Despite having a fairly large budget for its day, Roland Emmerich’s Stargate from 1994 never feels as big as it should. The script, co-written by Emmerich and frequent collaborator Dean Devlin, is also pretty straightforward and predictable. That being said, I’ve enjoyed revisiting it here and there over the years. October 28th the film celebrates its 30th birthday. I took a look at the extended director’s cut to see how it’s held up.
A prologue set around 8000 BCE in northern Africa shows what seems to be an extraterrestrial encounter between primitive humans and a pyramid-shaped spacecraft. We then briefly jump to an archaeological dig outside Cairo in the late 1920s where something ancient and mysterious has been discovered buried beneath the sand. Finally, in the present, we meet Dr Jackson (a wonderfully nerdy but unflappable James Spader) who is advancing fringe theories about the true origins of Egypt’s famous pyramids, implying alien assistance. Dismissed as a kook by a lecture audience, he nevertheless receives a job offer from the intrigued Catherine (Viveca Lindfors).
Meanwhile, the grieving Colonel O’Neil (gruff Kurt Russell) is brought back onto active duty. Everyone eventually meets back at a military installation where it’s revealed that the artifact discovered in the ‘20s is actually a sort of gateway between our world and one on the other side of the universe. Jackson and O’Neil lead an exploratory team through the gate and make some unexpected discoveries on the far-flung planet. Other notable players include androgynous Jaye Davidson as a ruthless and powerful ruler, Djimon Hounsou as a formidable warrior, French Stewart as a wiseass soldier, and Richard Kind as an intimidated researcher.
Emmerich and Devlin have a solid premise with the picture and they keep it simple, going for large audience appeal. However, the epic scope feels a little thin with the actual narrative feeling small in contrast. It’s an effects film with not enough effects. The futuristic technology with an ancient Egyptian aesthetic is visually interesting and fun, there just needs to be more of it. Action scenes are competent but are scattered instead of propulsive. Additionally, the ‘90s era CGI is starting to show its age, although it’s not egregious. DP Karl Walter Lindenlaub’s photography ensures everything looks as slick and/or sunbaked as possible, though, providing a certain amount of class to the visuals. David Arnold’s score does some heavy lifting in that department, as well.
Spader’s performance gifts some heart to what could’ve been a fairly vapid endeavor. Russell’s wounded tough guy is a nice foil to Spader, too, and Davidson is pleasingly understated and sinister. Still, the film feels like a missed opportunity even though everyone involved seems engaged. Maybe that’s why there were a million spinoff TV shows in its wake, as the admittedly cool premise left plenty of room for elaboration.
Roland Emmerich’s Stargate is entertaining, even if it’s not really a complete effort. How much you enjoy it will probably depend on how forgiving you are of the limp scripting with the oddly small story wrapped in the epic scale. For me, the concept, performances, and art direction are enough to overcome the shortcomings. Recommended, with caveats, for fans of Max Max 2, Dune, and Contact.
Michael Cavender