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.
Review of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe
