fantastic as the exiled Prince Adam. And I am thrilled to say – after watching the whole film – he does an exceptional job in this role and absolutely made the film work for me. He doesn’t treat the character like a “toy,” nor does he indulge in the “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, look here cynical irony” but plays it with an earnestness that really grounds film. And that grounding that is 100 percent necessary.
In a film where the core premise is about He-Man finding his place, understanding who he is, and being brave enough to live that truth, the overall film struggles with its own identity: Scenes with actual emotional depth are undercut by jokes that would elicit sniggers from a 10 year old boy; flamboyant camp, complete with the classic villain laugh, followed by scenes where we are supposed to feel for the characters. The sincerity played against right up against a “ha ha, self-awareness” with both trying to engage with the audience is emotional whiplash.
The story itself that Travis Knight has put together is really very clever. It follows along the familiar storylines and topes that longtime fans will understand, but changes the perspective just a little for it to make sense to a modern audience. Something not easy to do with the IP’s odd mix of sword & sorcery, technology, and men in loincloths riding green tigers, all with an underlying moral theme. I want to say more, but honestly, it is so well done, I’d almost say anything more I could add would be a spoiler.
But what really shines is when Knight adds depth by focusing on the relationships between characters, especially parent-child, and not-a-few jabs at the ideas of toxic masculinity. Idris Elba has openly said that the father-daughter relationship between his character Man-at-Arms and Teela, played by Camila Mendes, is what drew him to the project.
And maybe that is what makes the film a little disappointing to me. We lose the gravitas of those character interactions when the moment is turned to a laugh at the end. It flinches at the deeper sentiment, instead of letting us sit in the moment. If this flinching wasn’t fixed in the script, then a good editor could have let us have those silences/pauses to respond emotionally.
The visuals in trailer for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe had given me pause, but when it came to the film as a whole, the forest scenes on Eternia as well as the views we got of the palace and the environs of Snake Mountain were really quite immersive and good, but I’d argue not quite good enough. As I said previously, this film would rise and fall on our belief in Eternia as a real place.
I strongly feel that slightly different camera angles on certain scenes are needed to play up the uniqueness more. The establishing shots FELT like establishing shots; we got glimpses of Eternia in certain scenes because that was where we usually expect to have those views. We were not indulged with any gratuitous scenes of the world so things felt just a little generic.
Different camera angles to both take advantage of the worldbuilding and CGI, and the character interactions in that world would build a more unique “vibe” to the film. I’ll give as my example Reed Morano‘s (director) and Colin Watkinson‘s (cinematographer) work on the early episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale establishing a striking aesthetic that carried over the whole series.
The place where I am perhaps most unhappy with this film is the absolute waste of Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress — who was dressed like a Temu version of Charlize Theron’s Ravenna from Snow White and the Huntsman — and Alison Brie in the role of Evil-Lyn who could have been the poster girl for women-who-stay-with-men-who-abuse-them (points to my earlier complaint about the emotional moments in the film not being allowed to “breathe”). Neither of these women, who are playing iconic characters, were given dialogue or even screen time to really SHOW their characters. It was an absolute waste, and what did I get instead? More time with Ram-Man and Fisto? Come on…do better.
Jared Leto, arguably had the toughest job in the movie as Skeletor. He had moments that were over-the-top camp and moments where he was a terrifying murderous threat, often in the same scene. I have to give a lot of credit to him for his ability to shift between both. I love being able to say Leto’s live-action Skeletor is just as meme-able as the animated one and I will definitely be indulging in some meme-making the future.
With a strange mix of hyperviolence, childish humor and name-calling, sexual innuendo, and emotional scenes that don’t quite go anywhere, I’m not quite sure if He-Man is a film that can find an audience. It isn’t really appropriate for children, but isn’t quite complex enough for adults.
Masters of the Universe is a movie that franchise fans (of which I am one — I even brought my Adam and Skeletor action figures to the screening) will love, but it struggles with finding a tonal balance that brings everything together into a cohesive whole.
Rating: B
Level of Enthusiasm: 89%
Masters of the Universe is only in theaters June 5
