Stargate 15th Anniversary Edition Blu Ray Review, by Mickey Devereaux
For MovieSet.com
Ever since the release of the Blu Ray format, I have always been a tad skeptical about actually needing a format upgrade. It seems like yesterday picking up my first player and watching a DVD for the first time. I was in love. The picture quality was far superior to VHS, the special features were a nice addition, especially the directors commentary and thoughts on scenes etc. When Blu Ray and HDVD formats were released, confusion, irritation, and skepticism were my initial feelings. To me it was a rehash of the Beta/VHS argument, and really, did we need to upgrade the still fresh DVD format already? Thankfully, Lionsgate has answered “yes” with the release of Stargate: 15th Anniversary Edition.
From startup, you are treated to a nice DTS sound reel which grants you a “told you so” look to anyone that would ever doubt why you would spend more than $500 on a home theater system, and it doesn’t stop there, this is a 7.1 DTS-MA recording. It sounds amazing, taking advantage of almost every bell and whistle of your equipment. Visually, they have remastered the picture to glorious 1080p. It almost looks like a brand new movie, with aged special effects being the only real indicator of its age. This is the way ALL Blu Ray movies need to be. I hate replacing a DVD with a Blu Ray, only to have marginal if any difference in the picture quality. The remaster does not disappoint.
This is the first pairing of Director Roland Emmerich/Writer Dean Devlin, the same duo that brought forth hits like “Independence Day” and “Godzilla”. Based on those pictures, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into when you press play. You should have popcorn handy, and a killer home theater system. You can leave your thinking caps on the hanger, as these movies are no-brainer fun. The mass appeal of watching stuff get blown up, and underdogs winning is the meal ticket for these two, and they know it. A fun fact is that this is the very first major motion picture to have a website created by Devlin himself.
Stargate is a would-be epic borrowing from many other sci fi movies. A relic discovered in Egypt in the 1920’s is actually a portal to an alternate universe. James Spader plays Egyplologist (read: nerd) whose unorthodox philosophies on Egyptian studies has led to skepticism and dismissal by his peers, making him a prime candidate for viewing classified military artifacts. Paralleling him is Kurt Russel as the grizzly, flat-topped Colonel Jack O’Neil (read: jock) reluctantly recruited for a top secret mission whilst grieving the loss of his young son. The two are introduced as Spader quickly figures out how everything works and eventually activates the artifact. With what seems to be about an hour planning, they head in with a handful of expendable troops and a bomb. God Bless America. On the other side, they discover a parallel Egypt on another planet and quickly discover a colony of humans. Spader is introduced to the village hottie, and Russel befriends a would-be replacement son. They discover that the colony is ruled by an nefarious space alien posing as the Egyptian God, Ra (Jaye Davidson). Of course he is corrupt and rules with an iron fist, and has a bevy of brutish guards and loin clothed servant children on his team. Wars and explosions ensue.
Again, you know what you’re getting yourself into. This movie touches on elements that are popular amongst the sci-fi crowd. Namely cool looking ships, pew pew lasers, and the nerd getting the girl. Funny how nerds have to go to another planet to get a girlfriend. “Let’s go home!”… “No, I’m stayin’!”.
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