The trouble with a review of Flash Gordon is which one do you examine? There is the original comic strip, created to rival the very successful Buck Rogers, perhaps the radio serials, or do you look at the film serial from the 1940 where the hero appears ‘silver underwear’ but also established many of the tropes that live on to this day? Of course staying with the cinema there was the campy 1980 film, a guilty pleasure for many people. Television has also gotten in on the act, there were repurposed serials, animated shows, and even a recent attempt at a dramatic live action program. I think looking at the wealth of material I will focus on the one best known to me; the feature film from 1980.

It surprises some people that I truly like this movie. Mostly my tastes in SF movies runs to the serious and films that don’t even try to hadwave their scientific discretions rarely work for this author, but Flash Gordon with its tongue in cheek campiness strikes just the right tone.

The entire concept, a sportsman from Earth (the original was a polo player by the 80’s be had become a football player and if made today perhaps he’d be into basketball) is the saviour of an entire people because he can teach them teamwork and fairplay, is fairly silly. Dictators are tougher to topple than that, but if you take that premise and run with it in a bright colorful and campy manner then it can work. There are several truly good actors in the cast and one that towers over the rest, Max Von Sydow. That man can take any line and make you believe the truth behind it. I own the blu-ray and I tell you half the reason I re-watch the movie is because of Max.

This is not deep and meaningful cinema, but it is fun and it knows when to wink at the audience.

For me, in a film of this nature, that is enough