Vintage science fiction doesn't always age well, but time has been kind to "Flash Gordon." It transcends, becomes its own little genre of almost Victorian space opera and historical epic with its own internal logic, where Roman soldiers can fly around in sputtering rocketships and a mandarin-robed Ming can plot to rule the universe.
One of the things I love about "Flash Gordon" are the actors. Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton ARE Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless, the perfect double image of selfless heroism and selfish villainy. We don't need to know about their inner demons or what makes them tick: it's enough to know that Ming exists to be evil and Flash exists to stop him. Crabbe and Middleton believe they are their characters, so we believe them, too.
Watching "Flash Gordon" is like slipping into a dream world, full of danger and adventure, with ruthless enemies and loyal friends. It's a quaint, fun ride, the same sort of magic George Lucas taps with his "Star Wars" movies, and a feeling you can never get enough of.
One of the things I love about "Flash Gordon" are the actors. Buster Crabbe and Charles Middleton ARE Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless, the perfect double image of selfless heroism and selfish villainy. We don't need to know about their inner demons or what makes them tick: it's enough to know that Ming exists to be evil and Flash exists to stop him. Crabbe and Middleton believe they are their characters, so we believe them, too.
Watching "Flash Gordon" is like slipping into a dream world, full of danger and adventure, with ruthless enemies and loyal friends. It's a quaint, fun ride, the same sort of magic George Lucas taps with his "Star Wars" movies, and a feeling you can never get enough of.