Pathetic Earthlings... Who Can Save You Now?

Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones) is zapped from Earth into a sci-fi adventure on planet Mongo with his beautiful companion Dale (Melody Anderson). In an attempt to put an end to Ming the Merciless' (Max Von Sydow) plan to destroy the Earth, Flash battles Ming's goons and declines the advances of the luscious Princess Aura (Ornella Muti). With the help of Prince Barin (Timothy Dalton) and Prince Vultan (Brian Blessed), Flash Gordon takes the Ming empire by storm

Review

When the totalitarian planet of Mongo decides on a whim to obliterate Earth, it's up to the lunk-headed quarterback Flash Gordon and his oddball companions to make the universe safe for democracy. Based on the classic (and infinitely more reputable) comic strip and its '30s screen serialization, this cotton-candy-colored trash classic deserves immortality for Queen's unforgettably pulsating soundtrack alone. The legendary Max von Sydow appears to be having a blast as the evil Ming the Merciless, while Ornella Muti, as his daughter, is the living embodiment of what attracts adolescent boys to comics in the first place. (She makes Barbarella look mundane.) One of the most shamelessly entertaining movies ever made, this is a knowingly absurd sensory freak-out that'll have the viewer blissfully checking the sky afterward for signs of Hawkmen. --Andrew Wright