Trashy, campy, silly, and wild. Flash Gordon is brilliant. The cast is perfect. The soundtrack by Queen? Classic. The costumes and set design look like they fell out of the comic strip. It has bizarre dialogue, lots of crazy action, weirdo aliens, gross monsters, nutty escapes, and my personal favorite: The villain who ends up fighting with the good guys.
I saw this when I was 10 years old as the second half of a double feature with Popeye. I think that was the day I began loving movies. (Yes, I loved Popeye also. I also love 1941, so what?) To those who may dismiss Flash Gordon as anything less than great, let me (again) offer my simple movie philosophy: How well does a movie do what it sets out to do? Flash Gordon succeeds by this measure considerably.
The scenes that are silly and campy and corny? They're meant to be like that. Director Mike Hodges must have had one good movie in him, because the only notable things he ever did after this was A Prayer Before Dying and Morons from Outer Space. (I'm not kidding.) Every detail is perfect from the drinks served in Ming's palace to the creepy tree monster (in a pretty damn intense scene).
The cast members all seem well aware of what's going on also, which helps a great deal. Our hero (and Jets QB) Flash (Sam Jones, destined to a life of softcore cable movies) is always brave and ever prepared. His damsel, Dale (Melody Anderson, looking helpless and vacuous, which is her strong suit, I think)is helpless and vacuous. Dr. Zarkov is played by The Fiddler (Topol-not the toothpaste) himself in a role so over-the-top and wild-eyed, you can't help but love him.
Pre-Bond Timothy Dalton and big, hairy Brian Blessed show up as two warring princes, along with a metal-faced henchman named Klytus who is so cruel and evil, it's a great joy when he's slain and his eyeballs melt all over the floor. But Ming. Max von Sydow plays Ming so perfectly; you love every scene he's in. He pulled out all his Grinch moves on this one, and he oozes a nasty vibe.
Basically Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov blast into outer space on a cute little homemade rocketship, they fall asleep (and Flash cops a little booby-feel), and wake up on some freaky, disco planet and hop out to look around. Not surprised at all they can breathe the atmosphere, they quickly meet some nasty guards. A gun is produced and we learn that guns on this planet do not shoot bullets, but instead a laser-powered metal glove that strangles and pins the enemy to the ground. How's that for advanced technology? ("Look out! He's got a board with a nail through it!")
The newcomers are brought to court in front of Ming the Merciless. When Flash is attacked, he breaks into sudden football mode and begins tossing this giant green egg at bad guys, as Dale does her cheerleading in the background. ("Go, Flash, Go!") After much ballyhoo, our heroes are separated. Flash goes through A LOT of trouble and icky adventures while Dale and the loony Doc wait for him to rescue them.
A thrilling and tight sci-fi adventure. Something that's just simple fun done in an imaginative and entertaining fashion. The kind of movie that is remembered well by many movie fans and it is clear to see why. Flash Gordon is a movie that was obviously made with attention and a loving eye for detail and mood. The action sequences are extremely well done, and the special effects hold up pretty well, even today. Done with a perfect combination of corn, affection, action and even a little Kapowza, to keep the kids interested.
A special mention goes out to Ornella Muti, who plays Ming's daughter, Aura. Not only is she sexy in her tight (and loopy) costumes, but her accent is awesome. ("No, not the bore worms!") If you can't find something in your heart in Flash Gordon to like, I question if you really like movies at all. Flash Gordon brings me back to when I was a 10-year old, wide-eyed movie fan. Mention this movie to anyone over 25 and watch their reaction.
New York football star Flash Gordon vaults into outer space to battle the nefarious Ming supreme ruler of the planet Mongo. Ming intends to conquer pl...More at Family Video
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