STARGATE: A Sci-Fi Spectacle You’ll Want to Watch Repeatedly

I don’t know about you, but I was quite fascinated by the whole paleoastronautics theory promoted by Erich von Däniken at one time. Perhaps the most intriguing part was the very idea that, instead of pointing a telescope at the sky and waiting for a first-contact encounter, it is enough to analyze museum archaeology, searching for the presence of visitors from space. Admit it – the hypothesis that an extraterrestrial civilization might have had a role in shaping our civilization sounds just as crazy as it is incredibly interesting. And it’s a ready-made material for a film. This curiosity was carefully tackled by Roland Emmerich, the German master of spectacle cinema, who, in 1994, at the peak of his form, delivered one of the most interesting sci-fi visions loosely based on Däniken’s theories. Of course, I’m talking about Stargate.

If you were put off by Ridley Scott’s handling of Däniken’s theories in Prometheus, if you felt that they were overly simplified or completely unnecessary to the Alien universe, in the case of Emmerich’s film, you need to arm yourself with comparable levels of tolerance. For this is a film that from the first to the last minute doesn’t hide that it is strictly entertainment cinema, only supporting its script with pseudoscientific novelties to create space for special effects and a fast-paced adventure. But paradoxically, this is where the strength of Emmerich’s film lies.

The action of the film first takes us to the beginning of the 20th century, to Egypt. At the foot of the Giza pyramid, a mysterious circular object, resembling a portal, is discovered. Decades later, Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is hired to do what no one has been able to do for years – answer the question of what this mysterious ring is and what it’s for. The result of his investigation allows for the opening of a path to a world millions of light-years away from Earth. Jackson embarks on an unknown journey with a commando unit led by Colonel O’Neill (Kurt Russell), unaware that on the other side of the mirror, he will encounter a civilization very similar to Earth’s.

Stargate contains all the elements of a model adventure spectacle, one that can be remembered for years and that one returns to with pleasure. For example, we have interesting characters with contrasting personalities. Jackson, as portrayed by Spader, is the classic scientific geek who will not rest until he uncovers the truth. O’Neill, on the other hand, is a seemingly tough soldier capable of sacrifices, yet whose family tragedy has broken him in the past. However, the most interesting character is the antagonist, played by Jaye Davidson. His androgynous beauty (previously used in The Crying Game) perfectly complements the image of an evil god with an aura of mystery and indefiniteness. I would go as far as to say that Ra is one of the most electrifying opponents in the history of sci-fi cinema.

There’s also good pacing in the action, which develops in a textbook manner – from an intriguing introduction, through breathtaking development, to an intensely engaging climax. It’s great that Emmerich, along with Dean Devlin, didn’t reveal all the cards and selectively approached the task of explaining to the audience the specifics of both the technology discovered by the characters and the worlds they can access through it. This allowed for the universe of Stargate to be skillfully expanded in TV productions, comics, and video games. In this way, a prominent brand was created, which, who knows, maybe a creative mind will soon try to reboot – though I wouldn’t want that.

Stargate is also, or perhaps primarily, a great visual spectacle, with very intelligently designed, in their own way subtle special effects, as well as excellent decorations and costumes. The atmosphere of adventure is further helped by David Arnold’s catchy music. In short – everything works as it should for good entertainment cinema. Years later, I am still amazed at the ease with which Emmerich presented his ideas. It’s hard to find in Stargate what would later become the shameful hallmark of the director’s work – the lack of aesthetic and narrative restraint, leading to excessive bombast. The 1994 film, rather than being pompous, opts for lightness of form, content, and character, fulfilling every sci-fi fan’s dream – a journey into the unknown.