Sci Fi Alert

All I can say is, “Wow!” This film was a lot of fun and while the ending was just a little contrived it did what was intended: tied up the Ori storyline so the team can move on to other adventures. First, let me say that I’m not one of those people who thinks the Sci Fi Channel was doing the bidding of Satan by cancelling Stargate SG-1. It was time, in my opinion, for the long-running series to leave the air. The Ori storyline, which I never liked, was dragging on forever and it seemed the writers of the series were just rehashing old sci-fi plot devices to fill out a full season. Second, this film goes a long way to redeeming the Stargate franchise and reminding us just how great Stargate was in its heyday. The only missing link in this film was an appearance by Richard Dean Anderson’s Jack O’Neill.
One of the major positives about this movie is that each character gets his or her moments to shine. Tel’c especially has a wonderful scene with Tomin in which they discuss the terrible things they’ve done and about the idea of forgiveness. Probably was one of finest moments for Christopher Judge in years. Another stand-out is the character of Cam Mitchell. In his two years on the series I never really warmed to this character, which always surprised me since I’m such a huge fan of Ben Browder’s performance in Farscape. In this movie, I think the character really comes into his own as an individual and a leader. Of course, Sam and Daniel have their great moments, and the saving grace of Stargate’s final two seasons, Vala, is as funny and dramatic as ever. Claudia Black is truly an underused actress. Her scenes with Tomin (played wonderfully by Tim Guinee) are some of the best in the movie.
It goes without saying the special effects were as good or better than the series, which were already fantastic for something made on low-budget cable money. It’s also worth mentioning the music was great and reminded me a lot of the music in the original Stargate movie.
This is not the best film for new viewers of Stargate, but a nice prelude that catches you up is included on the DVD, so new viewers shouldn’t stay away. What this film does is tie up the loose ends from season 10 of Stargate SG-1 and allow for the beginning of some new adventures. I eagerly await the next film, Stargate: Continuum.