What’s it about?

After being exiled from the fantastical kingdom of Eternia as a child, Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) has spent his life searching for the magical sword that will send him home, and hoping he’s not just an insane person. It’s not that kind of movie though, so he finds the sword, and adventure ensues as he fights to take back his kingdom from the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto).

What’d we think?

This is fine. While Masters of the Universe is a far more transparent appeal to nostalgia than Barbie was, it’s probably the best version of what it could be. Still, who is this for? A little self-awareness goes a long way, but it’s still a capital P product of a movie who doesn’t seem to know if it should actually be for kids (who no longer play with toys), or the 50-somethings who used to play with the toys.

The beats of the story will be familiar enough to anyone who has seen a movie before, but there’s enough campy fun to keep you entertained, and some genuinely good chuckles to go along with the okay-looking action. Nicholas Galitzine does well in the lead role, as both the weirdest guy in the real world and the most normal guy in Eternia. The rest of the cast are largely unknowns (with the exception of Idris Elba, who refuses to phone it in), which probably saved a pile of money that could be put towards middling special effects and giving Jared Leto five million dollars for a half-day’s voice work. It pains me to say that Leto does a great job as Skeletor, helped by the fact that you don’t have to look at him and can’t recognise his voice (which makes you wonder why you couldn’t just hire a professional voice actor).

I’ve landed firmly in the middle with this movie. I can’t think of anyone I’d recommend it to, but can think of plenty of people who would enjoy it if they saw it. If movies were allowed to hang around in cinemas for longer than a few weeks it’d probably garner a few fans and turn a profit, but this’ll be banished to a dusty corner of a streaming service by the end of the month.