Reviewed by Mike Anderiesz
Stars Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks,
Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, Richard Dean Anderson, Cliff Simon | Written by Brad Wright
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 98 minutes | Directed by Martin Wood
It’s all together now for a special and possibly final Stargate movie. Well movie may be pushing it – at just over 95 minutes Continuum seems to be over just as it’s working up a sweat, but what there is of it is enjoyable stuff.
The plot involves Ba’al, last and best of the Goa'uld System Lords (Cliff Simon once again hamming it up like an evil Backstreet Boy.) At the start of the movie, he’s on his way to be executed for crimes against beards or something, when he reveals his masterplan – a failsafe device planted elsewhere. Suddenly, SG1 begin disappearing one by one, prompting the remaining 3 (Browder, Tapping and Shanks) to hump back to base only to discover everything is very different. The base isn’t there, the Goa'uld don’t exist, and some well known faces no longer recognise them.
So far, so familiar – time travel is a theme SG1 (and just about every other Sci-Fi series) has visited more than but this time it’s handled a bit differently. In this timestream characters refuse to fall for the old ‘Hey, you don’t know us, but we want you to change your whole reality because we’ve gone and messed up ours’ line. So in this world Jack O’Neil never lost his son, Jackson was some crackpot archaeologist and the Stargate had never been discovered, let alone activated. Of course, Ba’al eventually shows up with a massive Goa'uld invasion fleet, prompting a change in heart all round regarding the remaining SG1’ers. Cue a time-jump to discover what Ba’al had changed to create such a reality and ensure things can be returned to the way they were.
From then on, Continuum begins to unravel a bit, with the expectation of a big showdown that never really happens and a silly ho-hum ending that adds nothing to the movie. Till then however, we have almost all the old faces – with Richard Dean Anderson hamming it up like his heart (and bulging stomach) is no longer really in it. However, there are plenty of big-budget special effects and a few good lines to enjoy. As is the vogue this year with Battlestar Galactica: Razor, this all feels like a good TV episode rather than a movie, but some stunning Arctic locations, special effects and plot twists will keep your attention throughout.
There are, however two bitter ironies to Continuum - those Arctic scenes came at the cost of two US Navy personnel lives, which somewhat detracts from their visual effectiveness. This also proved to be a poignant final appearance of Don S Davis – always the perfect military man portraying General Hammond, his absence will rob this and many other shows of a certain gravitas. So if this is indeed the final outing for SG1, it’s not a bad way to sign off. Continuum doesn’t take the story arc or characters anywhere new, but it’s still charming, easy on the eye and better than average sci-fi.
EXTRAS None
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