MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2026)

Here's the honest verdict: this is a four-star popcorn movie — exciting, funny, and better made than it had any obligation to be. It's also got real substance underneath the spectacle: a hero who fights for his family, offers his enemies peace before he offers them justice, and helps restore a broken father-daughter relationship along the way. That's rare in a summer fantasy movie, and it's worth celebrating.

But this isn't a family ticket. There's a strong profanity, a run of lighter obscenities, and — more troubling — a few gratuitous, comical innuendoes built around character nicknames that Movieguide flags as needlessly crude. Add in heavy fantasy violence and a "power is within you" idea that flirts with magical thinking, and you've got a movie that earns its extreme-caution rating even while it earns its praise.

If you're an adult who enjoys a well-made fantasy romp and can let the crude jokes roll off you, this delivers. If you're picking a movie for your kids, keep looking.

Prince Adam of Eternia grows up in the shadow of his father's demand that he learn to fight — a lesson that becomes urgent when the sorcerer Skeletor attacks the kingdom and defeats King Randor. Before Skeletor can seize the legendary Sword of Power, the king's wisest advisor sends Adam and the sword to Earth. Fifteen years later, Adam is stuck in a dead-end job and still searching for what he lost. When the sword resurfaces, he has to decide whether he's ready to go home and fight for it.

Four stars means this is genuinely excellent popcorn entertainment, and the source material backs that up. The film moves with lots of exciting action, fun performances, and plenty of funny lines and situations — an exhilarating blend of action and comedy that earns its crowd-pleasing label. It's the kind of adaptation that respects both the nostalgia and the audience's appetite for a good time. Nothing here suggests a lazy cash-grab; this is craft, applied with energy.

This is a mixed pagan fantasy world, and it shows. The story leans on a "the power was within you all along" idea rather than power coming from outside the self — a soft version of magical thinking that quietly displaces the biblical picture of strength given by God, not generated from within. A wise female character is called a "sorceress," and the film lets her sometimes appear as something like "an angel of light" — language worth noting for discerning viewers.

And yet the moral bones of the story are surprisingly sound. The hero risks everything to rescue his kidnapped parents and restore his father's kingdom. He helps the heroine reconcile with her own broken father. He's framed unmistakably as a savior figure, complete with a symbolic death and resurrection, and — most strikingly — he offers his enemies a chance to repent and make peace before justice finally has to be done. Those are convictions worth applauding, even inside a pagan frame.

The gratuitous, comical "gay" innuendoes woven around character nicknames add nothing to the story and are worth knowing about going in.

Underneath the sword-and-sorcery trappings is a very old ache: the desire for a strength greater than our own, and a father's house worth fighting to restore. Scripture answers both — not with power found within, but with power given: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

This one's a genuine pleasure to watch — funny, exciting, and surprisingly rich in family loyalty, mercy toward enemies, and a hero worth rooting for. It's also got crude jokes and rough content that have no business near a child's movie night. Our answer stands: worth the trip — adults only. If you're planning something for the whole family this week instead, start with our latest family-friendly picks.