Stargate

Stargate opens amid an 1920's archaeological dig, set deep within an Egyptian dessert, a strange artefact is uncovered... and immediately requisitioned by the U.S. military.

The plot then moves to the current day, where the US authorities are trying to discover the nature of the strange circular ring dug up 60 years ago. Obviously of national importance, it is now stored deep within a vaulted mountain, that rather resembles a nuclear bunker. The project is now supervised by the military - no surprise there!

The film is basically composed of two parts; we start with the introduction of Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader) as the academic archaeologist, and Kurt Russell as a colonel in the US military clearly depressed after his son's death and then move to follow events triggered by the discovery of the Stargate's secrets.

The film contains ground-breaking special effects; from the computer generated time travelling sequence, to the usage of a computer to animate the movement of a great pyramid, necessitated after the model that was originally created for this broke during filming. The sound, too, is excellent, from the spot effects to the epic-sounding score.

The film is well worth watching, although it suffers from the common Hollywood inadequacy - lack of character depth. We only see a shell of Kurt Russell, even though it does justify the objects and task to which he is assigned. The plot seems to be geared towards the making of a great epic, and unfortunately the direction is not entirely up to it.

A big cinema hit of 1994 and should only be viewed with the benefit of the big-screen format.

Giles Douglas (Archive)