Amazing production values, flop or not

The thing is, nobody knows while they're making a movie that it will be a big flop. The makers of this movie really pulled out all the stops. Sure, Howard's costume clearly had some limitations of the era, but they did a great job animating his face and eyes to match the other actors, especially considering it would have all been via remote control.

But the real stars of the show are the amazing stunt work and special effects. The car stunts and explosions were great, as well as the glider chase. The pyro effects and all the practical puppetry were spectacular. And, holy cow, the stop motion creature effects were off the charts.

Aside from the animation effects and Dark Overlord, everything was practical. The technical wizardry behind effects heavy movies of this era are really breathtaking sometimes. It's easy to take stuff like that for granted, but the skill needed to make these movies work is really awe inspiring.