Flash Gordon Reviews

 

 

Kelsey Adair

 

Flash Gordon was a great movie simply because it was so bad. If that doesn’t make any sense, you’ll understand what I mean after watching this film. This film had a combination of terrible special effects, bad acting, and cheesy lines. Put all of that together, and you’re left with an hour and fifty-eight minutes of non-stop laughter. The plot line was nothing special, but it was easy to follow, and you couldn’t help but cheer on the good guys. One of the most hilarious parts of the movie by far was how much Flash Gordon was into himself. It was also really funny that he and the other kidnapped person, Dale Arden, were already madly in love by the end of the film, even though only one day had gone by. I’d have to say the best part of the film was the amazing sound track provided by Queen.

 

Josh Berting

 

Flash Gordon, directed by Mike Hodge, tells a tale of a football quaterback turned hero. Flash, the main character played by Sam J. Jones, is transported to a distant plant when he realizes it is up to him to save the earth from utter annihilation at the hands of merciless tyrant Ming. Flash Gordon is an action packed, 111 minutes of pure enthralling heart pounding fun. Though admittedly this movie doesn’t have the best special effects, or the best actors, or even the best plot line it does have a killer sound track. And all these second rate actors and special effects make for one the most unintentionally funny movies I have ever seen. Because of this I give the movie a high rating, not based on quality but rather based on the hilarity of it.

 

Brittany Burton

OH! OHHHHH! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE! Flash Gordon was by far the best movie we've watched in robotics this year. I laughed, I cried, I laughed so hard I cried. Everything single thing about this movie was fake and overdramatic. Dale and Flash were in love moments after they met. Then again, if I flew into space with a stranger, I might love him too. Especially if he's a super-hero football player. The plot of the movie was completely ridiculous, yet very entertaining. And although there was only one noticeable robot, im glad the movie committee made this choice. Thanks kids.

 

Kevin Caskey

 

Flash Gordon is an action packed thrill ride that throws you into a whirlwind of exciting fight scenes, forbidden love, and suspense as you watch one man fight for the fate of planet earth. Okay, maybe it’s not really that exciting, but they certainly tried. Flash Gordon is an absolutely horrible movie, plain and simple, but it is because it is so horrible that it makes it one of the best movies we will watch all year. The movie centers around the quarterback of the New York Jets who is sent skyrocketing into outer space in a space ship built inside some crazy scientist’s house. The movie was destined for the Oscars, although I'm not sure if it ever quite made it there or not. The plot is seriously laughable; it keeps the viewer entertained just because it is so stupid and predictable. It still holds my mark as a good movie although it is indefinitely a bad one, just because it was so fun to watch. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes ridiculously cheesy acting and script writing, and has two hours to waste sitting down and watching this movie. Bravo Flash…Bravo

 

Marco Flores

Given the era in which this movie came out, I expected it to be MUCH better than it actually was. Ranking amongst the worst of the movies we have viewed thus far, it tells the tale of a nearly useless hero named Flash that saves Earth by allying himself and a girl (cough, harlot, cough) he met on a plane with bird creatures and people from a swamp like land against an evil sorcerer that dominates the universe. That’s about it. There was nothing interesting about the movie except the random sexual innuendos. The special effects were abysmal, being very primitive for its time. I daresay that “The Day the Earth Stood Still” had effects that captivated me more so than Flash Gordon and the World of Tomorrow. The movie had absolutely no relevance to anything in society, focusing more on the voluptuous hair of Flash Gordon. I can almost guarantee that this movie in no way represents the “world of tomorrow”.

 

 

Emily Hager

 Flash! Ohohh! Let me just say, this is the sweetest movie we have watched so far, by far. It has a hero who looks like a cross between Patrick Swayze and Chrisopher Reeve and acts worse than both, all while wearing tight t-shirts with Flash and/or a lightning bolt on them. The damsel in distress chick has a 70's flip and no problem falling deeply in love with a man she has known a day. There's an asian super-villian who rules the universe with iron chopsticks (gotta love that blatant racism). There's the super-villians daughter, who's pants are so tight she has to drop them for every man she sees. And lets not forget Timothy Dalton, a one-time Bond, as space Robin Hood. This movie was absolutely ridiculous in every way, and was the most fun movie to watch all year. And the best thing about it was the music, by the only band that could have stood up to that much polyester- Queen! The special effects were a joke and the robots didn't really exist, not to mention the completely predictably cheesy plot, but that doesn't stop this movie from being by far my favorite so far. Flash! Ohhoohh!

 

 

Stephanie Herndon

Flash Gordon had, by far, the best sound track of any robot movie we have watched! Then again, is there a song by Queen that isnt amazing? The movie was similar to classic superhero movies, comics, and shows. The plot was pretty basic, including a humurously fast paced romance, causing it to lack credibility. There weren't many robots, and the few that existed were pretty basic and almost laughable. They did not show the artificial intelligence that would bring controversy into the movie. The movie was entertaining, and fun to watch, but had little effect on the world of robotics. The excitement and humor of the movie made it the best we have watched so far! Basically, flash gordon is the savior of the universe! ahhhhh!

 

 

Dustin Houser

"Flash! ... Aaah!" Flash Gordon is probably my favorite movie that we've watched this semester. However, it is not my favorite because it had the best visual effects, or the best sound effects, or the best acting, because it definitely lacked in all these fields. This is an awesome movie to me because I found myself constantly laughing at the cheesy lines that the actors or actresses would say, or the hillariously uneseccary things they would act out. The vast array of varying characters is pretty impressive; there are so many different types of creatures and people throughout this movie its amazing. The character designers must have had one crazy imagination, or either some really powerful psychadelic drugs. Also, the plot of the movie is pretty funny...the quarterback for the New York Jets is supposed to save the Universe ??? I'm sorry, but I find that a little hard to believe. Pretty much everything about this movie is unbelievable, but that makes this movie more enjoyable (more laughable). All the different, unique settings for this movie are intriguing; the exploration into this unreal galaxy and its many, equally make-believe planets makes the movie fun and enjoyable. I would rate this movie an 8 out of 10 for pure entertainment, but it only receives a 4 out of 10, from me, for overall movie quality.

 

 

Earl Duncan Laing

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe was a very entertaining and humorous movie. The plot of the story is very adventurous as well as exciting.The story line was very, very corny, but also very amusing at the same time. The movie was actually so stupid at times that it actually worked to its advantage. The stupid parts turned out the funniest parts of the movie. The overall plot of the movie, in my opinion, was really unorganized and at times was very hard to follow due to its silliness. At the beginning of the movie, Flash Gordon meets a woman by the name of Dale. About thirty minutes into the movie, Flash makes references about him and Dale being married and having children. This is very humorous due to the fact that he has only known her for a very short amount of time. The fact that Dale is also completely obsessed with Flash after just meeting him is also another thing that makes the movie so comical. Many of the movies supporting characters also add to the movies humorous nature. Prince Barin, Prince Vultan, and Aura contribute a great deal to the movie’s subplot. Prince Vultan alone contributed a great deal to the movie’s humor. His wild exaggerations always made his time on screen comical. Another good thing about this movie was its amazing soundtrack and sound effects. The movie’s soundtrack was done by Queen and really was what made the movie so great. The music alone doubled the movies value and enjoyment. Every time I heard the words FLASH blast out of the speakers a smile would

come on my face because I knew that it would be immediately followed by the theme song. Overall the movie’s plot was very silly and corny, but its humor and soundtrack made it truly enjoyable.

Overall Rating: 8/10

 

Kara Learman

When this began with a Queen song for the intro, I was honestly scared of what was to come. As I gave this film a chance I came to enjoy the awkward one-liners, outrageous costume, and somewhat mediocre plot line. This film is the tale of Flash Gordon, a football star, who is forced into landing a plane and soon thereafter is muscled onto a space ship. Ming the Merciless is on attack against planet Earth because Earth has someone on it suspicious of the works of Ming. This movie is the adventures of Flash, Dale, Dr. Zarkov, and the creatures that have to deal with Ming. The costumes and special effects in this film were impressive given the fact that it was made in the 80’s. They were creative and kept the audience entertained through out the entirety of the film. I fully enjoyed it, much more than I originally expected. I would recommend this film to others. I would rate this movie as an 8.

 

 

Matt Lynch

Flash Gordon is entertaining from start to finish. Any movie that has Queen singing the theme song can't be bad. Flash Gordon a professional quarterback teams up with the creatures of the universe to defeat the evil Emperor Ming. The plot is basic and the special effects are cheesy but the movie is entertaining. Flash is a very likeable character in an outrageous situation. Flash conquers death, with the help of the emperor's daughter, and escapes to another planet. There he again cheats death while taking on the "initiation of a man" challenge. The way aliens are depicted is hilarious. There are lizard people which look almost nothing like lizards, men who live in the jungle and winged men of the sky. Flash unites all of the minions of Ming to challenge the emperor and overthrow him. Where Flash Gordon lacks in special effects and deep meaning it makes up for in entertainment. For anyone looking for an entertaining movie without moral worth or plot depth Flash Gordon is a great movie. I give it a 7 out of 10.

 

John Nunns

Flash Gordon is quite an entertaining movie as long as you're in a more comical mindset over a serious one. The movie is based on the comic book, also called Flash Gordon made in the 1930s. The plot is a decent story but was more funny to me than anything. The fact that these aliens team up with Flash, a professional quarterback on Earth, seems just a tad unrealistic. It is obvious that this movie is simply to entertain, which I feel it does a good job doing. The hilarious dialogue accompanied with the horrible effects and costumes are enough to make one hope that the director made this movie to be more comical than anything else. As for robots, all I have to say is, what robots? I didn't see any robots at all, but maybe it's just my mistake. Anyways, I reccomend this movie to anyone looking for a movie that's fun and entertaining.

 

Dee Parks

Oh boy, was this an entertaining movie! The campy costumes, purposeful silliness, and satirical dialogue made for a very fun two hours. The music was perfectly chosen and leant much entertainment value to the movie. Although the plot is totally familiar because there have been so many renditions of the Flash Gordon comic series, this particular version is my favorite. There was no attempt to make the story believable. The movie is meant to entertain, not to make its viewers think. Perhaps our selection committee could have picked a film with more robots in it (were there any robots?), but I'm glad they put this film into our list. Based on the amount of laughter in the room, the film was a big hit.

 

Amanda Pudney

One good thing about this movie is that the soundtrack was the best of all the movies we've seen so far! I really enjoyed the movie for its ridiculous scenes and situations, and the characters. It was funny, bizarre, and over the top all at the same time. Though I'm not sure where robots came into the picture, the other characters more than made up for the lack of robots. The bird-people were some of my favorites; I liked their ruthless, Spartan-like nature. All of the action sequences and special effects were also enjoyable. The plot was incredibly ridiculous and so far fetched that it didn't pose any real philosophical questions, but the film was enjoyable nevertheless. There's not too much to say about this movie due to its lack of thought and simple premise: The Earth is in danger, and only Flash Gordon can save it from the aliens and become the savior of the universe!

 

Austin Reiter

Flash Gordon was one of the better movies that we as a class have watched over the course of the semester, though certainly not because of the quality of the film. The acting is poor at best and the special effects used are comical (especially spaceships and the illusion of flight). The costumes, in my opinion, were poorly designed and made the majority of the cast look either like a troupe of clowns or Robin Hood and his merry men. Each character’s personality was also dull and somewhat stereotypical, which I disliked. The movie was not a complete flop however. The movie’s soundtrack was produced entirely by Queen, which helps to give the movie quite a bit merit, and the plot of the movie, while certainly ludicrous (which I suppose is understandable... it’s science fiction, after all), is present throughout the entirety of the film. Many of the scenes in the movie are also extremely comical, though I’m not quite sure whether they were meant to be or not. I mean, Flash Gordon being the quarterback for the NY Jets is one thing (*snicker*), but fighting off a good dozen or so of Emperor Ming’s minions using only a golden ball-like object and his quarterback skills is another. The film also has that “special something” that leaves you talking about it for the rest of the week, or at least singing “Flash! Ahhahhhh! Savior of the Universe!!” up and down the dorm halls for the next few days.

 

Michael Salley

"Flash Gordon" was perhaps one of the most enjoyable movies we have watched to date. The effects and scenery may not have been as refined as they might have been... but the movie earned more brownie points with me than many of the others simply by being humorous. The plot itself seemed a bit far-fetched; a group of pseudo-Mongols from space taking over the rest of the galaxy planet by planet as soon as the denizens of said planets have discovered that there is more life out beyond their own world. In places, the movie seemed entirely too simplistic and somewhat rigged; the testimony given to the "Emperor"... Head Space Cadet... whatever he was... by a relatively unfortunate tribe started with "We have nothing to offer you. We have suffered greatly since you blasted our kingdom." This attitude, while humorous, sums up the entire mentality of the "bad guys" in Flash Gordon - the Space Mongols are a classic race of conquerors who are deaf to the cries of the brutally conquered until the day when they are finally crushed in a heroic uprising by the minions. Flash Gordon himself is a super-hero in human form, in the way that his hair remains beach-surfer blond no matter how much he goes through... in one scene, he's being blasted on his air scooter, and in the next he's recomposed perfectly. Facts such as that... and the complete lack of shooting skill exhibited by all but one or two of the characters... and the fact that Flash and his co-heroes can always survive a barrage of shots from numerous ray guns that invariably manage to blow up everything except their target - seem to detract from the overall veracity of the film. It's too contrived. However, the standard good-vs-evil... evil-seems-to-be-winning... but-somebody-saves-us-all-at-the-last-minute sequence is perfectly intact, and in its own way the movie does have some good points to make regarding the role of the conquered and their conquerors. As for robots... none were clearly evident. There were some floating bowling balls that killed people with blast rays... I'd assume those were robots of some form or another. Technology in this movie was portrayed in terms of efficient killing and brainwashing technology that threatened the people... but then again, half of the people were threats too. Overall... the movie lacked finesse but was a good laugh and did suggest some anti-technology impressions that would have existed at the time of the movie. As the Cold War was reaching its end but still raging throughout America, it's reasonable to assume that movies such as this with all the fancy weaponry and so forth... would represent the anti-technology-for-evil attitude that prevailed at the time the movie was made.

 

 

Jamie Stevens

 

Flash Gordon was hilarious. It was so bad, fake, and definitely cheesy that it made for a great comedy. The cheesy lines that were told throughout the movie kept us all laughing the whole time. The entertainment part of this movie definitely kept it from failing. It’s story line revolves around the New York Jets quarterback who was sent to outer space in a ship built by an insane scientist. Hilarious - yes; best acting - probably not. I still give it a 6 out of 10 simply because it is a movie to crack anybody up.

 

Jesse Talbott

Though it may not have been the best movie we've seen, Flash Gordon had to have been the most entertaining so far, due to the incredibly cheesy lines and sketchy acting. The movie did have that comic book feel to it though, which is surely what the director was goin for there to get the whole classic Flash thing goin on. There werent too many robots in the film though, besides the floating ball of death maybe, but other than that the movie was mainly characters dressed in rediculous outfits. I liked watching this movie, but suprisingly it had way too many sexual references. It seemed to me that Flash was wayyy too perverted for a kid's comic book hero, but that made the movie even funnier. All in all, I liked Flash Gordon, and I recommend it to any classic-movie lover who loves a good laugh. I give it an 8 out of 10. FLASH........ahhhhhhhhh!

 

Jeanne-Claire White

Flash Gordon is one of those movies that is so bad it is hilarious. All of the movie components are awful from the expressionless actors to the cheesy jokes. The plot is about Flash Gordon trying to save the planet Earth, and he and Dale are kidnapped and have to break free. Although the plot is lame, the music for this film is absolutely amazing and very catchy. The action scenes are basic, and the only sign of a robot that I saw was a hovering machine. If you are into space movies and have a lot of free time, I recommend this movie for a few good laughs.

 

Mike Wittmer

Melody Anderson said it best, “Flash, Flash I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the earth!” Flash Gordon combines the sweet simplicity of its characters with an exciting plot and an upbeat soundtrack by Queen that leaves you “hangin’ on the edge of your seat.” This movie has all the classic comic book elements. You have the hero, the chick, the scientist, the evil warlord bent on destroying the Earth, the flashy lasers, and even the obnoxious sound effects. What’s not to like? It’s a fun movie for you and your friends, although the cartoon-y feel might get to you when watching it alone.