Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) Movie Review

“Stargate: The Ark of Truth” is the much-anticipated first of two Made-for-DVD movies that continues the adventures of the “Stargate: SG-1″ team, with “Stargate: Continuum” being the second movie. But first, a caveat: The workprint version that I am reviewing runs a little long and is not the final cut. If “Ark of Truth” is scheduled to go straight to DVD, including a run on the Sci Fi Channel, then my guess is that at least 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes, will be cut for final consumption, although I didn’t find the version to be overlong at all. Having said that, this version doesn’t appear to be missing any key scenes, save for a special effects shot here and there, but is otherwise complete.

“Ark” opens with a brief prologue set in the past, where we meet a group of Ancients debating the use of the titular Ark of Truth device against the Ori. The Ark, we learn, is a major piece of tech that when activated will reverse the Ori brainwashing. Being the non-interference people they are, the Ancients decide against using the weapon, and it is believed “lost” to time. Fast-forward to the present, where we find the SG-1 team of Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black), Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder), and Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) finding something that looks very much like the Ark, but before they can find a way to open it, the Ori attacks. Of course this is SG-1 we’re talking about, and no stinkin’ band of Ori stormtroopers are going to stop our wisecracking intergalactic heroes.

The overarching plot of “Ark of Truth” is an impending attack by the Ori fleet on Earth, forcing the team to search for the real Ark’s location, and a reshuffling of the scummy bureaucrats that oversees the Stargate program. The latter comes in the form of the smarmy and very shady Marrick (Currie Graham), whose easy smile obviously hides nefarious purposes. Although the Ori themselves were believed killed by Merlin’s weapon in the show’s Season 10, their Priors still remain, and more importantly, the Ori fleet is still out there seeking to convert every human being in the Milky Way Galaxy to their Origin religion or kill them trying.

There are elements of “Ark” that will appeal to longtime SG-1 fans, such as Vala’s awkward reunion with Tomin (Tim Guinee), her “husband” from another galaxy; Mitchell finally gets to sit in “the chair”; Daniel continues to get help thanks to some timely visions of Merlin; and oh yeah, those pesky and really hard to kill Replicators make a major comeback. Come on, who hasn’t missed the little buggers? I know I did. And did I mention that Mitchell also gets to used some choice words, not to mention do a whole lot of bleeding, thanks to the DVD format? I’m sure the TV version of “Ark of Truth” will edit out some of Mitchell’s battles with a “human” Replicator, since Mitchell was bleeding like a sieve by the end of the fight.

The best way to approach “Ark of Truth” is as an extended two-part episode of “Stargate: SG-1″. The film’s Made-for-DVD pedigree doesn’t actually translate into a bigger budget, at least as far as I can tell, so don’t expect anything you haven’t seen before during the series run. And while the script by director Robert C. Cooper does introduce a standalone narrative, understanding the movie does require knowledge of the show’s more recent seasons. For example, although I was a bit of a lapsed fan of the show towards its ninth and tenth season, I was still able to keep up with the plot points. Alas, anyone who hasn’t seen SG-1’s last few seasons will be hopelessly lost, because this is very much a continuation of the series, as well as a finale to the Ori storyline.

As with most of SG-1’s multi-part episodes, at around the hour mark the show is forced to split up into two parallel tangents in order to fill out the running time. As Mitchell and Carter are forced to deal with the re-emergence of the Replicator threat onboard the Odyssey, Daniel, Vala, and Teal’c have their hands full with the Ori and their Doci (Julian Sands). Well actually, Daniel and Vala have their hands full, since Teal’c ends up on a long, long journey by his little lonesome. But hey, a Jaffa’s gotta do what a Jaffa’s gotta do, right?

If you’re a longtime fan of SG-1, then you should enjoy “Ark of Truth”. It’s a continuation of the series, and although it doesn’t break any new grounds, or offer anything you haven’t seen before in the series itself, it certainly has everything you’ve liked about the series, including interesting sci-fi threats, involving storylines, and great character interactions. Then again, if you aren’t a fan of the Stargate universe to begin with, the movie will make no sense to you whatsoever.

As a finale to the Ori storyline, “Ark of Truth” hits the mark, and makes for a nice jumping off point to “Stargate: Continuum”, which I hear will have a completely different storyline. Also, there’s a curious scene towards the end of “Ark” that makes you wonder what’s happened to General O’Neill’s supposed off-screen relationship with Sam Carter since Richard Dean Anderson left the show. Wait, they did have an off-screen relationship, didn’t they? Or did they call the whole thing off? See what I mean by being a lapsed fan of the show’s last few seasons?

And yes, in case you were wondering, RDA is indeed MIA from “Ark of Truth”.

“Stargate: The Ark of Truth” hits DVD March 2008.

Robert C. Cooper (director) / Robert C. Cooper (screenplay)
CAST: Ben Browder … Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell
Michael Shanks … Dr. Daniel Jackson
Amanda Tapping … Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter
Christopher Judge … Teal’c
Claudia Black … Vala Mal Doran
Beau Bridges … Major General Hank Landry
Morena Baccarin … Adria
Julian Sands … Doci
Sarah Strange … Morgan Lefay
Currie Graham … Marrick
Tim Guinee … Tomin