Stargate : L'Arche de vérité

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.

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.

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.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth was a very good moving, surprisingly good in all honesty. I was not sure about the conversion from TV series (AMAZING AT THAT) to a movie. It seemed a bit ambitious although I was completely wrong, the end result does justice to the Stargate series.

The movie does not go at the same pace of a 40 minute episode of Stargate and at first it seems odd to see the different tempo. The Stargate "humor" is still present and despite Richard Dean Anderson's absence in the movie still presents a good laugh. The only reason I gave the movie a 9/10 is because of RDA's absence and still a 9/10 on IMDb is superb!

However the Ark of Truth is strictly based off of the show's Season 9 and 10 and thus I recommend that you watch those two seasons first.

Despite a questionable set on the opening scene of the movie and some minor continuity errors, any Stargate fan should not be disappointed and in all honesty the change from TV Series to Movie was surprising but the end result does not disappoint. I can't wait till Continuum!