Stargate: A Arca da Verdade

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

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.

The last ever episode for Stargate SG-1 was one that you could remember forever because it defined the team SG-1 as heroic, stubborn, smart, funny, and, no matter what, they had a solution for everything (a bit like Mcgyver). The last episode was intense, emotional, and sad (Teal'c is older than everyone by 50 years or something), so it seemed like the perfect episode except that they didn't tell you what happened to the Ori. Your hopes are dashed when you find out that the Ori's fate is unknown. You do a bit of searching around when you see Stargate: The Ark of Truth. You immediately buy it, hoping that this will answer everything. The film is a great addition to the Stargate franchise because it does contain action, laughs, a weird-kind-of story, and it is way more longer so you get to watch the fun more than forty-three minutes. The team is still looking at the clues at what happened to the Ori but when they find out that they are not dead, they go in search of an artifact called The Ark Of Truth, a device which tell the truth about anything if seen by the eyes. Their goal is exactly that but there are others who are after it. The film re-introduces the Replicators back but are they helping the good side or the bad side. The performances are not very different from what you saw in the series but I have to give two thumbs up to Christopher Judge for his great performance as Teal'c, Ben Browder for his jokes and slight remarks during bad times (never did get to fill Richard Dean Anderson's shoes though), Morena Baccarin for her villainous role but she did slack at the end, Claudia Black and Michael Shanks along with Amanda Tapping for there integrity and, often, funny jokes. Beau Bridges was great as well! I was a bit disappointed at the ending because it is so un-Stargate like and it didn't even have a twist but it did leave space for some more Stargate films. I loved the atmosphere in the film as well, especially the part where Teal'c is walking with a wound on his back because that part was really beautiful and the camera angle was perfect. The film should have had an cameo by Richard Dean Anderson because he would have been a relief to see in this film. The film is recommended for anyone who enjoys the series and is compulsory to watch since it tells you what happens to the Ori.

The film starts off with the SG-1 on the ruined planet Dakara, searching around for The Ark of Truth when the Ori appear out of nowhere. A squad of Ori soldiers led by Tomin, husband of Vala Mal Doran, ask SG-1 to surrender and they do. An prior comes between them and when things get heated, Tomin kills the prior and gains the teams trust. Later.... SG-1 embark into the Ori Galaxy on the ship Odyssey with an International Oversight Committee agent between them monitoring the mission. The agent makes a mistake which puts everyone's life in danger aboard the ship and also risks the failure of the mission. Will SG-1 overcome the mistake done by the agent and destroy the Ori, or will they perish and let the universe be converted?

The dialog is slightly better and funnier than season nine and tens. It is in a way more grimmer than ever. The action is obvious and no different from what you see in the series, so to put it straight it sucks. The fight at the end was so messy and weird, you didn't even know which one was which. The plot is straight forward and contains no twists (damn) but enjoy the film for what it is. The music and soundtrack can never get old, even if you have heard it 212 times and I loved hearing the metallic-sort-of music at the beginning. Epic! If you like this, I also recommend: Firefly (stars Morena Baccarin), Serenity, V, Battlestar Galactica, and Stargate Atlantis. 7.5/10

Leaving the Ori storyline unresolved at the end of Sg-1's final season, the makers of the show give us this film. The Ark Of Truth lives up the hype of fans hoping for an epic end to the storyline that drove the show's final two seasons. Indeed, The Ark Of Truth proves to be both an epic and fitting end to the Ori storyline.

In fact one might go so far as to assume that the show never ended. From the performances of SG-1's members, it's just like picking up where Unending left off. In particular Michael Shanks and Ben Browder both get to shine in their roles of Daniel Jackson and Cameron Mitchell. That's not to say the rest of cast doesn't, but Shanks and Browder really do stand out in this. The supporting cast does too from Beau Bridges to Sarah Strange, from Sarah Strange to the villainous Julian Sands and the absolutely evil Morena Baccarin. The real stand out of the supporting cast however is Currie Graham as Merrick, the double crossing IOA supervisor.

The rest of the production is also first rate for the film, in both writing and production values, is epic. There is a scope to the film that wasn't possible for the show on television. The story feels epic, taking us from Earth to the Ori galaxy and back again. The story has so much going on though that we don't get to see some of the things fans would like to have seen but we see enough to keep everyone happy. The effects and photography aren't just as good as they were on the show, they're better. They go from mountains in the opening credits, the ruins of Dakarra and the Altaran city, to the Ark itself: something that was hard (if not impossible) for the series to do with even a two-part two of the series. There's also one or two moments that evoke memories of the original movie from years ago and fans should get a smile out of it. There's one other thing to mention: the music. The music by Joel Goldsmith is just as epic as the film, evoking not just the original Stargate theme by David Arnold but the Germanic chants of the Ori themes and heroic themes for the team. But the real treat of the music is that while it may be familiar, you've never heard it played this. Fans of the series won't be disappointed. Everything that made us love the series is still here and thriving.

Not to say the film is perfect, which it isn't. Some parts of the film don't make a lot of sense such as the IOA's actions. They don't make much sense especially when they resurrect an old enemy from the series in the process. I won't spoil it because it makes for a great plot twist, but in retrospect it just feels like padding. There's also the odd flashbacks to the Altarans involving the Ark which, while they add some texture, really might not have been needed. But these are minor flaws, and its hard to find anything without any.

In short, The Ark Of Truth is a good film. It does exactly what it was supposed to do: be both an epic and fitting end to the Ori storyline. It succeeds for the most part, though it does have some flaws to it. While non-fans might want to watch the Prelude on the DVD to catch-up on all the plot lines going on in the film, fans should enjoy it. If this and Continuum, the yet to be released second film, are to be the final end of Stargate SG-1, they will be the fitting end of the series.

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.