I've always enjoyed the 1980 film of Flash Gordon. Because I missed it in the theater, I've never seen it in its full outlandish glory until buying the Blu-ray the other day. Aside from the obvious praise about how good it looks in high-definition, my overall impressions have remained unchanged over the years.
1) As far as creating a comic-book atmosphere, it's about the truest adaptation of a classic character from that era of comics.
2) The American leads are pretty bad, but the supporting actors (mostly Brits) are wonderful, especially Brian Blessed as the borderline insane king of the Hawkmen.
3) The soundtrack by Queen remains awesome.
4) Between the blond beefcake being marched around in a speedo, the well-groomed man in the green suit speaking BBC English and - I suppose - the actress playing Ming the Merciless' daughter, I wonder how many young men came to appreciate their sexuality watching this movie.
5) The most implausible thing about the movie remains the idea that the New York Jets would actually have a quarterback good enough to fight off so many of Ming's soldiers singlehandedly.
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