(no subject)
I watched The Ark of Truth last night.
It was…interesting.
On the whole, I felt underwhelmed.
Okay, well, it gave me a major headache because the damn file was in mpeg-4 format and my laptop doesn’t play it, so I was on the internet for ages trying to figure out how to fix it, until I realized my mother’s school laptop- infinitely more advanced- could play it! [Not the most permanent solution to my problem, but it would do for the short term]
Random thoughts:
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One of the Ancients looks like Miranda from this show whose title I can’t recall, I keep thinking ‘Early Edition’, but no…it had the ol’ sceptic/believer duo, with the lecturer, Declan, who pursued mysterious phenomena and his female doctor buddy Peggy who debunked all his theories and tried to keep him grounded during his flights of fancy Mysterious Ways, dude! And I totally did not recognize Adrian Pasdar- he's so different from Heroes! He's like a jerk there, kinda tortured and abrasive, and he's so sweet and likeable here...wow.
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Carter’s hairdo sucks. Her hair isn’t long or thick enough to carry off a plait *caresses own hip length hair* and I kept giggling because her little fish tail would dip into her collar and peek over the top of it and waggle around when she was about her business. Not very professional, lol. And it looked way too cutesy and fussy in a side plait, I mean, they’re off saving the galaxy and she’s spending how long on her hair? I did like the plain, simple ponytail, though, that looked good on her.
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Okay, I’m going to skip ahead to something that REALLY MAJORLY pisses me off. The IOA. How is it that they have the gall to ask Cam for an apology after the way they used and endangered the lives of everyone on the Odyssey? It’s not his fault he had to kill their appointed liaison, it was due to their stupid plan that the jerk died. [More on that soon]
I cannot believe that this is the organization that has veto power over everything the SGC does. I thought that no one could screw up worse than the American government, what with all the fiascos during the years they were the ones making sole decisions that affected the entire planet, but OMFG, I’ve changed my mind. It’s one thing for people to volunteer to go on a suicide mission, it’s another to send an agent along with a plan that no one knows about, one that risks the lives of every member of this mission without their consent! How damn rude is that?! People should have been informed that there was a greater likelihood of them dying on this particular mission, where the purpose was to draw the Ori ships to their location and slip them a frelling REPLICATOR.
How shortsighted can they possibly be? Sure, they programmed a failsafe into the Replicators, but these things killed the Ancients, fcol. They can learn to rewrite their own code! Has the IOA learnt nothing from the troubles of the Atlantis expedition? It is so utterly immoral of them to send SG-1 and co on a mission ostensibly to locate the Ark but really so that they can infect the galaxy with Replicators and most likely lose their lives in the process. And to remove the machines’ vulnerability to the ARGs? *shakes head disbelievingly* They had to know that the Odyssey would be at risk, and their most effective defense would be with the ARGs but oh no, the IOA didn’t care, as long as they were safe and comfy at home, out of the way of danger. This is utterly disgusting, they’re as corrupt as the NID used to be. [Whoops, still is]
At the very least, the people who authorized the plan should be subject to some sort of review, but no, there was no hint of that. SG-1’s original plan was what saved the day, but it’s not like the IOA is thanking them for that anytime soon. I am still really pissed off that they’re not being punished in any way, and that they’re still in a position of power over the SGC. I can’t believe that the Ancient device is being studied at Area 51- I mean, that must be where the Replicators were built, right? So that means somewhere down the road, it’ll be snatched and used to brainwash people for some nefarious purpose and then we’ll all be screwed.
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Anyway. What else was there?
Oh, right, the Borg origins of the Replicators just get more and more obvious. When that IOA dude was transformed into part-Replicator? Totally the Borg look. Although, I admit, when he died and the Replicator skeleton rose from his corpse, that whole segment was very Terminator, no? The way he wouldn’t die and this grotesque metal skeleton with an eerie toothy grin and empty sockets advanced on Cam with deadly intent? Vintage Terminator. [Eeeeiiik, the Sarah Connor Chronicles start next week!]
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Okay, you know what’s dumb? The repli!IOA dude had a million chances to break Cam’s arms or legs or back, but instead, he kept choosing to smash him across the face or kick him in the ribs. It was kinda obvious that he was holding back, and that’s really bad for such an extended fight scene. You could argue the Replicator was trying to manipulate IOA dude into giving Cam the code so they could use that info, but it didn’t look that way.
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Another thing- couldn’t they have used the Asguard [sp?] technology to beam the replicator off the ship? Right at the beginning of this whole mess when they still had total control of the ship?
And how many people are on board the ship anyway? Because it was stupid that Cam had to go bug-hunting on his own, surely someone could’ve gone with him and then that drawn-out fight sequence might’ve made more sense because if you’re fighting off two people, your skill is restricted and that explains why the dude didn’t break any bones when he had EVERY opportunity to do so.
Oh, and HEY, how’d they get the Asguard core in the first place? I thought it was destroyed in ‘Unending’? They had to eject it and then go to hyperspace to escape the Ori ships? Which was sad, because they had to abandon the legacy of the Asguard. Unless Teal’c had some device with him that alternate!Carter prepared, saving some of their knowledge and tech?
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Hee, that fight scene between Morgan and Adria was lame, but that may be because the leaked version wasn’t fully edited. It just looked like two blobs flying around! XP
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I really didn’t like Adria in this movie. Before, there was the possibility she could be reformed, she seemed like a pawn- powerful as she was- in their plot to dominate the universe, she honestly believed that their path was the true one to greatness and enlightenment. Then after they died, it changed her- she became really truly evil. She wanted the power. She had no use for the Ark because she enjoyed showing off her powers and terrorizing people and killing those who opposed her. Otherwise she would’ve used the Ark to achieve a bloodless victory. I just don’t like that she became corrupt. Brainwashed and misguided is one thing. But relishing in her domination for its own sake? Very, very sad.
Edit: I could empathize with the confusion of a fragile young mind that was trained to believe in Origin, and the pressures of being a messiah and divine figure to millions of people, and the inevitability of her transformation into Doci, converter of many, destroyer of worlds, conquerer of galaxies, etc. etc. That's what she was born to do, but she struggled with it when her mother passionately argued against it. Maybe Adria didn't stop what she was doing- and with the weight of the expectations piled on her young shoulders, how could she realistically do so?- but she had compassion and love for her mother, she spared her life and that of her friends, and she didn't make a move on Earth, maybe because she associated it with Vala and she couldn't bear to estrange her, whether this was a conscious decision or instinctual. All this made her a compelling, contradictory villain, one who is just as much victim of circumstance and breeding as Teal'c or Tomin. But in AoT? All the shades of grey are stripped from her, leaving Adria this caricature of a villain, evil for power's sake, with no interior motivations or triggers or neuroses, just a power-hungry tyrant. All her development, squandered just to make her the studio's idea of a 'super-villain'. She was so much more intriguing in the series.
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How come Morgan wasn’t yanked away by the Ancients? Did those lazy buggers finally realize someone had to break the rules before they all died? It’s so hypocritical of them- yes, you saved our asses, SG-1, but we’re not going to help you. And if one of us decided to assist in your battle, we’ll exile her!
Even though she was exiled, couldn’t they still have divested her of her powers? That’s the reason I’m thinking they panicked and decided she should go ahead and do what she wanted.
And I have no idea why the Ancients didn’t use the Ark all those centuries ago- why was it against their fundamental beliefs? It wasn’t used to brainwash the Ori into following *them*, fcol. I don’t see what the problem was, they weren’t doing anything atrocious with it.
I felt such sympathy for Daniel when he lay on the ground, in pain and in despair, just giving up hope and wondering why the Ancients wouldn’t offer any assistance at all. I’d give up too. It just doesn’t seem fair when you’re the only one giving 200% and everyone else is either sitting back, letting you save the galaxy on your own, or actively sabotaging your efforts.
Oh, and heh, I’ve forgotten what Merlin looks like, but Morgan’s imitation of him looked exactly like Santa Claus!
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The scene with Cam and Carter near the end of the movie was rather shippy. I mean, I loved the callback to ‘Line in the Sand’- wow, continuity!- but who else thinks Amanda WAY over-acted that scene? She was going for cute and geeky and squishily adorable full throttle! It came off as more Amanda-the-actress rather than Carter-the-character. I’ve never seen her that giddy in the show ever!
And the whole kiss on the cheek thing? Wow. So much for S/J!
I know, I know, a kiss on the cheek does not a romance make, but many ships were born from much less. Sparky never had a real kiss between its non-possessed couple. *sniffles*
Edit: Damn it, I'm now surprisingly a shipper for Cam and Carter! I can't explain it- I'll be into S/J in the earlier seasons, and sighing over every kiss and embrace and angsty torture/capture/certain death scene...but I also love the light-hearted warmth between Cam and Carter in ss9-10+AoT! There wasn't much D/V, unfortunately, but this infimary scene makes me all gooey and smirky and just...content. The next movie better do something with either D/V or these two!
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Wasn’t their optimism about the end of an era of battling the Goa’uld and the Ori a little premature? No one knows what happened to Adria, it’s not like the Ancients turned up and delivered a score card- Morgan: 1; Adria: 0. For all we know, she’s still out there gathering energy from her followers, diminished as she may be by the loss of her Priors.
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I didn’t like how blasé and callous Vala and Daniel were when the Prior was exposed to the Ark and fell to his knees, weeping. This guy is facing a major crisis of faith and they just stand there, exchanging quips? A little compassion would’ve been nice. It’s just so heartless to hear their banter over his shuddering sobs. Poor ex-Prior.
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The sad thing with characters like O’Neill and Vala, who are very heavily related by their snark and wit, is that writers get lazy and reduce their entire personality to those traits. Vala in this movie was mainly a caricature of herself, much as O’Neill was in seasons 8-10. She was annoyingly sarcastic and challenging in many scenes throughout this movie. That first scene where she’s all ‘Let’s crack open the chest- now now now!’ and Daniel’s trying to counsel patience and wisdom and she’s bulldozing over him? Really irritating. That’s not the Vala I know and love. It was just pathetic and painful.
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Tomin was an interesting addition. This whole movie would make no sense to newcomers, you know? The new X-files movie is supposed to draw in a new generation, or a range of people who’ve never seen the show before, but this movie requires specialist knowledge. Tomin’s defection is only logical based on what we’ve seen before, the build-up of times when he’s questioned the Priors and their interpretation of the Book of Origin. It’s a nice pay-off.
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I thought Teal’c came off waaaay too heavy when he sat down with his food and started sharing, ‘I committed many atrocities while I served the Goa’uld and I lash myself a thousand times a day to try and make up for it, though I will never find forgiveness for my sins, even if everyone else feels better by saying *they* forgive me, and instead I will channel my self-loathing into ensuring the freedom and safety of unknown others, as it is the least I can do…’ Wow. He could’ve started with any of a range of openers:
‘Can we talk?’
‘Do you want company?’
‘Can I offer you some advice?’
‘I know how you feel…’
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But you know, overall, this is one of those movies that I'll watch now and again, despite the many plot holes and stupid actions, because it's FUN to criticize and because I still have a deep, abiding affection for the characters. I don't think it really justified its budget, it came off like any other normal occasionally lack-lustre two parter, but I'm still looking forward to the next movie. More fodder for my snark. XP