Stargate: An Under-appreciated Classic

Roland Emmerich's 1994 masterpiece may be one of the most interesting pieces of science-fiction cinema ever made. It was an instant classic. Its premise was unique and had an exceptional cast. I absolutely love this movie and am not ashamed to say that I watch it all the time. It is in my top 5 all-time favorite science-fiction films.

The basic idea of the film is that archaeologists discover a ring-like device on the Giza Plateau in Egypt in the 1920's. During the 1990's a failed archaeologist, Dr. Daniel Jackson, with crazy theories about who actually built the pyramids is approached to decipher some hieroglyphics. He unwittingly deciphers the key to operating the ring, called the Stargate, which opens up a wormhole to the other side of the universe. Jackson, along with a military team lead by Col. Jack O'Neil, travel to a distant world where they meet a local human population under the rule of an alien being who has taken over a human body and took on the persona of the Egyptian god Ra. A battle ensues and Dr. Jackson and Col. O'Neil destroy Ra and save the people on the planet. Daniel stays on the planet and O'Neil and the surviving members of the team return home through the Stargate.

I think that I first liked the idea of this movie because it mixes two of my favorite topics: science-fiction and ancient history. I am currently studying as an archaeologist and the films use of Egyptian mythology was fascinating. I had never seen a movie, and honestly haven't since, that so eloquently mixed both myth and science fiction. The story is gripping  and you connect with the characters from the very beginning.

This film is so good that it is a travesty that it never got a sequel in the 90's. It is a fun space adventure that was ahead of its time. I do not think it was truly appreciated when it was released. It did spawn a great television franchise which included three series and totaled 18 seasons of television. The shows are great in their own right, but they are very different from the movie. The film for the most part takes itself seriously, but the TV shows were wonderfully campy and never took itself too seriously. It really would have been great to see more of Stargate on the big screen before the TV show became a thing.

That brings me up to now. Roland Emmerich has discussed and recently confirmed his plans to completely reboot Stargate. He said that his original plan was to do a trilogy, but the studio decided to do TV instead. Emmerich still wants to do his trilogy, but because of all the TV doing his original parts 2 and 3 wouldn't make any sense, so he is completely starting over. As of February 3rd they even had confirmed two writers, Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods. I am still pretty torn about this. My first reaction is "YES! MORE STARGATE!!" because honestly, Stargate is awesome. But then my second reaction is that they are going to ruin a wonderful franchise with two decades of history. I understand it wasn't Emmerich's original plan, but Stargate continued nevertheless. I'm trying to withhold judgement until I actually see the new movies which are still some years away, but it still eats at the fan-boy in me. Its the same feeling I get when I think about the recent Star Trek films. They are so much fun and are a version of Star Trek, but at the same time they are not. Its difficult to express.

No matter what happens in the future however, the original Stargate is great! I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't already seen it and it should be a part of any introductory to science-fiction. I give this movie a 5/5.