Reviews are now coming in for the new live-action He-Man film “Masters of the Universe,” and they’re proving rather soft.
With 46 reviews counted, the film sits at a fairly good 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and a decidedly mediocre 51/100 on Metacritic.
Tone seems to be the big point of contention here – the film veers between more serious fantasy stakes one minute and self-parody the next, and that’s decidedly annoying some critics.
Jared Leto’s Skeletor is getting the most consistent praise, and more than a few seem to like that it’s not pretending to be anything other than a colorful spin on an old cartoon/toyline. Here’s a sampling of reviews:
“Masters of the Universe is fun, colourful, energetic, and entirely comfortable with its own identity. This is the rare franchise revival that remembers why people fell in love with it in the first place.” – Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
“While Nicholas Galitzine and Idris Elba provide the thematic structure to the film, Jared Leto’s Skeletor gives a delightfully weird and cartoonish energy to every scene he’s in. It’s a film that appreciates the source material, silly names and all, and proves the best way to add to a 50-year-old franchise that’s about toys as much as anything else is to not take it too seriously.” – Clint Gage, IGN
“Given the choice between a silly take on this material and a grounded one, the silly version feels far preferable. If nothing else, the film is doing its best to have fun. The way playing with one’s toys should feel.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
“It’s plainly imperfect: overlong, sometimes too winking, and occasionally flattened by the digitally homogenized look of modern blockbusters. But as a version of the property that bridges demographic and generational gaps to deliver a worthwhile take on a virtually dead franchise, it has at least a little bit of power.” – Trace Sauveur, AwardsWatch
“He-Man returns for a derivative, comedy-fuelled action-fantasy that never takes itself seriously, for better or worse. It’s much too slow off the mark, but there’s infectious affection for the source material and, like him or loathe him, Jared Leto steals the show as Skeletor.” – Jordan Farley, Total Film
“While Masters of the Universe definitely isn’t a good movie, it’s more disappointing than anything else. It’s got all the right intentions and a few memorable moments, but it’s mostly frustrating and awkward.” – Germain Lussier, io9
“The film winds up feeling so much like one of those fringe festival musical theater parodies that you find yourself waiting for the characters to burst into song.” – Frank Scheck, THR
“The movie somehow concludes that Adam serves as a beacon for empathy, which has all the conviction of the corporate seminars that the movie briefly attempts to satirize.” – Jesse Hassenger, AV Club
The reviews come as the film is unfortunately not tracking well – the movie’s pre-sales started off weak and never really improved, with the title now heading for a $30 million or so domestic opening on a $170 million budget.
“Masters of the Universe” opens in cinemas on Friday. Check out a clip below:
