Stargate *** (out of 5) (1994)

Cast: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Mili Avital, Alexis Cruz, John Diehl

Directed by Roland Emmerich

 

During a burial dig early in the 20th century, a stargate is found but the technology didn't exist t understand the complicated mechanism. Fast forward to the 90s, and experiments have begun again, this time enlisting the services of Dr. Daniel Jackson, a professor of Ancient Egypt who believes that man could not possible have been responsible for the civilization which existed over 5000 years ago. The stargate is operated which is a gateway to another world on the other end of the galaxy. Jackson and a troop of soldiers are sent there to investigate and find a civilization similar to that found in Ancient Egypt.

A highly intriguing but incredibly flawed action/adventure film that bases it's story on the notion that Ancient Egypt was created by an alien named Ra, who took over the body of a young boy and developed the culture of that region. The film's strengths stem from the fascinating ideas of the story, a gorgeous score by David Arnold, sumptuous cinematography courtesy of Karl Walter Lindenlaub, and sensational art design and special effects. All of these efforts are nearly undone by comic book-style writing, with hokey one-dimensional characters and cliche after cliche in the plot. Russell is terrific in a subtle performance as the Colonel, but Spader is terrible playing the world's dumbest professor. How much you enjoy this film will depend on how forgiving you are in overlooking the shallow characters and nonsensical motivations in the plot. Both brilliant and dumb, both impressive and disappointing, credit screenwriters Emmerich and Devlin for having wonderful ideas despite the lack of talent to follow through with the execution. Time to hire a real screenwriter, guys.

Back to Qwipster's Movie Reviews

 

 

 

<