Sadly Over-hyped

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Obviously shot in haste, but given a bit of class in the earlier eps by the use of vast amounts of stock footage, including snips from the previous serials. Mind you, the stock material is often rather clumsily inserted - not that mismatched cuts and out-of-place establishing shots are anything unusual in this serial. Still some of the old footage is quite impressive. Chapter 3 with its copious action from Universal's own 1930 release White Hell of Pitz Palu is my favorite. This ep concludes with Ming's wonderfully conceived mechanical men, the annihilators, on the rampage, though the actual cliffhanger is weak.Throughout the serial, the editors use optical wipes to maintain interest. One of the best eps for a startling array of wipes is 6. In fact this is a fun chapter all around, with some of the hokiest and most ridiculous dialogue, delivered with perfectly straight faces by players who should have known (but don't) how to gently send it up. The only actor who gives this vein a welcome try is Earl Dwire as a maniacally sadistic scientist, but he is killed off in an early chapter. One of the script's more inspired creations are the Rock Men who make their initial appearance in chapter 7. These eps gain further appeal by lensing on visually exciting natural locations. Alas, after we bid farewell to the Rock Men early in chapter 9 we have only the lessening joys of the burning metal, the flooded tunnel and the plunge off the castle rampart to sustain us until the serial comes to a somewhat disappointing end. There is no final fight between Flash and Ming, the emperor being disposed of by a wayward rocket ship.The writers don't mind repeating some of their action ideas from time to time, and of course we do see those same shots of the miniature space ships in flight, taking off and landing in exactly the same locations endlessly. I don't know whose bright idea it was to dress the hero's allies in Robin Hood outfits. Just another campy incongruity - though it does provide Miss Hughes, an otherwise somewhat colorless heroine, with a pleasing change of costume. Anne Gwynne displays a bit more spirit as the villainess. But acting, as said before, is not this serial's strong point. Even the hero is so bland he could often be invisible for all we in the audience care. And as for Ming, the so-called Merciless, he needs a reasonable alternative to Don Rowan's thick-headed Captain Torch (not even a colonel, mind you) as his chief henchman if he is to have the remotest chance of success. Perhaps Ming the Moron would be a more apt title. Never has a dastardly ruler been surrounded by more turncoats and incompetents.Direction and other credits rarely rise above the capable - and often stabilize at a lesser level - but we love the corny music score.

It's a toss-up, if you ask me, between FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS and FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE. This one starts off well enough, with some solid scene-staging- but then degenerates quickly into the almost mind-numbing sameness that was the bane of chapter plays. Not doubt the pace of production played an integral part in this: I read somewhere that on one of these serials there were 80 setups in a single day. If THAT doesn't make for some uneven edges, nothing will. Costumes and extensive stock footage seem to have been cobbled together in an almost random manner befitting an Ed Wood epic (though not nearly as bad, to be honest), but it's the lack of the youthful enthusiasm that made the original so much fun that is most deeply felt (or not felt). By this time, they were going through the motions- although Crabbe really did seem to be getting more comfortable in the role. Pity.

This is the last and least of the three Universal Flash Gordon serials staring Buster Crabbe. Less in the way of interesting races & peoples (rock people, oooh), less excitement, even cheaper (if possible) and more-often-reused special effects, and a promise of slightly more interesting female characters (a new Dale who seems at first a little less girlish) that largely is unfulfilled make this interesting mostly for Flash/serial completists. The last 4 episodes or so in particular are pretty dull. And as to the serial as a whole -- Ming (Charles Middleton, whose hamminess is probably the most fun element in the series) is still into Flash's love, Dale Arden, and still (for no apparent reason) wants to destroy the earth. And rule the universe. Or something. Hey, I liked it, but I can't say I'd recommend it to most people under, say, 80 years of age. It can be a tough slog if your idea of space opera is post-Star Wars; but it's also the one film that SW is most based on -- watch the crawl at the beginning of each episode, and listen to the use of Wagner -- so you'd do well to watch it, kiddies. Watched on DVD, part of the excellently transferred Image collection of all 3 serials.

Universal's 46th sound-era film was the third and last of their serials...From the ALEX RAYMOND newspaper feature owned and copyrighted by King Features Syndicate...starring Buster Crabbe as "Flash Gordon." All featured loose adaptations of their Sunday comic page continuities but this one stayed pretty close to the long-running segment devoted to Prince Barin's Kingdom of Arboria and the Ice Kingdom of Frigia ruled by The Ice Queen, both on the planet Mongo.This one takes off when the Earth is visited by a deadly epidemic known as the Plague of the Purple Death, easily diagnosed as it leaves a purple spot on the foreheads of its victims. Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe), Dale Arden (Carol Hughes) and Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon) zoom out in Zarkov's rocket ship and make a straight-space bee-line for Mongo, where the ruthless ruler, Ming the Merciless (Charles Middleton) is spreading death dust in Earth's atmosphere as part of his plan to CONQUER THE UNIVERSE. Actually, he had two kingdoms on his own planet he didn't rule, but Ming had a severe case of the hots for Dale Arden from Day One, and he probably figured he could take care of the rebel kingdoms after he made the lured-back Dale his bride and, thusly inspired, take care of Arboria and Frigia in one fell swoop along with the remainder of the Universe. The man knew how to set priorities.Upon arriving on Mongo, Flash, Dale and Zarkov visit their old friends Prince Barin (played by Roland Drew, and two Roland Drews weren't equal to Dick Alexander's Prince Barin) and his wife Aura (Shirley Dean, formerly of The Jones Family at TC-F), who was also Ming's daughter, who has been reformed by Barin's love and the realization that her father is one stark-mad, raving lunatic...and horny to boot.The family touches and relationships between the primary characters---Flash may have had a little thing going on with Aura back in the early days of the strip when she was the total spoiled-rotten daughter and supporter of her father, and they were still exchanging Sunday glances for years even after she married Barin--- and the creation of a Queen Glenda of Frigia (Clarice Sherry) ruling over an Ice Kingdom (that one strike any chords with a 2005 film) show that Alex Raymond's plot-writing skills were on par with his top-flight illustration abilities. All of his comic strips, including "Jungle Jim" were aimed at adults, and the kids could figure it out later on their own. Some of us never did. Glenda The Ice Queen, on Sundays for certain, also had an eye on General Lupi (William Royle), the commander-in-chief of her army, or he was until he ended up in one of Ming's dungeons, and wasn't doing much in the way of commanding when Flash & Company showed up. In fact, Ming's scientists have perfected the Purple Death Dust to the point where it only kills those with intelligence enough to pose a threat to Ming, while only making slaves out of the less intelligent. This, clearly, posed a threat for all the citizens of Earth with all the population doomed to become slaves, but Ming wasn't a man who liked to take chances, except where Dale Arden was concerned. Well, his stooge scientists tell him that this is what they have done, but Ming wants proof and they are about to experiment on General Lupi. Flash, of course, rescues him and this makes the thawed-out Ice Queen happy, and she grants Flash and Zarkov the right to mine Polarite, the antidote to the Purple Death Dust, in her kingdom. After a few incidents with avalanches and "annihilants" Flash mines enough Polarite to save the Earth, and he makes a quick day-trip back there and deposits the life-saving Polarite on top of Mt. McKinley. (Hey, settle down...it's stock footage McKinley and not a location site.) But, back on Mongo, things aren't going all that smooth and there are still many chapters to go. Somewhere toward the end, Zarkov defies Ming by informing him that his and Flash's mission is to not only save the world (Earth) but the Universe as well. Ming, always the one to indulge in tirades, even when things are going his way, scoffs: "The universe? I AM THE UNIVERSE!" Charles Middleton's eyes probably lit up when he saw that line in the script.(Those of you who don't know how this one ends might want to move on to something else, now)....as they fly back to the safety of Arboria and then back to Earth, Prince Barin tells Flash: "By destroying Ming, you have saved the universe." and Flash replies..."In his mad ambition, Ming declared that HE WAS the universe." And Zarkov says, "Then, since you are the conquerer of Ming, I shall radio your father: Flash Gordon conquers the universe!" And Dale, not knowing an exit line when she hears one adds..."And saves the Earth." We thought he saved the Earth several chapters back when he deposited the Polarite atop of Mt. McKinley. Oh, that's correct...Ming later came up with Solarite.Hey, the dialogue and character's alone overcome any "so-called" 1940's cheesy special effects. Nine out of ten...only because of the covered-up belly buttons in this one.