Stargate (1994)
Dir. Roland Emmerich
If you go through life without ever seeing a Roland Emmerich film, you'll not be missing out on much. His CV is filled with big-budget garbage that typically deserves little more than immediate bargain-bin residency. But having said that, I really do like Stargate.
It's not a Kubrick beater, but the leap from 8000 BC to 1928 AD, and then again to present day (i.e. 1994), is a pretty substantial one. It sets the stage for an adventure that spans millennia, inspired by existing Egyptian iconography that anyone who's ever visited a museum will probably be able to recognise.
It stars James Spader as allergy-suffering Egyptologist Daniel Jackson, who's slowly pissing away his remaining credibility with radical theories about the pyramids at Giza.
Kurt Russell is the second big name. He plays Colonel Jack O'Neil, who's ex-U.S. Air Force Special Ops. The only thing that sets Jack apart from hundreds of other movie military men is a tragic event in his past. It's a small addition, but remains relevant throughout the film.
Opposites in many ways, the two men are nevertheless handpicked to take part in a momentous human event, a daring campaign that blends science fiction and history, modern conflicts and biblical ones, utilising Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law, which states that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. All of which involves the 'stargate' of the title.
The end result is a pleasing sci-fi drama that draws a line from ancient Egyptian mythology to modern day military exploration. It has a number of 'summer movie' action scenes, but the Emmerich-style explosions aren't as heavy-handed as they'd eventually become. And despite the plot being so full of holes that it's like a giant sand sieve, it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of it.
Conceptual designs for the various cultures were provided by Patrick Tatopoulos, the realisation and execution of which is strengthened by some wonderful costumes and location shooting.
What's perhaps most surprising, however, is that the CGI special effects are at an acceptable limit - which is just as well because, if we can ignore Kurt Russell's flat top (it's like a plateau), the CGI is arguably the only part of the movie that's aged badly. Everything else looks almost as good to my eyes on a big screen today as it did on a smaller one back in '94. It could look even better if they'd give it a proper 4K scan and subsequent home re-release.
Film review websites that are reliant on aggregate scoring may imply otherwise, but for many people, myself included, the film has a genuine enduring quality. It even spawned a 10 season TV series that continued the adventure. Titled Stargate SG-1, it's quality small-screen sci-fi.
It's not a Kubrick beater, but the leap from 8000 BC to 1928 AD, and then again to present day (i.e. 1994), is a pretty substantial one. It sets the stage for an adventure that spans millennia, inspired by existing Egyptian iconography that anyone who's ever visited a museum will probably be able to recognise.
It stars James Spader as allergy-suffering Egyptologist Daniel Jackson, who's slowly pissing away his remaining credibility with radical theories about the pyramids at Giza.
Kurt Russell is the second big name. He plays Colonel Jack O'Neil, who's ex-U.S. Air Force Special Ops. The only thing that sets Jack apart from hundreds of other movie military men is a tragic event in his past. It's a small addition, but remains relevant throughout the film.
Opposites in many ways, the two men are nevertheless handpicked to take part in a momentous human event, a daring campaign that blends science fiction and history, modern conflicts and biblical ones, utilising Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law, which states that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. All of which involves the 'stargate' of the title.
- The scientist and the soldier. Someone somewhere has written that fan-fic.-
The end result is a pleasing sci-fi drama that draws a line from ancient Egyptian mythology to modern day military exploration. It has a number of 'summer movie' action scenes, but the Emmerich-style explosions aren't as heavy-handed as they'd eventually become. And despite the plot being so full of holes that it's like a giant sand sieve, it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of it.
Conceptual designs for the various cultures were provided by Patrick Tatopoulos, the realisation and execution of which is strengthened by some wonderful costumes and location shooting.
What's perhaps most surprising, however, is that the CGI special effects are at an acceptable limit - which is just as well because, if we can ignore Kurt Russell's flat top (it's like a plateau), the CGI is arguably the only part of the movie that's aged badly. Everything else looks almost as good to my eyes on a big screen today as it did on a smaller one back in '94. It could look even better if they'd give it a proper 4K scan and subsequent home re-release.
Film review websites that are reliant on aggregate scoring may imply otherwise, but for many people, myself included, the film has a genuine enduring quality. It even spawned a 10 season TV series that continued the adventure. Titled Stargate SG-1, it's quality small-screen sci-fi.
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