JLRVancouver "Prince of Space" is an Anglicised condensation of two Japanese tokusatu films ("Planet Prince" and "Planet Prince - The Terrifying Spaceship", both 1959) that were in turn feature length versions of a 1958 kid's television series. The film finds Earth being threatened by Dictator Phantom of the Planet Krankor, a beaked, gloating alien who never misses the opportunity for a sinister laugh, as he flies menacingly above our cities in his flagship (which also seems to be his only ship). Opposing him is the "Prince of Space", an apparently indestructible masked hero in a sub-compact flying saucer. Cheered on by the genre's ubiquitous kids, the Prince of Space retrieves stolen plans, battles Phantom's inept minions including a spongy looking giant with huge ears, and rescues a group of somewhat hapless Earth scientists. The special effects are limited to the two spaceships (Earth's ship never gets off the ground), Phantom's base on Krankor (and the eerie giant that defends it), and some limited pyrotechnics, all of which are pretty underwhelming. Silly fun if you're a fan of this sort of thing but neither as imaginative nor as entertaining as 1961's "Invasion from a Planet" (featuring 'Starman') or 1965's "Invaders from Space" (featuring 'Space Chief'), which have similar aetiologies. For viewers who can't take this kind of silliness straight-up, the film has been riffed on both 'MST3K' and 'Cinema Insomnia'.

Scott LeBrun Maniacal extraterrestrial villains from the rocky planet Krankor make it their mission to take over Earth. Led by a dude named The Phantom (Joji Oka), they're an utterly ridiculous bunch in their bargain basement costumes and their beak-noses. Fortunately for Earth - or at least, the people of Japan - there is a saviour. By day, he's sly shoeshine boy Waku-san (Tatsuo Umemiya). But every so often, he turns into his alter ego, the "Prince of Space". The bad guys are hopelessly outclassed since the Prince is fond of telling us, over and over, that he is impervious to their weapons.This was originally a two-part Japanese serial running approximately two hours. Trimmed down to 85 minutes for the North American release, it's so cheap and tacky that it generates a generous amount of guffaws. One can sense that the original Japanese version isn't very much better. This U.S. cut contains hilariously awful dialogue, delivered to cheesy perfection by a low rent cast. The Phantom in particular is a riot because, like many bad guys before and after him, he's quite merry. EVERYTHING is amusing to this dude. HA HA HA HA HA. Waku-san (referred to as WALLY in the U.S. cut!) is a very confident hero, never in any doubt that he can outsmart his foes. The sets and special effects, unsurprisingly, aren't the slickest that you'll ever see. The "giant monster" that appears to menace the Prince is a particularly ridiculous element.Although the movie ultimately wears a bit thin, it's funny often enough to earn its place among other Hall of Infamy turkeys.Six out of 10.

Anders Twetman What we have here, is an old Japanese movie about alien invaders, that has been (poorly) dubbed to English. This is an excellent premise for a so-bad-it's-funny movie, which indeed turned out to be the case.Prince of Space is a delightfully silly film about men in tight cloths (seemingly without underwear) and silly hats who land on earth with the purpose of obtaining some space ship fuel that we have on earth. The slightly less silly looking Prince of Space comes to our aid, skipping joyfully into battle. The plot is rather simplistic and boring at times, especially when it just concerns the people of earth (a bunch of Japanese with very American sounding names like Walley and Mickey). However, as soon as the Evil Phantom of Krankor and the Prince face off, it immediately becomes hilarious. The Phantom laughs like a cartoon villain, while the prince proclaims that the phantoms weapons can not harm him, poorly choreographed fight ensues, repeat.

Kristine Man, how many times can one say "Your weapons have no effect on me"? LOL. "Prince of Space" is without a doubt one of the cheesiest movies on Earth. But it made a great MSTK3 episode. Probably one of my favorites. The villain has the most horrible make-up. He also has one of the most annoying laughs in movie history. If you hear it, your ears eventually feel like they're going to explode. Prince of Space is so beyond cheese, all of his lines get a laugh that were not intended. And the little kids run every where they go. You begin to wonder where their parents are as well. This is fun to watch though. I just love these old Japenese movies with the bad lip dubbing. I think a lot of people would agree too. Watch the MSTK3 episode, it's a good one. The movie is pretty bad, but it's a good bad that I think you'll have fun with. Remember, the weapons have no effect on the Prince of Space. :D1/10 for the movie and 10/10 for the MSTK3 version