Stargate

  It had been years since I'd seen this movie. I'm also pretty sure the last I saw it was on VHS. Yeah.
So today, on my latest Blu Ray run, I picked up Evil Dead 2 (25th anniversary edition), Stargate, and finally, Hancock, which I reviewed earlier. I can't say I was particularly ecstactic to see Stargate again, but I remember it being pretty good, and at $5.00... who can argue with picking it up?

  Its definately not the same 'great!' movie it was to me five years ago, and its still not bad, but I can definately see the flaws now.
  To start off with, the movie is about an ancient portal that the military discovers in Egypt or someplace and they hire this guy Daniel (James Spader), who's a right wing 'expert' on this stuff that no one takes seriously because of his radical theories, to decode the symbols on this portal device to make it work. Well hoo rah, he does in two weeks what their own team hadn't acomplished in two years. Geez. This guy is seriously under-appreciated! Anyway, him and a team of soldiers, led by Colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell),  go through the portal and wind up on a planet on the other side of the known universe. Literally. The planet is home to some opressed  slaves who also happen to be human, and their "gods" are aliens who possess the bodies of men because apparently human bodies are "easy to repair".  So after the typical language barrier is overcome (sorta) Daniel and crew end up leading a rebellion of sorts against these all powerful "gods" who reside in a pyramid spaceship, whilst also trying to find the right symbols to decode the Stargate on that planet so they can go home.
 Also includes, obligatory love intrest, and obligatory overly-evil villain who likes to blow shit up for the sake of blowing it up. Namely Earth. But it's all good! And for the most part it is!
 
  Its not an outright bad movie, its actually a pretty good time! But my complaints are as such...
No one seems to be impressed or in awe or have any appropriate reaction to the fact they're on the other side of the UNIVERSE! And have found evidence of aliens! In fact they just seem vaguely pissy...
Second issue is how the soldiers in the movie dont conduct themselves like trained professionals. They act like spoiled bratty teens on a vacation they were forced into. I swear to god they spend more time whining than doing anything productive.
Lastly is the villain thing.
His motivations are so unclear. Why did he show up only after the Stargate was reactivated?
What's his vendetta with Earth? Now he wants to blow it up? Why?

  Pretty dumb crap I know. But if you have an appreciation for mindless adventure epics that manage to be pretty entertaining when all is said and done, then don't waste anymore time. Go find this movie.
It has plenty in it worth seeing it for. It has fantastic production design that merges an otherworldly feel with an ancient egyptian style and the result is wonderful to look at. Its simply gorgeous. Even though this is limited to the interior of the alien pyramid ship and their armor and such, its still totally cool to look at. It invokes a proper sense of scope and awe.
Next is the brilliant music score that maintains this dramatic yet adventurous theme that just draws you in completely.
Lastly, the acting from the leads is not bad at all! In fact at some times its strikingly good. And there are plenty of laughs and legitimately engaging action scenes to keep you coming back for more. Its simply a fun sci-fi adventure. Sad thing is, I think it aspired to be far more. And it could have been an absolute must-see classic if it actually acomplished what it set out to... but it falls just short of that.
Don't let that stop you from seeing it though. It still is pretty damn fun even if its own logic just falters at times.