Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A football player and his mates travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
Flash Gordon (1980) is a gloriously campy space opera that earns its cult status through sheer distinctive personality. The Queen soundtrack, the lurid technicolor visuals, Max von Sydow's deliciously over-the-top Ming the Merciless, and the film's unapologetic embrace of its pulpy comic-strip origins make it utterly one-of-a-kind — Novelty is a genuine 4. The cinematography delivers vivid, garish production design that commits fully to its aesthetic. Acting ranges from self-aware camp to genuine charisma. However, the plot is thin and episodic, lurching from set-piece to set-piece without strong dramatic architecture. The ending resolves hastily and leaves threads dangling in an unsatisfying way, clearly anticipating a sequel that never came.