This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Just perfect...

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Don't listen to the negative reviews

In the smoky vastness of space, a strange planet rushes towards Earth on a collision course. Scientific genius Dr. Alexis Zarkov (Frank Shannon) has built a rocket ship in which he intends to travel to the speeding planet and somehow alter its trajectory, but is unexpectedly joined on his mission by American football player 'Flash' Gordon (Larry 'Buster' Crabbe) and his blonde travelling companion Dale Arden (the absolutely gorgeous Jean Rogers), whose plane has been forced out of the sky by an electrical storm.Flash Gordon was, in its day, the most expensive serial ever produced, and wowed audiences so much that two further serials were made in quick succession (Trip to Mars in 1938 and Conquers the Universe in 1940). These days the crude special effects, bizarre costumes, stilted acting, meandering scripts and static direction seem extremely primitive, but it is for precisely these reasons that I enjoy the serial so much—it's all just so much cheesy fun (there's also an element of nostalgia: they used to air these on Saturday mornings during my school holidays). Space Soldiers, the first adventure for Buster Crabbe's daring space explorer, is divided into 13 chapters packed with punch-ups and sword fights, imaginative settings, crazy creatures (Orangopoids, Tigrons and Fire Dragons, oh my!) and silly sci-fi contraptions, each ending on a 'thrilling' cliffhanger that leaves the hero in mortal danger (although each successive chapter would see Flash easily escaping peril to fight another day).

This thing is awful but so much fun. Anyone who grew up in the '50's remembers when this production was re-broadcast (and fer free!!!!) Dear old Dale is still a glowing beauty and is one reason all the guys loved this serial. Charles Middleton is his same wonderful self and shines as he does in any production in which he appears. Abandon logic, all who enter here as much of what is said and done defies the most basic common sense. Regardless, rejoining this group of saviors of the earth is a wonderful experience even if the reaction to Jean and Pricilla is somewhat muted because of the passage of time. One thing I've noticed is that IMDb is linking to fewer "free" videos, choosing instead to be paid off by Amazon et. al. if you prefer to watch the feature. Too bad!!! It can be found on other sites and one hopes that IMDb decides to satisfy viewers rather than the bean counters.

I loved "Flash Gordon" as a child and watching the series again on DVD brings back such fond memories. Each 15-minute episode features the adventures of our hero Flash, the lovely Dale Arden, and intrepid Dr. Zarkov on the planet Mongo, with Flash escaping death at every turn: The Shark Men nearly drown him, he faces the Fire Monster in the Tunnel of Terror, and he's in mortal peril in the Static Room! The characters are still fun: Buster Crabbe is every bit the blonde dreamboat hero and Jean Rogers is a delicate and beautiful Dale Arden. Princess Aura still plots to steal Flash for herself, King Vultan of the Hawk Men still has his booming laugh and angel wings, and Ming the Merciless, Emperor of the Universe, is still giving everyone the evil eye and the creeps.This serial probably wouldn't interest children today with its hokey effects - oh, that spaceship! - but it's a fun bit of nostalgia for those who liked it the first time around. The actors play it straight and don't play down to kids. I appreciate that young viewers were expected to read the chapter synopses which had pretty big words in them.I'm glad this came out on DVD. It's a lot of fun to revisit this classic sci-fi serial.

Buster Crabbe was a big, good-looking guy who could act. The Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s used several big guys (most of whom really weren't actors) to bring to life the characters of a serialized cartoon. This is the first series, and, some of the experts believe it is the best. I am not an expert on Flash Gordon or serials, but I know what I like, and this serial was more entertaining and enjoyable than other classics like Radar Men on the Moon and The Phantom Creeps.Flash starts out as a young man on a plane who is preoccupied about the planet which is about to slam into the earth, destroying everything, and the very pretty girl sitting next to him (Jean Rogers). The passengers bail out and the plane crashes. Flash saves the girl and lands near a rocket ship designed to solve the interplanetary problem by a seemingly deranged but very brilliant scientist (Frank Shannon). And the adventures have just begun.As the serial progresses, we meet Ming the Merciless - self-proclaimed Emperor of the Universe; an enormous jovial winged king with the attention span of a chickadee; an honorable and huge prince clad in Roman armor with a sword and a fleet of rocket ships; a conniving princess who wants to possess Flash, a despicable high priest, and a tribe of enslaved space hippies who Flash will eventually inspire to great deeds.Some of the dialog is predictably corny, but overall, the stories are cleverly plotted, well edited and very well directed. The special effects are good for their time, and the costuming is terrific. There is a lot of action and a lot of dialog. Most of the acting is surprisingly good, but there are a few glaringly bad exceptions. These little problems don't really reduce the entertainment value of the films however.There are no great philosophical points you can take home from these films, but they do exactly what they were intended to do quite well - they entertain and stimulate the imagination. Good enough for me!