The review embargo on the live-action Masters of the Universe lifted June 2 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET, opening the gates for full critic reviews three days ahead of the June 5 wide release. The early read from published reviews leans positive, building on the wave of social reactions that landed after the May 18 premiere.
Writing for Variety, Courtney Howard called the film “a hell of a lot of fun,” crediting director Travis Knight with “a genuine reverence for all the incarnations of the He-Man character” and praising Nicholas Galitzine and Camila Mendes in the lead roles. Collider’s Perri Nemiroff tagged it “one of the biggest surprises of 2026,” while colleague Maggie Lovitt wrote that it will land for anyone who “missed the hopeful, bright, and upbeat joy that the 1980s once possessed.”
Several reviewers reached for the same comparison, framing the reboot’s self-aware, campy tone against the Guardians of the Galaxy template. The praise is not unanimous. Some critics found the humor uneven and called stretches of the film a mess, even as the third act drew broader approval.
As of this scan the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer had not yet displayed a settled score, with the page still aggregating the freshly posted reviews. We are not reporting a percentage until the count stabilizes.
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