Review of Stargate: Continuum (2008) by Steve M — 09 Aug 2008

As he is facing defeat, the last of the powerful alien System Lords, Ba'al (Simon) sets in motion a scheme that changes history and places him in a position to be the master of the entire galaxy. Three members of the US military's Stargate Command, Col. Cameron Mitchell (Browder), Col. Samantha Carter (Tapping) and antiquities scholar and archeologist Daniel Jackson (Shanks) were traveling in a stargate-generated wormhole when time changed, and they remember the old timeline. Now, they are the ones with even a small chance at stopping Ba'al and the restored System Lords and retoring history to its proper course.

"Stargate; Continuum" is a fabulous wrap-up to the long-running "Stargate SG-1" television series. Unlike the previous direct-to-DVD film, "The Ark of Truth", which felt a little like an overlong episode of the series and that suffered from so many story threads they got tangled in each other. Here, we're given a story that's simple in its foundation but which features enough twists and turns that the suspense lasts almost to the film's final moment. It's a great sci-fi action/adventure tale and a well-executed time-travel time story and it captures everything that made the series so cool for all those years.

The only weakness of the film is that it is not for the uninitiated. It doesn't spend a whole lot of time introducing viewers to the heroes, villains, or the Stargate Universe in general but hits the ground running and never stops. It also features cameos from a number of major bad guys and a couple of jokes and twists that will sail over the heads of anyoone who didn't follow the series on Sci-Fi regularly.

This definately worth checking out for all fans of the Stargate shows. The DVD also features a number of excellent extras, foremost among them being a great little short about the scientific theories relating to time travel and a full-length, very informative second audio track commentary by the producers on the film.

According to comments made by producer Brad Wright, MGM is pleased with the performance of the two films, and has approached him about third Stargate direc-to-DVD movie, and he is currently working with his team on a story. I hope it comes to pass, because I wouldn't mind taking another trip through the Stargate.

Stargate: Continuum.

Starring: Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Cliff Simon, Richard Dean Anderson, William Devane, and Beau Bridges.

Director: Martin Wood.