FAINT WAVES

As a general rule, I don’t go back to the theater to see a movie I’ve just seen. Never have, even the films I sincerely fell in love with. That’s where this film becomes unique. I’ve seen Masters Of The Universe in theaters twice now and I’ve cried more than double that amount during its runtime. Needless to say, the film seriously resonated with me, even more than I expected it to. I’ll be pre-ordering the physical release of the film, which is another thing that I cannot say about modern movies (or any movie I’ve seen in the theater in the last 10+ years). I have not preemptively purchased a movie after seeing it on the big screen, ever. Seriously. This one? I will the first chance I get. 

Contrary to how it may sound, this won’t be a terribly long review, because I’d rather not spoil anything if I don’t have to. Instead, I want to implore you, beseech you, and even beg you to go see it yourself before it leaves theaters. This is a strong movie, and contrary to any surface-level similarity there may be to the CGI-driven “slugfests” of the MCU or DCEU, this is an altogether separate beast that is not only self-aware of its source material but also incredibly heartfelt in its execution. To its credit too, for all the sci-fi meets fantasy trappings of the Masters Of The Universe mythos, this film is most indebted to the structure and presentation of 80’s sword-and-sorcery pictures (modern CGI sheen aside). That, combined with a bit of the coming-of-age genre, as it applies not just to childhood but to adulthood as well. The humor, heart, and heroism are all here. That’s why I’m surprised it’s not the hit it should be. 

You might be a person who checks out a film on certain review sites to see how it fares. I’ve read a lot of what the detractors had to say on these aforementioned sites, and I found a lot of it fairly unreasonable, if not outright absurd. In this specific case, the perspective of the professional critic is most often one of unrealistic expectations or ignorance, and I personally ask: how reliable can the critic really be if that’s the case? When a critic thinks this is just for Gen X or something (a real thing I’ve read), it just smacks of willful ignorance, evidenced by the fact that they didn’t even look up the various incarnations of He-Man and The Masters Of The Universe, nor when they came out. A great case in point is me. I am 100% not Gen X, yet I still managed to grow up with a version of Masters Of The Universe on TV and on store shelves (I had a GBA game I played a lot as well). Worth noting too, there have been multiple incarnations of He-Man and She-Ra in the Netflix era, so even younger people than myself have had the opportunity to become acquainted with these characters. 

Another easy way to refute this movie being some attempt at a Gen X cash grab is that it simply doesn’t take itself too seriously, like I said, it is self-aware of the fact that it’s a movie based on a toy line and an animated show (many animated shows). There are shades of Barbie, Deadpool, and more meta-tinged films here, which not only make the film feel more modern, they make it feel honest. For all its self-awareness, it’s not necessarily disparaging of where it comes from either, its sincerity is one of its greatest strengths (its power if you will). Somehow, against all odds, I just think they managed an adaptation that did a lot of things right. Unfortunately, I think the time in which it came out and the lack of extensive, long-term marketing kind of caused the film to disappoint at the box office. Sandwiched between surprise hit films (that I will not name because I 100% do not care about them) and films sure to make money, this thing was poised to have a hard time from jump. Ideally, with more marketing and a little less competition, I think this film easily could have been one of the biggest of the summer. It is that good and sincerely deserves to be that big. Great costumes, rock-solid casting, wonderful use of licensed music and original score, and plenty of setup for the future.

In closing, I’ve seen a lot of movies this year, this is my favorite so far. I’m not sure I’ll see a better film this year, seriously. Time will tell, but I have my doubts. This film may not be making what it should be (this part might sound familiar, I had a similar reaction to Ready Or Not 2) but it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. Masters Of The Universe is still in theaters, don’t miss your chance to go see it. 8 or 10 years ago, a film like this would’ve had a very easy time making 300+ million. This is a film that deserves to make money and it deserves to have a future. Despite being a generally safe one and done for the most part, there are things that this film does in terms of setup for future stories, and it would be a crying shame if that didn’t get to go anywhere. If you like Masters Of The Universe, if you like He-Man, if you like She-Ra, go see this film. I think your inner child will thank you.

Thanks for reading.

See Masters Of The Universe, in theaters now.