‘Masters Of The Universe’ Review: A Surprisingly Great He-Man Movie

InnovationGaming‘Masters Of The Universe’ Review: A Surprisingly Great He-Man MovieByErik Kain,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about TV shows, movies, video games, entertainment & culture.Follow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 07:35pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Masters of the UniverseCredit: Amazon MGM StudiosWhen the first trailer for Masters of the Universe dropped, I really wasn’t sure what to think. It looked kind of cheesy. There was a lot of CGI on display, and I think this steady diet of Marvel and DC comic book movies and endless Jurassic Park spinoffs and Godzilla movies have made me a bit leery of CGI. The technology has been overused with largely unimpressive results in modern cinema. Instead of making these imagined worlds feel bigger and more exciting, they often feel smaller and more cramped.But I was a He-Man fan as a kid. I had a bunch of the old action figures. I like the characters and I’m a huge fan of the Sword & Sorcery and Sword and Planet genres that inspired Masters of the Universe. I was curious and mildly hopeful when I headed to the theater with my son, but my expectations were not super high. I’ve learned to manage expectations.I’m pleased to report that Masters of the Universe is an absolute blast and not just in a goofy, campy B-movie way. This is a genuinely well-made film with some surprisingly deft cinematography and some of the most imaginative fight choreography I’ve seen in a very long time. Again, after a decade of increasingly disappointing superhero movies, I’ve gotten to the point where I almost dread big action sequences. They’re often quite lackluster and predictable.Not so with Masters of the Universe, which puts not only Marvel to shame, but also Star Wars. There’s a chase sequence with spaceships through a gorgeous forested area of Eternia that reminded me of how much...