6 of 10
Cinematography by Carl Lindenlaub
Kurt Russell
James Spader
Alexis Cruz
Mili Avital
John Diehl
Jaye Davidson
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| Stargate 6 of 10 |
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| Directed by Roland Emmerich Cinematography by Carl Lindenlaub Kurt Russell James Spader Alexis Cruz Mili Avital John Diehl Jaye Davidson |
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| I'm not sure exactly why it is, but I seem to have a strange attachment to science fiction films. Maybe it's the Chesterton in me; I just love fairy tales, I guess. And science fiction stories are a lot like fairy tales. Grimm ones. Usually dark, usually pretty sinister, lots of evil, very fantastical, and frequently with happy endings. That pretty much sums up this movie. And so I liked it. The beginning is a little slow; I really don't care that much for movies that try to put a lot of science in with their fiction. They usually do a bad job of explaining it, and so you end up no better off than you started, and a lot further into the film. But, once things start to happen, it's a real treat. There are loads of Egyptian images (a personal favorite of mine), and even an exact imitation of ancient Earth and its early civilizations, except on a totally different planet. OK, the story is implausible. Impossible, in fact. But that's true of pretty much all science-fiction, so there is only a very small suspension of belief required. Kurt Russell is good enough so that you don't notice his acting ability. (This is a good thing in my book). And James Spader plays the typical gentle geek who starts out scared, and becomes the key to everything. There is nothing new here in that regard. Also, keep an eye out for Djimon Hounsou, who plays another fake Egyptian god. He later moved on to more prominent roles, like Amistad and Gladiator. But the real performance of note is Jaye Davidson, who is truly disturbing as the evil, all-knowing alien, disguised as the Egyptian Sun God, Ra. (By the way, I wonder why it is that science fiction villains are so often all-powerful and all-knowing, but still total losers.) A fun flick, enjoyable if you don't expect it to be something it isn't. | ||||||