...a load of fun and adventure as long as you don’t sit back and try to figure out the details and fill in the plot holes.
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"Stargate" was the first in a series of big summer films by the tandem of Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. After "Stargate" introduced the director and producer pairing, "Independence Day" would find them striking box office gold. Not everything lasts forever and what was started with the entertaining science-fiction film "Stargate" ended with the box office dud "Godzilla." With an estimated budget of $55 million, "Stargate" pulled in just over $70 million in domestic box office tickets, but was a solid selling title on home video formats. The film was an entry point for Devlin and Emmerich to deliver "Independence Day," which was highly lucrative for everybody involved. "Stargate" would find additional success as a television series and sequels to the film have long been rumored.
Starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, "Stargate" looks like the byproduct of throwing "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Dune" and Egyptian mythology into a blender and letting it all gel together. The film heavily borrows themes and concepts from countless other films, but it does so in a manner that keeps it fresh enough to be entertaining and unique enough to have its own feel. Since then, "Stargate" has heavily influenced other films in the science-fiction genre. "Stargate" is both a science fiction epic and a mythological mystery. The film attempts to explain the ancient pyramids of Egypt, but layout technology that allows near instantaneous transportation to the ends of the Universe. It doesn´t slow down to validate its theories and it doesn´t attempt to create intelligent discussion on the topics it covers. Instead, the film starts rolling almost immediately and doesn´t stop until the final moments of the film. Fun and adventure are the key words in "Stargate."
In the film, Kurt Russell is an Air Force Colonel, Jack O´Neil, that lost his son when the child accidentally shot himself with one of Colonel O´Neil´s guns that was left loaded in the house. A far cry from his early days working for Walt Disney, one of the first moments where Russell appears on screen suggests the man is considering suicide and instantly suggests he is a dark soul. James Spader is a nerdy cryptologist, Professor Daniel Jackson. His theories on the creation of the pyramids have made him a laughingstock of much of the scientific community. That all changes when Doctor Catharine Langford (Viveca Lindfors) approaches Daniel with a job offer he is unable to turn down.
Daniel finds himself needing to decrypt unknown hieroglyphics on a large stone tablet that are unlike anything he has previously seen. Soon, he is shown the stargate, a device with similar markings and composed of an outworldly material and able to be electrically powered. Colonel O´Neil is responsible for the military operation that will be undertaken when Daniel discovers how to operate the stargate and locate the destination of the other end of the intergalactic journey. The journey they take places them in a land similar to ancient Egypt and they come face to face with Ra (Jaye Davidson) and his legions of warriors that have enslaved the primitive people that live near the surrounding pyramids.
"Stargate" is a fun film. It mixes two elements that are typically of no relevance and churns out a picture that is adventurous as the "Mummy" and "Indiana Jones" films, but possesses valid science fiction elements. Kurt Russell does a good job as the tormented and angry Colonel. He sports a perfect flat top and is quite handy with automatic weapons. His role is more "Soldier" than Disney. James Spader is his usual even-keeled self. Sure, his character picks up the foreign dialect incredibly easy and he finds himself a gorgeous primitive wife, but he is the Indy in this film and it is pure fun to watch his adventure unfold as he matches wits with Jaye Davidson, an actor whose only other credit is "The Crying Game." Djimon Hounsou has an early appearance in the film. Erick Avari provides a familiar face and Mili Avital reminds one of Rachel Weisz. This is a good film to sit back and enjoy. It is a load of fun and adventure as long as you don´t sit back and try to figure out the details and fill in the plot holes.
Video:
I had been sitting on my review of "Stargate" for a few weeks now. I knew the Samsung Firmware update was around the corner and I wanted to choose a Lionsgate title as my first film to review with the firmware loaded. The decision was a wise choice and I can no proclaim that the Lionsgate stutter I have seen on their previous releases was as I had thought and a problem with the Sammy player. With the firmware update, "Stargate" was stutter free and looked fantastic. I´ve owned a few copies of "Stargate" previously and had used the LaserDisc to show off my surround system at one point. The film has been released on DVDs a couple of times and has always looked decent, but the debut of the film on a high definition format is a welcome debut.
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[release]19623[/release]