He-Man Brings Out Fun Nostalgia for Those Who Care About He-Man
I have to start this review by saying I have no nostalgia for He-Man. As a kid of the 80’s, it just wasn’t my thing. I was still into Star Wars and loved Transformers, but I never got on board with He-Man. I watched it occasionally, of course, and was aware of the lore, the theme song, and the main cast of characters. I think that is important, as I did not realize there was such a passionate fanbase, particularly online, that absolutely loves the Master of the Universe universe. Simply expressing that I did not think the movie looked very good based on the trailer brought out a horde of He-Man stans who were quick to let me know that He-Man was a thing and that this was going to be the best and biggest fantasy film ever made. So I went into the movie with a certain bias.
That said, He-Man is not as bad as I expected and not as good as everyone claims.
I don’t know if the cartoon included a plot where Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) was sent to Earth for his safety with the Sword of Power. But in the movie, he is. He loses the sword and, somehow, unexplained in the movie, goes to school and eventually is able to work a job in Human Resources. He remembers his past and is singularly obsessed with finding the sword and returning to Eternia which puts him in some awkward positions in his personal and professional life. I have a TON of questions about this conceit, but I was able to, as my friend Old Man Brad says, kind of turn my brain off and go with it.
Adam eventually finds the sword, triggering a signal to Eternia and bringing Beast Man and Teela (Camila Mendes) to Earth: the former to kill him and recover the sword, the latter to save him.
Our heroes get home, and Adam finds a burnt-out husk of a planet. Skeletor, played by Jared Leto, who I’d been led to believe is one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time, has spent the last 15 years not looking for the Sword on the planet where he knows it is, but only killing “thousands” of Eternians and destroying the planet. He’s obsessed with the Sword but has done nothing, literally, to find it, despite knowing where it is. A bizarre choice for a super villain.
Adam is reunited with Teela’s dad, Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and the resistance of good guys hiding and fighting Skeletor and his horde. Soon, Adam activates his powers and transforms into He-Man, and with almost zero training ( a point made early in the movie), he’s able to kick ass. So much so that he’s eventually able to kick Skeltor’s ass-this great villain.
Having never owned toys representing classic heroes like Fisto, Ram-Man, Dian, and Mekaneck, or villains like Trap Jaw, Beast Man or Evil Lyn, and the story not really giving me much reason to care about any of them, I was kind of lost.
There are some funny moments that highlight the camp of the original series. Mostly from Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn. Leto was quite literally playing himself, and it was fine. The CGI was pretty OK most of the time! But a few times, like the first time they ride Cringer/Battle Cat, look pretty…cringe.
There are two post-credit scenes, so if you’re a fan, don’t miss those! The cartoon always had a PSA, and that is replicated well here. There is also a cameo from Dolph Lundgren, the OG live-action He-Man, which was fun but kinda awkward.
Overall, this movie was fine in my opinion. The action was pretty good, and the battles were actually pretty good as well. The story was thin as paper, and the acting was very mixed. Fans, for whom this film was made, are thrilled with it, and I am genuinely happy for them! But for a person with little affinity to the original stories, it was pretty forgettable.
