Plot: What’s it about?
The members of SG-1 have faced countless threats, but none are on the same scale as the one about to surface. As a vicious criminal known as Ba’al (Cliff Simon) is to be purged, an SG-1 squad watches on. As the ceremony commences, Ba’al laughs as people begin to vanish, as if into thin air. Even the SG-1 team isn’t safe from this unusual phenomenon, but some manage to reach the Stargate and escape alive. But on the other side of the Stargate is a world even these dimensional travelers would never expect, one that will prove to be their most intense challenge to date. The world is one without Stargates, one where the team will have to overcome incredible odds, odds stacked against them by Ba’al. But can even the SG-1 team handle this kind of crisis, or will Ba’al execute his plan to perfection? The Stargate franchise has a lot of content to draw upon, with movies and extensive television shows involved, so I wondered how well this feature film would work out. As expected, Stargate: Continuum is geared more toward fans than newcomers, which is almost impossible not to do in this case. You could watch this movie without ever watching any other Stargate material, but you’d miss out on so much. I haven’t seen all of the television show episodes, so I couldn’t follow all the small touches, but I could keep up on most of the ground covered here. This movie plays like an extended episode as well, with lower production values and no real “movie” feel, so it seems at home within the shows. In truth, unless you’re a diehard Stargate fan, I’d skip Stargate: Continuum, as it isn’t that great even for fans, let alone newcomers. So if you’re a devoted fan of the franchise, give this release a rental, otherwise don’t waste your time with this one.
Video: How does it look?
Stargate: Continuum is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. You can tell this was produced on a modest budget, but the visuals still look more than solid. The image has good depth, though detail isn’t stunning and this is a nice clarity boost over the standard release. I found colors to be strong, well balanced and contrast is consistent. This doesn’t have all the polish I had hoped, but it still looks quite good.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD 5.1 option sounds good, but never rises above that level. A number of scenes have the potential to take things up a notch, but it rarely happens. So even battle sequences sound rather tame, save for some by the numbers surround presence that is never memorable. The music sounds good and dialogue is clear however, so those are positives. In the end, a rather mediocre track, but at least it handles the basics well. This disc also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 option, Spanish and French language tracks, and subtitles in English and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The supplements here include a rather self praising audio commentary track, as well as three featurettes. None of the featurettes offer much insight, unless you’re dying to see the arctic locations used in the movie, while the commentary track is light on information and heavy on back patting.
