Masters of the Universe

We learn quite quickly that the weedy "Adam" has only just escaped with his life and the sword of power as "Skeletor" (Jared Leto doing his best impersonation of the deceased Alan Rickman) invaded and seized "Castle Greyskull". He (now Nicholas Galitzine) didn't manage to keep hold of the sword for long in his new world, and indeed just ended up in the USA working in HR whilst constantly surfing the internet to track it down before the nasty "Evil-Lyn" (Alison Brie) manages to secure it for her menacing boss. Luckily, and somewhat comedically, "Adam" does manage to find his artefact and then luckily for him his childhood friend "Teela" (Camila Mendes) shows up just in the nick of time to get him back to "Eternia". This is now a decimated world crying out for him to restore the sorceress and the equilibrium of the kingdom. His chances don't look good. His chief enforcer "Duncan" (Sir Idris Elba) has succumbed to the bottle and somewhat neutered his battle robot so it's more adept with a mop than a blaster; and what passes for the rebellion is highly suspicious of this floppy-haired and strangely dressed lad. Now he has to prove himself to just about everyone, including himself, and turn into the "He-Man" they need. The snag with this is that it takes us almost an hour to get back to "Eternia" and so kick start the fantasy elements of the adventure. Once that does get going, I was reminded more of the "Thor" franchise than anything with Dolph Lundgren (who does feature momentarily with some sagely advice). Galitzine does enter into the spirit of the thing, and he's buffed up well but even for a tea-time film, there simply isn't any menace. "Skeletor" barely features until the denouement where there's precisely no jeopardy and we stray perilously closer to soap rather than to peril for me. It looks fine, the visual effects do their job adequately enough, but I really wanted more of "He-Man" than "HR-man". Disappointing, sorry.

Travis Knight's reboot easily becomes the highest-rated entry in the franchise's film history, and it earns it. Jared Leto's Skeletor steals the show, balancing humor and villainy in a way that lives up to the memes, and Galitzine nails He-Man's heroism and Prince Adam's emotional core. Daniel Pemberton's score embraces the '80s roots with glee. The fun is undeniable — the comedy and action-packed sword-fighting land for critics and audiences alike. It's just 40 minutes too long and leans too hard on self-deprecating meta-humor where sincerity would've hit harder.