Stargate (1994)

Directed by: Roland Emmerich | 116 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Viveca Lindfors, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, Leon Rippy, John Diehl, Carlos Lauchu, Djimon Hounsou, Erick Avari, French Stewart, Gianin Loffler, Christopher John Fields, Derek Webster, Jack Moore , steve giannelli

Roland Emmerich is a fan of the absurd: alien invasions (“Independence Day”), giant monsters (“Godzilla”), apocalyptic climate change (“The Day After Tomorrow”) and conspiracy theories about Shakespeare (“Anonymous”) German-born Hollywood director. In his breakthrough film ‘Stargate’ he plunges into the work of Erich von Danneken, who propagated the theory that early human cultures were visited by extraterrestrials.

In ‘Stargate’, scientists discover an alien teleportation machine called a StarGate in an ancient Egyptian ruin. Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader, known for ‘Boston Legal’, ‘The Blacklist’ and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’) and Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell, known for ‘The Thing’, ‘Escape From New York’ and ‘Big Trouble In Little China’) lead an expedition through the StarGate, discovering a planet inhabited by humanoid beings who worship the Egyptian god Ra.

Inspired by numerous pseudoscientific theories about ‘wormholes’ and extraterrestrials worshiped as gods by ancient cultures, ‘Stargate’ is an entertaining pulp film completely immersed in its own mythology. It is not without reason that the film forms the basis of a large franchise of several TV series that can compete with ‘Star Trek’. However, the concept of aliens that look exactly like humans feels a bit old-fashioned – a holdover from the days when special effects were too limited to produce less human-like creatures. The film is also somewhat anticlimactic – after a good, mysterious build-up, the closing conflict and the end twist feel a bit predictable and tame, although it is immediately apparent where Emmerich’s inspiration for his next film, ‘Independence Day’, came from.

Scientist Spader and no-nonsense soldier Russell are entertaining protagonists in a film that is further populated by rather boring supporting characters. Djimon Hounsou, now a big name in films like ‘Amistad’, ‘Blood Diamond’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, stands out in a small role as Horus, but otherwise most cast members are soon forgotten. Nevertheless, it’s an entertaining sci-fi spectacle that stays with me mainly because of the bizarre story. Those who like that should definitely give ‘Stargate’ a chance.