Masters of the Universe Review: Jared Leto Shines in Perfect Summer Blockbuster
By the power of Greyskull, this movie has the power! Masters of the Universe is the biggest surprise of the year and one of the most fun adventures of 2026. Even for non-fans, it is a perfect summer blockbuster.
Perhaps it helped that I got to see this movie at the New York premiere surrounded by die-hard fans of Mattel’s long-running franchise. From the opening logos, we already get an Easter egg that will make fans very happy. You can tell this movie was made by and for He-Man fans, and there was no better match for this movie than director Travis Knight, who previously helmed one of the best Transformers movies, Bumblebee, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Before the screening, he gave a passionate speech about his love for the character and how much he wanted to make a movie the fans would love, and he succeeded in every possible way.
By no means was I a He-Man fan walking into this movie, but by the time I walked out, I was taking pictures sitting on Skeletor’s Bone Throne. My unfamiliarity with the TV shows and toys allowed me to go in with fresh eyes. My only exposure to this series was watching the live-action 1987 Dolph Lundgren film hours before seeing the new one. While that film was not very well received by critics or audiences alike, it was refreshing to see a scene in this new movie that pays tribute to that ’80s film, which has grown a bit of a cult following over the years.
One notable improvement Masters of the Universe makes over the 1987 film is that it allows Prince Adam Glenn of Eternia (Nicholas Galitzine) to grow and evolve. When the movie begins, he’s a young child who’s smaller and weaker than his peers. He has a lot of growing up to do, and he must train to become strong. Eternia soon finds itself under attack by the armies of Skeletor (Jared Leto) and Evil-Lynn (Alison Brie). Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) takes on some bad guys, and it’s a lot of fun to watch a charismatic actor like Elba get to be a badass action hero.
Masters of the Universe is directed with so much life and color. Knight’s handling of the action set pieces is sublime as he helms every fight with incredible camera direction. The fight choreography is impressive, and he allows every hit to really land. Even though we’re dealing in CGI-heavy environments and creatures, Knight brings a weight to these fight scenes that’s sorely missing from recent blockbusters.
The screenplay is also superb because it doesn’t only treat its characters like action figures, a mistake that even the 1987 MOTU film made. This movie treats everyone onscreen like real people, and you grow to care about them all. Even supporting characters without much screen time get their moments to shine. But at the center of it all is Galitzine, who delivers a truly phenomenal performance as Adam. This is a star-making performance for the actor, who has primarily acted as romantic leads in films like Purple Hearts, Red, White, & Royal Blue, and The Idea of You. With this role, Galitzine combines his remarkably chiseled body with impeccable comedic timing to become the action hero we never knew we needed.
Galitzine is nothing short of a revelation here. It can’t be understated how funny he is in this role. He’s playing a version of Adam that has spent 15 years away from Eternia, growing up on Earth, while never forgetting where he came from. He works in HR and spends his days searching for the Sword of Power that he lost on his journey to Earth. He gets so many moments that are truly hysterical because of how out of depth he always feels, especially when reunited with his childhood friend Teela (Camila Mendes). Mendes doesn’t get to show as much range as Galitzine, but she offers both a humorous voice of reason and humanity to her character.
My favorite part of the movie was Jared Leto. It’s no secret that his portrayals of the Joker and Morbius didn’t exactly land very well. Even last year’s Tron: Ares, which I adored, didn’t get audiences on his side. But in his role as the film’s main villain, Skeletor, Leto taps into something incredible. We don’t see his face, and his voice is unrecognizable. He just transforms into this classic “Nyeh-heh-heh” villain. This is finally him in a great casting choice. Leto perfectly captures the humor of Skeletor. Many villains nowadays are nuanced with understandable perspectives — Skeletor is evil for the sake of being evil. He’s a villain for the absolute love of the game. He cackles maniacally. A lot. It works because Skeletor genuinely poses a real threat to our leads, but there’s a tongue-in-cheek nature that makes this ludicrous, power-hungry villain work.
While I enjoyed Frank Langella’s interpretation of the role, Leto’s wins, not only because of the writing, but also the design. Across the board, everyone gets wonderful costumes that really immerse you in the world of Eternia. Masters of the Universe wisely spends a lot of time with Adam in Earth civilian clothes, which makes him stand out so much among everyone else. But when he finally manages to get the classic He-Man costume on, it is the most crowd-pleasing moment you could ask for. This story is very much about Adam becoming He-Man, and to do a story of becoming, you need to have the character at the beginning be a nearly entirely different person by the end.
That’s something that works so well about this film. During the first act, Adam is usually running away and scared. Galitzine does some truly hilarious things with his voice, along with his physical comedy, to make him the last guy we’d ever expect to be the hero Eternia needs. But this is a movie about him discovering his power, and like the best films, we see his progress through glorious action sequences. There’s an aerial chase scene that’s really remarkable, and it gave me more excitement than nearly any blockbuster from this year.
What makes everything work is how Masters of the Universe assigns humanity to these characters. One of the strongest elements of the film is its focus on Adam and his father, King Randor (James Purefoy). The characters don’t have the greatest relationship, but they get one very emotional, tender moment halfway through the movie that may resonate with audiences. My only note with the film is that it could have benefited from one more scene surrounding their relationship in the final act, just to push those emotions a bit further. Beyond that, everyone gets their time to shine, especially Elba as Man-At-Arms. I worried this would be a paycheck role for the actor, but he really puts his all into this role.
The result of everything put together is a movie that’s everything a blockbuster should be. Masters of the Universe gave me the laughs, excitement, character drama, and pure fun that I always want from movies of this caliber. Many audience members only want fun movies — this film remembers to be fun and good. It doesn’t sacrifice good storytelling — it embodies it while having hilarious jokes and whimsy. We get the type of humor we haven’t seen in a movie since Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Wickedly sharp, endlessly entertaining, and an absolute blast from start to finish, Masters of the Universe is a reminder of the power of smart, soulful blockbuster filmmaking.
SCORE: 9/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 9 equates to “Excellent.” Entertainment that reaches this level is at the top of its type. The gold standard that every creator aims to reach.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended the New York premiere for our Masters of the Universe review.
Source: Comingsoon.net