Prince of Space B-Movie Review

"A website to the detriment of good film"


Custom Search

HOME

Badmovies.org Home | B-Movie Reviews | Reader Reviews | Capsule Reviews | TV Show Reviews

Badmovies.org Home | Slime Awards | Finding Bad Movies | Random Thoughts | Banners

PRINCE OF SPACE - 2 Slimes

Not Rated

Reviewed by Andrew Borntreger on 7 September 2007

The Characters:

Prince of Space - The only person capable of stopping alien invaders is this fellow, because his outfit is both tighter and whiter.
Wally - He is the Prince of Space. Honestly, if I had the ability to pick my secret identity job, it would not be shining shoes on a street corner. "I saved the Earth today. Goodness, what did you step in?"
Mickey, Kimmy, and Johnnie - Not one, not two, but three annoying children for your viewing torture. Sort of a Kenny, Kenny, and Kimberly deal.
Prof. Macken - The proud inventor of "Macken's Cracken' Good Rocket Fuel."
The Japanese Military and Police - Fodder. Whenever a space invader shoots them, all that is left behind is a helmet.
The Krankorians - They rely on their laser guns, as, physically, ten of them are no match for a Japanese man of normal size. I know that they evolved on a planet with low gravity, but these guys need to hit the weights. I cannot imagine what would happen if an insane sumo wrestler, clad in aluminum foil, got loose on Krankor. He would probably toss all of them, one at a time, into space as the death rays were harmlessly reflected back at the shooter.
Phantom of Krankor - If your ultimate goal was to conquer the universe, spending half of your time chasing a pair of ten-year-old boys seems a little odd. Killed when his evil headquarters explodes.

The Plot:

Earth's televisions are suddenly taken over by a powerful broadcast from outer space on the same night as the championship (boxing, I think). Phantom of Krankor smugly addresses the stunned viewers and informs them that he is currently en route to Earth aboard his interstellar warship. The Krankorian ruler does not say why he is coming to Earth, but he does say that he will arrive at promptly eight o'clock the following evening. Oh, and that anyone who fails to obey him will die.

I should point out that, if the championship match in question was the World Cup, most of Europe would have surrendered immediately when Phantom of Krankor took over the televisions. "Look, you can have the women, eat the babies, and force the rest of us to work in the plutonium mines until we die, but please stop doing that. The finals are on!" Obviously, the ones making this decision would be those forced to watch the match on television. Spectators in the stadium would have been oblivious to Earth's ransacking and would have emerged from the sports complex to find a devastated world, littered with burning wrecks and filled with rioting mobs. In other words, not much different from other World Cup Finals.

Since the extraterrestrial invaders chose not to divulge their purpose, people begin to speculate and the talk show circuit might have been interesting for once. One man knows why Phantom of Krankor is coming to Earth. Professor Macken recently invented a revolutionary new rocket fuel. It is so powerful that even the advanced Krankorians possess nothing approaching its effectiveness. The only possible reason for Krankor to threaten Earth is to obtain the formula for the rocket fuel.

Personally, I think that Phantom of Krankor and his crew should take interest in humanity's plastic surgery achievements. The Krankorians all look like Christmas elves that gave up building toys and tried, unsuccessfully, to make it as professional boxers (elves should stick to toys and dentistry). If cosmetic surgery could freeze Elizabeth Taylor's face for thirty years, surely doing something about the signature Krankorian nose is within reach. With their noses fixed, you could give the aliens cardigans and blue jeans, making it nearly impossible to differentiate between them and a native New Englander.

After the spaceship lands, several government vehicles rush to the location. They discover a periscope-like affair sticking up out of the ground. The Krankorian vessel is in the earth! The invaders begin firing deadly ray beams at the police and military. Mickey and Johnnie watch in horror as the men are instantly vaporized. As the outmatched humans retreat, a craft that can loosely be described as a flying saucer arrives. Out jumps Prince of Space. He hops across the field (yes, he really does spring to and fro), dodging death rays and explosions, until he disables the Krankorian weapon with his magic barbeque lighter wand. Faced with such an absurd opponent, Phantom of Krankor beats a hasty retreat to outer space.

The invaders' withdrawal is only temporary. Next time we see the Krankorians, they are back on Earth, apparently waking up and stretching after sleeping in a field. Why they did not crash inside the ship is beyond me. Maybe it does not have adequate bunks or perhaps one of the crewmembers was especially flatulent the night before. Anyway, Phantom orders his men to locate their mysterious adversary using a special detector. It pinpoints Prince of Space in an industrial facility near Macken's rocket base. The aliens use an underground tank to avoid detection by the human authorites as they move to neutralize their nemisis.

Mickey and Johnnie spot the Krankorians and follow them. The two boys see the results of the second encounter between Prince of Space and the alien aggressors. Almost every time the two sides fight, Prince of Space tells them that their weapons are useless, Phantom of Krankor snarls, several dozen death rays are fired to no effect, and then the Krankorians try to pile on the protector of Earth. The Krankorians never come out on top in the exchanges. This time is no exception, though there is a great scene when Phantom of Krankor attempts to physically attack Prince of Space. The latter individual is standing on a narrow ledge high above the floor. When the alien leader jumps, the effect was achieved by putting a little Phantom of Krankor doll on a zip line and running it up toward Prince of Space, then cutting quickly before the viewer can get a good look at the doll.

It looks hilarious. I nearly choked on my peanut butter and honey toast.

Another amusing thing about the duels between Prince of Space and Phantom of Krankor is the magic barbeque lighter wand. The protagonist keeps it in a holster on his belt. Whenever the Krankorians threaten to shoot him with their death rays, he takes it out, extends the nozzle, and waves it in the air to reflect the rays back at the aliens. The magic barbeque lighter wand can also shoot out rays of its own. From what I can tell, Prince of Space usually sets the weapon on "Tickle," but it can also fire lethal bolts. Anyway, if Phantom of Krankor had just shot immediately and not spent two minutes gloating, he probably would have killed his opponent early in the movie.

Hey - I see somebody doing something stupid, I feel obligated to tell them. You can express your displeasure with me as we both mine plutonium with our bare hands.

Prince of Space does use his little flying saucer to pursue the Krankorian ship a few times. It appears that he gets the worst of those exchanges. Mostly, this is due to the deranged emissions laws of Krankor. Their ships are required, by law, to produce caustic vapors! Phantom of Krankor uses the chemical weapon several times against Prince of Space. Along with bubbling the paint, the acid cloud makes it difficult for the human defender to avoid clouds of meteors.

Eventually, Phantom of Krankor gives up on his Earth operations. Professor Macken and a number of other scientists are abducted and taken to Krankor. The hostages are given a tour of the aliens' base, including a chance to see the huge misshapen giant that guards the fortress. Instead of being in awe of the Krankorians, Professor Macken steels his resolve and refuses to transmit a message to Earth that resistance is futile. That angers the Krankorian ruler; he decides to load each defiant human into a small capsule that will be blasted into space. The men's bodies will spend the rest of eternity alone, drifting between the stars.

Can Prince of Space avoid the trap that Phantom of Krankor has laid for him on Earth? Will he be able to get past the menacing space giant? Is it possible that the Krankorian despot will suffer defeat in his own throne room? Watch, "Prince of Space!"

This movie was an enjoyable bit of cheese. It plays like the condensed version of an old "Superman" serial with an added dose of silly science fiction. This is not very surprising, as it is a serial edited to make a movie. If you want to turn this film into a drinking game, take a drink every other time someone says "Prince of Space." I say every other, because ingesting alcohol each time would probably result in a coma.

Things I Learned From This Movie:

Even rocket scientists need their shoes shined once in a while.
Anyone tasked with investigating a possible alien invasion should brush up on their Wells (either of them).
Low gravity + sumo wrestler + mental health problems + Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil = genocide.
Neutron stars are made up of billions of dead chauffeurs.
Strangely enough, there are times when having fog lights and windshield wipers on your spaceship could be helpful.
Henchmen must be given four hours of rest per day - union rules.
The larger they are, the more painful it is to be shot in the molars.

Stuff To Watch For:

1 min - Check it out, HO scale actors.
7 mins - And he will, if he can find the Princess of Space.
20 mins - These kids must have x-ray vision. The Krankorians never left their ship the first time.
33 mins - The self destruct control probably should have been a safety switch, vice a twist knob.
37 mins - "Excuse me, but I am looking for the 'Godzilla Raids Again' set."
43 mins - Is that a birdcage and, if it is, why are they worried?
57 mins - Your voyeur technology is far superior to ours!
66 mins - RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A TREE!
74 mins - Baby...Ruth?
82 mins - This has been bugging me for the last hour: Why do they have sardine cans on the sides of their heads?

Quotes:

Technician: "He's overloading every channel. What a powerful beam he must have! Look at that modulation!"
Phantom of Krankor: "I will arrive tomorrow night at precisely eight o'clock. At that time I will make my wishes known to you. You will obey them or die. Have a pleasant night's sleep. Ha ha ha ha!"
Phantom of Krankor: "This is the end for you. You'll be a horrible example for anyone who opposes me." (Zap sounds.)
Prince of Space: "Hahahaha! I told you, your weapons have no effect on me."

Audio clips in wav format

SOUNDS

Starving actors speak out

	File	Dialog
	prinspace1.wav	Prince of Space: "You are planning now to destroy the whole world. I won't let you go through with this. You will not get what you've come for. You might as well leave, now!" Phantom of Krankor: "But who are you? Tell me, who are you? What's your name?" Prince of Space: "I am Prince of Space!" Phantom of Krankor: "Uh, wait a moment..."
	prinspace2.wav	Prof Macken: "Who are you? What do you want?" Phantom of Krankor: "You know what I want: the rocket fuel. Those soldiers who were standing there are good examples of what my ray guns can do, professor. So, don't try my patience."
	prinspace3.wav	Phantom of Krankor: "He's finished...and the fool thought he could follow us right through a shower of meteorites! Ha, ha, ha, ha!"
	prinspace4.wav	Prince of Space: "Enough of this! When will you ever learn? Your guns won't work on me!" Phantom of Krankor: "Shoot him!" (Zap sound, explosion.)

Click for a larger image

IMAGES

Scenes from the movie

Watch a scene

VIDEO

MPEG video files

	prinspace1.mpg - 3.8m
	Phantom of Krankor and his goons are trying to steal the rocket formula from Professor Macken's lab. They did not count on Prince of Space coming to the rescue!