Rating: ****
Review Date: 6/14/26
Director: Travis Knight
Cast: Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto,
Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Christiaan Bettridge, cameo by
Dolph Lundgren
"The bigger the army, the more targets there are."
What kind of world are we living in when a "He-Man" movie is actually better than a "Star Wars" movie? Life can sure be strange, sometimes... Adam is the wimpy and sensitive prince of Eternia, who is bullied by all of the other kids. When Skeletor's (Jared Leto) forces attack Eternia, the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) sends Adam and the Sword Of Power to Earth, where no one will be able to find him. (His mother makes an offhand remark that she's from Earth, which adds an interesting wrinkle) Unfortunately, he loses the sword when he reaches Earth, and no one believes he's from another planet. Much silliness ensues until Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is finally reunited with his sword and Teela (Camila Mendes) comes to bring him back home. Of course, he's just as awkward on Eternia as he is on Earth, but he eventually transforms into He-Man, the Champion Of Eternia. That's when things get really fun and interesting. Together, He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba) and a handful of warriors take the fight back to Skeletor to free Eternia from his evil grasp.
It's a well-made and surprisingly entertaining film with a lot of heart and some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments. Despite the source material, it's considerably more adult-oriented than "The Mandalorian and Grogu" (2026) which came out at the same time, and the action scenes are also better. Who would have imagined that? Granted, the scenes on Earth are full of cringe, but Nicholas Galitzine does a superb job of realizing Adam's endearingly goofy charm. He also makes a great-looking He-Man. The writing is smart and funny, and Dolph Lundgren makes a brilliantly realized cameo to give Adam advice. Teela and Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie) are delightful, and Idris Elba steals the show as military strong-man, Duncan. While Jared Leto is normally cinematic poison, he does an adequate job as Skeletor and isn't super annoying. Skeletor himself is just as goofy as Adam, but he's also irredeemably evil and not someone you want to mess with. The only problem I had was that I couldn't understand half of what he was saying. (Although he does call He-Man a boob at one point, which I appreciated)
The fight scenes are exciting and surprisingly violent, and the visual effects are very good. It's obviously a nostalgia piece, and it does a great job of being both reverential and self-aware. It's both intelligent and gleefully entertaining, and doesn't pander to kid-friendly mentality like "The Mandalorian" does. A post-credits scene hints at a She-Ra sequel, but based on this film's disappointing box-office performance, I doubt that will ever happen.