Stargate

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: October 28, 1994

7.7	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 116 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

aadityamudharApr 18, 2016

Certainly outlandish, Stargate is a well-thought out space adventure which links itself to Ancient Egypt. Despite questionable acting, the film is exciting and unique.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

EpicLadySpongeMay 1, 2016

Stargate is a mess, as in time traveling mess. I mean sure it takes us a million light years from home, but I'm pretty sure we'll be stuck in this messy work done by Roland Emmerich.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

All this user's reviews

Tyrant719Jun 30, 2021

And this is why you should never follow the audience score of a movie. This movie is Sci-Fi for people who don’t really like Sci-Fi. Kurt Russell must have had some debt in the early 90s because he sure made some **** movies during that time.And this is why you should never follow the audience score of a movie. This movie is Sci-Fi for people who don’t really like Sci-Fi. Kurt Russell must have had some debt in the early 90s because he sure made some **** movies during that time. Oh, and Roland Emmerich is just the original Michael Bay. So, if you like mindless, one-dimensional movies where the characters are essentially stereotypes, you’ll love it. And don’t forget, Emmerich sure loves to spell out even the simplest of information in his movies so all the JV football players watching won’t be confused. This movie is perfect for adults who passed high school through remedial classes.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

beingryanjudeSep 3, 2014

Certainly outlandish, Stargate is a well-thought out space adventure which links itself to Ancient Egypt. Despite questionable acting, the film is exciting and unique.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

SpangleMay 11, 2017

Director Roland Emmerich may not be a great filmmaker in the classical sense, but he no doubt understands how to make an entertaining blockbuster. In this Egyptian mythology science fiction action adventure film, Emmerich displays this inDirector Roland Emmerich may not be a great filmmaker in the classical sense, but he no doubt understands how to make an entertaining blockbuster. In this Egyptian mythology science fiction action adventure film, Emmerich displays this in spades with a thoroughly entertaining film that may be infectiously silly, but also knows how to satisfy the audience's craving for easy breezy entertainment. This is a classically Emmerich film with rousing speeches, a macho army man lead, and heavy reliance upon scientists for exposition about what is going on. Together alongside Emmerich's Independence Day, Stargate certainly touches on many of the same themes in regards to extraterrestrials and how it is best to probably stay away from them, for fear of them opting to destroy our world. Here, a group of soldiers and scientists unlock a portal to a far away star where the Egyptian inhabitants slave and worship the sun god Ra.

As with any huge dumb spectacle, Stargate is incredibly light on character development. A tough macho guy, Emmerich tries to soften Kurt Russell's rough exterior by having his son be dead from an accidental gunshot or something. Regardless, he plays a Kurt Russell type of character who literally kills an Egyptian guy and says, "Say hi to King Tut for me, **** Taking on Ra all by himself and charging into the pyramid well ahead of the rest of his men, Kurt Russell is set to save Earth even though he does not wish to return and face the fact that his son is dead again. Instead, he would rather die on this star or planet or desert thing. Alongside him is Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader), a nerdy and brilliant expert on Ancient Egypt whose controversial and different beliefs regarding Egypt get him ostracized by his fellow scholars. Now presented with an opportunity to explore this old discovery from 1928 that contains mysterious hieroglyphics or some other design, he is able to prove his previously insane theories to be true.

What ensues is the men pissing off Ra, Daniel having sex with an Egyptian slave babe, and the men starting an uprising with the youth to overthrow Ra's tyrannical leadership. With glowing eyes, girlish clothes and features, and an ability to suck a person's brain from their head via his fingers and some glowing waves, the apparently male Ra is a terrifying villain. For all of the film's sheer insanity in regards to developing Ra and his limited backstory, Emmerich's direction of him never ceases to create intensity. With every step he takes, there is considerable power and it is readily apparent that he is not a being to be trifled with to any degree. Rather, he is a powerful being that is willing to kill his own people in order to maintain power. In the film's plotting as a whole, Emmerich manages to create a variety of feelings. From a sense of wonder and awe when the world is first explored and reached to great tension as the men traverse the land and encounter Ra, Stargate manages to be a blockbuster with tremendous scope and gravitas that really elevates it into being phenomenal entertainment. In playing its absurdities quite straight, the film makes them oddly believable and not cheesy. Rather, this science fiction world of Ancient Egypt blending with our own is an incredibly believable one with excellently presented mythology and satisfying feelings of wonder, adventure, and thrills.

Thematically, as with many films about alien encounters, Stargate shows the dangers inherent in involving the military. Escalating the situation through following orders, Kurt Russell puts Earth at risk by angering Ra. Focused on executing their missions and not in exploring the land, the soldiers are often saved by Daniel and his willingness to explore and to learn. However, on the other hand, Daniel learns to take risks and to fight from the soldiers, highlighting the symbiotic relationship that forms between the two entities. By the end of the film, both Kurt and Daniel take paths neither of them had previously anticipated and are willing to embark on their greatest personal journeys of discovery and perseverance. Yet, it is in that thematic discussion of a tough man being forced to embrace life once again and a nerdy guy learning to toughen up sometimes that the film really begins to hint at its cliches. This is what really drags the film down as it is far too like every other summer action blockbuster. With numbing action that lacks any sense of staging and disorients more than it thrills along with a shoe-horned in romantic angle, Stargate winds up being far too run-of-the-mill and overdone. The climax further demonstrates the way in which the film is just stretched too thin with Kurt Russell fighting the same nameless guy for nearly five minutes. The scene goes on for far too long, as do scenes of them meeting with the villagers. However, in contrast, scenes of the men learning about the stargate and entering it seem incredibly rushed.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

dr0nzerApr 17, 2022

I loved stargate growing up and was looking forward to this, but this was sooo sooooo sooooo bad, the plot wasn't well thought out, the character direction is terrible, the acting of the main characters is abysmal at best, it just feels likeI loved stargate growing up and was looking forward to this, but this was sooo sooooo sooooo bad, the plot wasn't well thought out, the character direction is terrible, the acting of the main characters is abysmal at best, it just feels like a bad high school play. Utter disappointment.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

CoreGamer1408Jul 11, 2023

The film had an interesting mystery to start with. Then the underwhelming part was when they actually arrived through the Stargate. A mid sci-fi movie with questionable wardrobe design. That went on to spawn upto eights seasons of simplistic,The film had an interesting mystery to start with. Then the underwhelming part was when they actually arrived through the Stargate. A mid sci-fi movie with questionable wardrobe design. That went on to spawn upto eights seasons of simplistic, but still fun sci-fi.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews