A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Blistering performances.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

All I have to say is Mili Avital is gorgeous... :)

Boy could this have been a great film.Emmerich is his own worst enemy. Great director but letting him write may not be the smartest idea.The first act is wonderful. Great writing. Great casting. Russell is and always will be one of the great macho men of the era. (You gotta see SOLDIER! WOW!) Spader also was under-rated in the day. Watch him reappear out of nowhere in The Blacklist and you will start to see what he is capable of.Former beauty queen and movie star Viveca Lindfors even got a great cameo just a year before her untimely passing.Great start but if you even blinked suddenly you were in a bad B-movie with no obvious plot, script, or purpose.The IMDb rating is a kindness I think, a reflection of what could have been.Hollywood has done a remake of everything except the telephone book. Why not this?

In Giza, Egypt, 1928, a strange ancient Egyptian artefact is discovered. Present day (1994) a down and out of luck archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is offered a job with the Airforce; deciphering the hieroglyphs on cover stones that were found on top of the artefact. His task is made difficult by the introduction of Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) whose strict and by the book attitude clashes with Dr Jacksons nerdy personality. Together these two discover the wonder of the artefact named 'Stargate' and where they discover unexpected friendships and find themselves in the process. The story is one of adventure on the surface but when you look closer; it's actually a story of relationships, of becoming the best possible version of yourself, of fighting to become that person. Every scene has importance to the whole story whether you notice it or not. The start of the film shows us a necklace that is discovered with the 'Stargate'. The relevance of this insignificant object becomes more important as the story develops. The interesting aspect of the film is how relatable the story is; it's set in reality and has the additional references to ancient Egyptian culture and the Pyramids. The story also shows us the fear that is created by the unknown."Track down any signs of possible danger; if found any blow up the Stargate"The importance of the relationship between the characters is shown throughout. The developed respect that grows between Dr Jackson (James Spader) and Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) that is intertwine between the friendships that are created between Dr Jackson and Sha'uri (Mili Avital) and Jack O'Neil and Skaara (Alexis Cruz). Both these relationships help them overcome past perceptions and experiences. All the actors are perfect for their roles, with little limitations in their performances, each characters are lovable in their own particular way. French Stewart (Lieutenant Ferretti) is our comic relief throughout the film, especially when the danger is at a peek point, the use of gentle, light, sarcastic humour. "I don't want to die, it's a shame you're in such a hurry to"For a Sci-fi film there is limited amounts of use of special effects but when used the effects are appropriate for their scenes; in particular the horizon and wormhole effects from the 'Stargate'. With the addition of the craft of the music that fits to perfection to every scene; where the opening credits are a relatively slow start the music builds suspense and intrigues the audience. The composer for the music makes every scene perfect; whether it is gentle, fast, rough, soft the tempo is perfect throughout the film. The director knows the story and has the foresight to know exactly how to produce the scenes to their imagination; an advantage of being one of the writers as well. Knowing a script so completely; means that you can only create an amazingly true film.

The character John Diehl plays Lt. Kawalsky is wearing the wrong rank insignia. He is supposed to be a Lt. but he is wearing the rank insignia(silver oak leaves) of a Lt. Colonel. I'm really surprised that nobody ever caught this, they must not have had a military adviser for this film. You would never address an officer by subordinate rank like addressing a Lt. Colonel as Lt. It is common military customs and courtesy to address an officer by the superior rank like addressing a Lt. Colonel as Colonel. You would never address a Lt. Colonel as Lt. so it is an obvious gaff that no one picked up on the mismatch between insignia and the rank of the character.