Review of Stargate (1994) by Sean L — 14 Mar 2018

The rare Roland Emmerich film that isn't brainless, effects-over-story mayhem. Well, not completely, anyway. It does carry a lot of the director's favorite themes, from the tortured genius who only needs the chance to prove himself to the war-hungry soldier on a suicide mission, the overbearing government suits and the eccentric, ignored true believers.

Those over-simplifications are glaring, of course, but at least there's an effort put in to expand certain characters beyond their stereotype (Kurt Russell's lingering resentment of guns, for example) and the plot itself is rich and interesting enough to paper over most of the holes.

I've always had an affinity for science fiction and Egyptian history, so any merger of the two was bound to hit a sweet spot for me, and in this case the marriage works shockingly well. There's a certain other-worldliness about the pyramids, and that particular culture's system of beliefs, which lends itself well to such genre-driven filmmaking.

The practical special effects come off wonderfully - gigantic hovering spacecraft and robotic Anubis-helmed enforcers - but it was still a bit early to rely on CG for this type of work and the few instances where they tried don't hold up very well.

Despite a phoned-in leading performance by James Spader, Stargate remains a quirky, unexpectedly engaging ride. Still fresh, unique and interesting as it approaches its twenty-fifth anniversary.