Masters of the Universe Hits Theaters: Here's What the Critics Think

Critics have weighed in on the highly anticipated Masters of the Universe film, arriving in U.S. theaters on Friday, June 5. The live-action adaptation from Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Studios currently holds a 73% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Travis Knight, the movie reunites Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) with his homeland of Eternia after 15 years apart, where he learns his world has fallen under Skeletor's (Jared Leto) tyrannical grip. To restore peace and save his family, Adam must work alongside allies Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) to become He-Man, the universe's most powerful warrior.

The critical response has been decidedly mixed. The Los Angeles Times highlighted Leto's distinctive vocal work, calling his "grumbling Brit-inflected baritone" with its trilled r's and refined vowels "the best performance he's done in years."

USA Today awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars, noting that "there's enough infectious energy and heart to give this sugar-bombed throwback a mainstream appeal more sizable than Galitzine's impressive deltoids." Empire similarly gave it 3 out of 5, describing it as "a delightfully silly film for a perfectly stupid franchise," though noting it could have benefited from sharper dialogue and stronger narrative momentum.

The New York Post granted 3 out of 4 stars, characterizing the film as pure summer entertainment: "It's fun, helium light and doesn't have a single thought in its dumb head."

Other outlets expressed reservations. The Guardian awarded 2 out of 5 stars, citing "too much distracting confusion" stemming from Galitzine's uncertain performance, the script's conflicting tones, and fundamental questions about the film's necessity.

Variety observed that the movie is "so loaded with jokes about its own out-of-time uncoolness that it occasionally seems to be apologizing for its very existence." The Associated Press gave 2 out of 4, suggesting the film "might have worked better if it had just gone full Saturday morning cartoon with fewer self-deprecating jokes."

The Boston Globe's 2.5 out of 4 verdict called it "a watchable, if overlong, replica of the He-Man cartoon," while IndieWire's C+ rating acknowledged that while Galitzine lacks the comedic prowess Ryan Gosling brought to Barbie, he delivers as "sweet and vacuous in a way that beautifully suits a story about a blond idiot trying to wrestle Olympus away from a power-mad skeleton."

Slant was less forgiving, awarding just 1.5 out of 4 stars and writing that "the film buries its heartening Barbie-style deconstruction under every terrible action-comedy instinct plaguing modern blockbuster filmmaking."