People who insist Max von Sydow’s finest work was "The Seventh Seal" are simply mistaken; this film from Mike Hodges and Dino de Laurentiis is the one to appreciate. It gives him a chance to play an over-the-top villain while looking like something out of a pantomime, which is quite a treat. Sam J. Jones takes on the role of the hero, who along with the rather clumsy Melody Anderson ("Dale") and Topol's slightly unhinged scientist ("Zarkov"), gets caught up in the playful schemes of "Ming the Merciless" as he messes around with Earth. Once this brave trio lands on “Mongo,” they have to struggle to stay alive. With "Flash," the lead character – who spends a lot of time looking like a frightened rabbit – has to protect his honor from the aggressively flirtatious "Princess Aura" (Ornella Muti), who is supposed to be engaged to "Barin" (Timothy Dalton). He’s constantly clashing with Brian Blessed's "Vultan," the hawk-men’s king. Then there’s the wonderfully unsettling Peter Wyngarde as “Klytus” and Margiangela Melato as his evil assistant “Kala,” which really rounds out the recipe for nearly two hours of comic book action, full of those classic sounds like "thwack" and "pow." The film is 40 years old now – that’s why it's back in cinemas – and nothing seems to have been done to update it. So the special effects are pretty rough, the computer-generated imagery is obvious, as are the cheerfully inexpensive costumes worn by the lizard people and those little characters who resemble playing cards from "Alice in Wonderland." Freddie Mercury and Queen add a bit of extra sparkle with their theme song, and if you look closely, you might even notice a younger Robbie Coltrane somewhere. It’s pure escapism, certainly, but it's still simple, enjoyable fun, poking fun at pretty much everything while everyone is decked out in leather, lycra, or tights!

Source on TMDB