Stargate: The Ark of Truth

I just watched the movie and I have to say that it was great. The actors were at their top, the settings/sets were far improved, and the story didn't leave much to be desired. Plus, something that I especially enjoyed was the incredible score that Joel Goldstein put together; he does an awesome job taking the original movie soundtrack (used in part throughout the series) and totally revamping it with the full orchestra. It is simply amazing.

On a different not, though, there are many comments about how this movie sucks because it is a bad end to the series. NEWS FLASH! IT'S NOT THE END!! I'm not entirely sure how all these people don't know, but there is another SG-1 movie coming out early next year and *possibly* more in the future. Yes, it would be disappointing if this was it. But it is simply not.

SG1 is looking for the ultimate weapon against the Ori. Mitchell (Ben Browder), Jackson (Michael Shanks), Carter (Amanda Tapping), Teal'c (Christopher Judge) and Vala (Claudia Black) are on Dakara. They find a box but is then captured by the Ori led by Tomin (Tim Guinee). Mitchell kills the Prior and a shocked Tomin surrenders. James Marrick is an IOA representative who joins the team to search for the Ark of Truth in the Ori galaxy. He tries to unleash the Replicators on the Ori in a secret IOA mission.

It's a TV movie meant to finish off the Ori storyline after the TV show was canceled. This is obviously only for the fans of the TV show. It is interesting to continue after the show's cancellation. It suffers a bit from too many story elements. Fans of the show should easily follow but I sure wouldn't want to be non-fans watching this. As for the story, it lacks drama. It seems like they added the Replicators to spice things up.

I just watched Ark of Truth last night and I found it a great film (a term I use lightly - it really is more of an extended episode). The script was enjoyable, the actors were as always at their peak and it concluded all the story arcs that needed concluding.

Admittedly, the only factor in the film that annoyed me was the 'ark of truth' itself. It felt to me a little contrived that all of a sudden there was this 'ark of truth' that would solve all their problems. When they were fighting the goauld and they had to work out everything themselves, however with the ori all they're trying to do is find things that the ancients left behind.

Still, a great film and I'd recommended it to any fan! It really isn't for non-fans tho. This film wasn't made to get new people into the stargate 'verse, but to finish off the story for those people who are already fans. There is too much assumes knowledge for non-fans to enjoy it.

8/10

I was really happy they made this film, to finish off the series! As a stand alone film it's not very good, but if you've seen the series then it's a must watch to have closure for the final events.

The Ark of Truth was the kind of satisfying finale to season 10 that I was hoping for. Great stuff - a lot of fun.

The Ark of Truth was well written and directed, and felt like a direct continuation of season 10. The actors continued to do what they do with these characters (which is a good thing), and the action was very good (although they've done better before). As for the special effects, I thought they were excellent (not $100 million budget excellent, but for a straight to DVD movie based on a cancelled TV series they were fantastic).

The only gripe I had about it was that they threw in everything but the kitchen sink (all of the prerequisite SG1 subplots were there). Paring it down and eliminating one of those subplots might have made the movie a little better (Sam and Teal'c don't get quite enough to do in the movie as a result), but as it is I still think it's a damned entertaining movie - as long as you've watched the last 10 years of SG1. If not, you're going to be lost.

Clearly, though, this was not made to win over new fans. This was made for the fans who have been following the show for the last decade. This was made for the fans who weren't happy about the Sci-Fi channel cancelling the show in a cost cutting move, and as one of those fans I am very glad they made this movie. I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Finally, the resolution of the story is what they've been setting up for the last two years of the series. No major surprises, but it was carried off very well.

For those familiar with the SG1 series (particularly seasons 9 & 10) The Ark of Truth is highly recommended. For anyone who has NOT seen seasons 9 & 10 of Stargate: SG1 I would advise holding off until you have seen those seasons to put everything in proper context.