Stargate: Continuum

Well there will always be a difference in opinions, and mine does somewhat stray from the negative. I've enjoyed watching SG-1 over the years and still find pleasure in hunting down the latest episode of Atlantis. That said i did enjoy this movie, both for it's originality in plot and because it stays true to the series. Way to often have we seen movies that were more like spin offs than anything. You could argue that this could have been just another double header, but the shere amount of known characters in ever so small parts shows that this one has been done for the love of the show and fans, rather than "just in it for the money" I'd like to give it a 10 out of 10, but i also have to maintain a certain level of reality, where 10/10 is reserved for movies that stretches my imagination. I won't be talking about this for several months to come, but i will however make sure that all my fellow SG-1 fans know that this exist and is well worth their time.

The general attitude going into this movie is half-skeptical, half-excited: on the one hand, direct-to-DVD rarely bodes well and Ark of Truth, while not bad on the whole, could have been a lot better; on the other hand, it's a new SG movie, it's got Jack, Goa'uld instead of Ori, whohoo! The verdict? Two words, people.

It's Good!

Continuum redeems the whole "SG1 movies" idea. True, Ark of Truth wasn't such a hard act to follow, but this goes above and beyond the "better than the first film" label. It's a true SG1 story, like we used to get'em in the first seasons. Plenty of adventure (they can't seem to get a break throughout the whole film), interspersed with the small moments we loved throughout the series: the one-liners (yes, Jack's got some lines, but most come from Mitchell), the technobabble (Sam still doesn't get to finish a phrase w/o being interrupted), the hard choices. And a taste of the good old Goa'uld arrogance we all know and love, to boot.

The characters each get their spotlight moment. Mitchell shines throughout, indeed this seemed to be a movie made to show he well and truly belongs to SG1 outside the Ori arc, as well. Daniel gets his moments, as well as Sam, and we get to see both of them interact with Jack once again! On the Goa'uld front, we are treated to a whole parade of former system lords, pretty much anyone you can think of. Baal, of course, is his usual charming evil self. And we get a great new villain in the person of Quetesh, who personifies the perfect Goa'uld queen: subservient, double-faced, deadly. Almost wish she'd been there for the first seasons of the show!

The quality is very good, most scenes would have done very well on a big screen. Effects, great, but then that's nothing new. In short, this movie delivers what it promised: an epic SG1 adventure and a great character show. I'd originally given it 8 stars, but by comparison to Ark of Truth, it gets an extra one. Totally worth the money, can't wait to own the DVD.

STARGATE is the freaking greatest TV-series I've seen my whole life.

It all started when a friend of mine forced me to watch two episodes with him. It was actually interesting :)

Within the following 3 months I had bought and seen all of Stargate up to date. 10 seasons of Stargate SG-1 containing 214 episodes, 5 seasons of Stargate Atlantis containing 100 episodes and 2 seasons of Stargate Universe.

Besides that I've seen the two Stargate movies: Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth

Well, my point is that this is a freaking awesome TV-series. Worth watching! Maybe you shouldn't do it like me(watching 16 seasons and 2 movies within 3 months), but at least watch it:) Its so damn worth it.

You may find reviews of 'Stargate: Continuum' inflated because of its contrast to the preceding 'Ark of Truth'. Whereas 'Ark' was in many ways, but not completely, a huge disappointment, 'Continuum' is and does everything 'Ark' failed at: the plot grips you, and isn't so linear; it surprises you, twists unexpectedly, rolls back on itself and weaves several arcs together, just like any good story should; there's genuine character development; and a deepened attention to detail and realism. Take your pick on one of the best ever 'Stargate SG-1' episodes, and imagine it being given the royal, feature-length treatment. 'Continuum' finally realises this notion without the symptoms of a clumsy transition between 42-minute episodes and an attempted epic that 'Ark' suffered from.

For any of you who are new to the Stargate franchise, I will provide a brief explanation - but thankfully 'Continuum' doesn't make 'Ark's mistake of being incomprehensible for someone who hasn't watched Stargate for 10 years. The Goa'uld are a snake-like race of aliens who implant themselves inside humans, thereby taking total control of their bodies. Some of these aliens have amassed huge power, controlling vast fleets of ships and armies of "Jaffa" warriors, by using various technologies to give the impression that they are gods. Known as the System Lords, they have been conquering the galaxy for millennia. Near the end of 'Stargate SG-1', the System Lords were all but defeated - except for the most cunning, Ba'al, who managed to clone himself in an attempt to render himself unstoppable. 'Continuum' picks up after our heroes, SG-1 - the primary five-strong team taking orders from the U.S. Government to counter such inter-galactic threats - believe they have the last Ba'al remaining.

But Ba'al is tricky as ever and, as ever, Cliff Simon plays him with a delicious mix of scheming genius, elaborate malice and exuberant vanity that has made Ba'al the villain we love to hate and hate to love. Indeed, Cliff Simon gives his singularly best performance of Ba'al to date, and is without a doubt the star of the show. In one dedicated, extended, excruciating sequence, Ba'al's character is really given a playground with the feature-length treatment he's always deserved: if you know Ba'al already you won't be able to stop grinning; if you don't you will fall hopelessly in love. This scene is rivalled only by a truly tense hostage sequence that rivals the best.

In 'Continuum', SG-1 probably faces the toughest trials it ever has, causing the usually gentle-mannered Daniel Jackson to exclaim in profanities twice throughout the film. Initially this shocked me, as care is usually taken to ensure Stargate productions can be watched by all ages - but actually this elevation of maturity really added some welcome grit to the story, and is matched by a handful of graphic, gory killings. This grittiness is enhanced by the aforementioned attention to realism that a full-length movie allows time for. In your typical Stargate episode, being stuck in an ice cavern isn't all too bad - you'll find your way out soon enough. In 'Continuum' this entails that there's no light, you can't light a fire, your fast, hard breaths billow visibly through the air, you're shivering uncontrollably and eventually you'll get frostbite with dire consequences.

At its heart, 'Continuum' is a time-travel story - a staple of science fiction and certainly of Stargate - but handled much better than usual. Whereas the 'SG-1' episode 'Moebius' thought it could hush the time paradoxes it generated aside, 'Continuum' faces them head-on. However, like the best sci-fi, it doesn't attempt to deliver you pseudo-scientific explanations, it just highlights the puzzles for your attention - they're interesting issues as questions alone. Of course, the time-travel itself is no real focus of the film, but more of a device to shake things up; in a sense, 'Continuum' is one, big, Stargate-themed "What if?" Characters are tested to extremes, are forced to interact with completely different roles, and the opportunity is seized to throw in more guest appearances of old characters than you can count.

Besides all this praise there are some things 'Continuum' really lets itself down with. Some very awkward dialogue between the SG-1 members at the beginning reeked of the writer not really knowing what else to say - although there is an extremely bold speech from Vala, impressive only on account of the boldness of writing it in. Some crucial plot moments are swept over far too quickly - how quickly do you think you could be persuaded that your mortal enemy is actually your friend if you'd never met him before? Well, pretty damn quickly, 'Continuum' seems to think - although again there is enough material for the hardcore fan to "explain away" this kind of problem. It was also disappointing that Joel Goldsmith's score was disappointing - many scenes that really needed a strong sense of drama are overplayed by bright, bouncy music, which slightly jars; one thinks, "Aren't people dying here?" That said, it equally has its moments of grandeur.

'Continuum' succeeds by walking the line between returning to SG-1's roots and mixing up the formula. Original series developer Brad Wright writes, with direction from more recent talent Martin Wood. His flair really shows - watch out for an extended tracking shot in the first few minutes of the film that climaxes with the entrance of the heroes. Whereas 'Ark' doesn't at any point seem to know quite what it's doing, 'Continuum' feels guided by more confident creatives, resulting in a satisfying movie for fans of the show.

I'm writing this because I just today read that Cliff Simon died earlier this year in a kite-boarding accident. He always turned in a great performance as Ba'al, and I regret we will no longer see him in any role on screen. He was, indeed, excellent in this movie. Dead at age 58, he left us too soon.