Warning! The following contains spoilers for Masters of the Universe. Read at your own risk!
Halfway through Masters of the Universe, I had a few things running through my mind. First off, I agree that Jared Leto is at his best in this movie, and second, I too questioned who raised Prince Adam on Earth. The biggest takeaway, however, is that I couldn’t decide if I was watching a movie primarily aimed at adults, or something for all ages, provided parents are flexible on violence and raunchiness.
It was clear in my screening that not every parent with children in the audience was aware Masters of the Universe would feature double entendres for sex acts and some occasionally brutal violence. I don’t blame them, because I didn’t gather that from the trailer, but if that was the direction this movie was headed, why not shy away from some of the other more childish themes?
Masters Of The Universe Is Not A Movie For Kids, But It Acts Like One At Times
Masters of the Universe has plenty that would make parents second-guess taking their kid to it, and yet, large chunks of the plot play out as though I’m watching a movie tailored to children. Prince Adam yearns to return to Eternia, but rather than become a scientist who studies intergalactic travel, he adorns his room with photos he drew when he was a kid?
All of Masters of the Universe is like this, with the general vibe like it’s a kids’ movie that had one person who came in and said: “Let’s make some wild moments for the parents.” The end result is like if Robin Williams used his incredibly NSFW stand-up as improv during his voice work in Aladdin, which is a complicated way of saying it’s weird.
I Think Had Masters Of The Universe Leaned Into The Older Audience Nostalgic For He-Man, It Could’ve Been Better
It’s complicated for me to reconcile my feelings about Masters of the Universe. I think it was the right call for the movie not to take itself too seriously, but I think there were other ways to accomplish this without making a kids’ movie that feels as though some risque moments were thrown in to justify the PG-13 rating it earned for its action sequences.
It almost reminds me of those old ’80s movies that would not be PG today, which is a cool vibe we’re not seeing a lot of in Hollywood. That said, I almost think the movie should’ve leaned a bit harder into the overall raunch of the movie, and maybe made it abundantly clear in the trailer that you may want to leave the kids at home for this one. It is, after all, a movie based on a children’s cartoon, so I don’t think the average person would even second-guess making it a family affair.
I think if you up the action and make things a bit bloodier, this movie firmly justifies the raunch and maybe even gets a few more looks from those in search of something different from the action/fantasy genre. My girlfriend thought going in this movie was tied to the upcoming 2026 Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday, because it gave her MCU vibes. I totally understand that too, because I think in some ways this movie is “Marvel-lite,” and come to think of it, I would’ve cringed just as much with my young daughter in the theater as I did when I took her to Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
I do still think people should see Masters of the Universe, and maybe help it out at the box office. It still seems like Amazon may give it a sequel regardless of how it performs, and I’d love to see them tweak the tone if it happens.