My Review of Stargate: Continuum -- Time Travel, Timelines, Arctic, F-15s, & An Emotional EPIC Ride!
Let me just say this movie is so unbelievably awesome!! A part of me wishes it was a little bit longer because it was so good. Some of my favorite Stargate episodes deal with alternate timelines and time travel. This movie pretty much summed up some of my favorite elements from those episodes and the series in general, but have it on a grander epic scale. The movie was also breathtaking beautiful not only on location in the Arctic, but also how the CGI was done throughout the film. I can see why so many hailed this as one of the best two hours of Stargate SG-1 in the series.
Unlike with The Ark of Truth this movie focused solely on the emotional turmoil of Cam, Sam, and Daniel. How they coped living in an alternate timeline where everything they knew, loved, and understood is dramatically different from where they originally came from. They are also pretty much trapped knowing what resides in the galaxy, such as Ba'al, Goa'uld System Lords, Replicators, and Ori are simply biding their time until they reach Earth. So one moment I would be fansqueeling over a cameo, but then the next I would be heartbroken over the emotional turmoil of Cam, Sam, and Daniel are facing. In previous alternate timeline and time travel episodes we never saw first hand what the characters go through since an episode runs 44 minutes long, and things have to be cut down to what moves the story along. There isn't time for those harsh emotional beats, or scenes just to breath. Having Continuum formatted as movie allows viewers to finally see those emotional beats from our favorite characters.
Ba'al (Almost) Perfect Plan & The Last of the System Lords -- Ba'al has always been one of my favorite Goa'uld System Lords because not only is he off the charts sexy, but he is in fact quite intelligent, resourceful, and technological savy. These are all of the things Ba'al illustrated in the film. Ever since the episode "Insiders" I wondered if Ba'al would use anything from the SGC database that wasn't connected to the Ori. The whole database pretty much entails everything and anything the Taurians discovered about things off world and how it also relates to Earth's own current defenses. It pretty much came about due to the resourcefulness, creativity, and intelligence of the SGC and flagship team SG-1. So to take out SG-1, whether dead or disbanded, Ba'al would pretty much ensure the Goa'uld's survival. Along with knowledge and experience to do away with the Tok'ra, Replicators, Reetu, Ori, Anubis, Sokar, and etc that would be an obstacle in Ba'al's rise to power. What I never realized, or actually forgotten about, is that Ba'al would also get Sam's research on time travel with the solar flares due to the events in "1969" and "2010". So when I saw Vala disappear it didn't click, but when I saw the U.S.S. Achilles making waves in 1939 then it clicked.....d'oh.
Ba'al really had the perfect plan set-up by going back to 1939 to stop the U.S. Stargate ever making it to the states. Thus, stopping any experiments the Langford family would do during the 1940's, and pretty much halting the Stargate Program into existence. Having no Stargate Program to recruit Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c would pretty much put a damper into Earth's defenses against alien invasion. I could give a list on why, but I would be here all day since the show ran ten seasons. Granted we seen this as an audience before in the season eight finale "Moebius", however; we never saw it done as part of a villain's plan. To have it be Ba'al's plan fit perfectly to a tee!! I really loved how Ba'al did his plan, and took his time to put himself in a high position in the Goa'uld System Lords before going after Earth. I'm curious what he did with his past self though to put his plan into full effect.
What I love probably even more is seeing Ba'al's plan fall apart at the seems. First, he is betrayed by Qe'tesh literally in the back no less. Secondly, he discovers the Tauri know about the Antarctica gate and Ancient outpost. Thirdly, he is pretty much shot in the head by Cam when he tries to change the future. D'oh....it was too good!! Ba'al proved to be one of the most excellent villains on the show. He had terrific tactics throughout the series and proved to a threatening villain. So to see Ba'al get his just desserts was awesome!! Cliff Simon was most excellent in the movie, and boy was he yummy to look at especially when he was wearing that sleeveless shirt in the beginning *drools*. Speaking of Qe'tesh I thought she was an intriguing System Lord. It was different to see Claudia in full blown Goa'uld especially after how adorable Vala in the beginning with her big gun and tiara. While I loved seeing Claudia show her evil side I was happy to have Vala back hehe.
Alternate Timeline vs. Original Timeline Debate -- I really loved how Brad Wright represented this debate in the movie in the pivotal scene between AT!Landry and our heroes. This is something we never saw in "Moebius", so this was a real treat to see the series go into this discussion. It was brought up briefly by AT!Future!Janet in "2010", but there was really no strong counterargument because the human race was going to cease to exist if our heroes did nothing. Jump to Continuum each side had a valid point because who's to say our heroes have the right to re-alter the timeline. So many lives would be different, and some people would definitely cease to exist. As we seen with just AT!Landry (i.e. retired, married, & relationship with his daughter) and AT!Jack (CHARLIE'S ALIVE!!) alone how different of a timeline it is. Yet, I loved how determined our heroes were about their responsibility they have to their own timeline. Guh, you really feel for them in their standoff scene with Landry. Btw, I loved the noticeable differences of AT!Landry and AT!Jack because they were definitely more serious than their original counterparts. It was great to see them, but it was also quite chilly to see them different too *sniff*. Beau Bridges and Richard Dean Anderson really knocked their scenes out of the park.
Another thing that I enjoyed was the fact that Brad Wright allowed the alternate timeline a chance to survive, and our heroes tried an attempt to save it. It's just Ba'al knew the tactics long beforehand, and calculated their moves to a tee. So I love the fact President Henry Hayes pretty much gives SG-1 a greenlight in the end to do what they need to do to save the world. Which means fixing the timeline on how it should be *fansqueels*. Btw, I still love me some President Henry Hayes. He is still the most adorable U.S. President I have seen on tv in a long time. He's funny, direct, and doesn't care who knows it. Overall, Brad Wright really did a great job in the whole debate of alternate timeline vs. original timeline.
The Grandfather Paradox: Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell -- I thought it was cool to have Cam literally be a Grandfather Paradox due to transporting in the Stargate wormhole. I love how you can see the timeline change when the wormhole went from purple to the signature blue color. You really feel for Cam being stuck in the alternate timeline because he pretty much has no family. He can't see his parents because his own father doesn't exist. My heart just skipped a beat when Cam went back to visit his home because you can see the longing in his eyes. It was so sad to see Cam feel so lost. Having that said I loved seeing the return to Cam's roots in Kansas. One of my favorite parts to the episode "Bounty" was seeing Cam's roots in Kansas. It's just a beautiful location, so I loved seeing the return of it. Along with Cam's love for his cars.
Ben Browder did an excellent job at Captain Mitchell because I seriously had to do a double take several times in the first scene to see if it was Ben. It's all in those pretty eyes! The prosthetic work and Ben's acting really sold me that he was Captain Mitchell from the accent to the walk. Cam's accent is Ben's natural Southern drawl, so I just loved that Captain Mitchell's accent was more Bostonian. Speaking of Captain Mitchell I just loved his character!! He was such a great guy who tried to save his crew, ship, and cargo. In the age where we've been seeing captains abandoning ships it was refreshing to see a captain doing all he could to save it and his men. Btw, nice touch by putting "Langford" on the Stargate cargo box. I geeked out a bit on that shout-out.
While it was epic seeing Cam taking Ba'al down my heart still ached for him because Cam was and continued to be so alone. He had to lay down low until Achilles took its voyage to pick up the Stargate in Egypt. Then Cam would have to continue to stay low while the timeline continued on its merry way, so he wouldn't affect the timeline. There would be so many questions I would've liked answered with this now AT!Cam. Oh, the possibilities!! Cam was pretty much a badass in this movie, and I freakin' loved it!!
"You Are an Extraordinary Person in Any Timeline You Happen To Be In": Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter -- About half of the movie's heavy emotional beats were carried by Sam this time. I really loved that they weren't over the top, but noticeable by Amanda Tapping's terrific acting. In pretty much the first 15 minutes Sam witnesses Jack die in front of her *gulp*. Man, when I saw Jack die I was so shaken up because it was quick and fast. I wasn't expecting to see Jack die, and by Ba'al's hands no less. Yet, I still swooned when Sam still called him "sir", her shocked face seeing Jack die, and Jack's last words were "get to the gate" to her. Talk about a bittersweet moment indeed. I was bundled with all ranges of emotions. I must say I love...love....all the Jack and Sam goodness in the film. They still had their signature banter in the beginning, the life and death situation, and the awkwardness of Sam seeing AT!Jack alive. It was sad to see the awkwardness Sam was feeling seeing AT!Jack because one minute she was happy and the next was upset because this isn't the Jack she knows. He is more abrupt with her than Jack has ever been. I just love the little looks Sam had at AT!Jack in the sub because she looked like a little school girl hehe. I was happy to see our Jack didn't actually end up dying because I want to still be in my Jack and Sam bubble hehe.
How AT!Jack treated Sam is very similar to how AT!Landry and AT!Hammond treated Sam. These are two guys that she has worked with and formed a relationship with, and now she has to adjust knowing they are different from what she knows. I thought AT!Jack was hard to watch it must be harder with Hammond because this is a guy Sam has known since she was a kid. Yet, this Hammond comes off like he never met Sam in his life. Which made me think since the original SG-1 team never went back in time in "1969" Hammond never knew about the Carter family. He couldn't ensure that AT!Sam would be recruited to the Stargate Program because there is no program. Herego, there is no reason for Hammond to be shipped out to Vietnam to meet with Jacob Carter. Which begs another question what became of Jacob Carter? Did he die during the Vietnam War? Or did he die of cancer before AT!Sam's death? Regardless, all the work Jacob/Selmak did during their time with the Tok'ra and SGC never happened, including the extraction procedure to take out a Goa'uld, weapons, spying, and so forth. Ba'al destroyed the Mitchell family line, and he pretty much messed up the Carter family line which effected not only international events but intergalactical events as well. So being a big fan of Hammond's relationship with SG-1 it cut me to the core when AT!Hammond shutdown Sam's greeting of hello *sniff*.
I'll talk about Sam's emotional beats with Daniel and Cam later on, but I must say those scenes also cut me to the core *sniff*. We didn't get whole lot of moments of Sam in the alternate timeline except for the moments in the store. I guess that's because Amanda was filming Stargate: Atlantis and The Ark of Truth, and there is that whole timing issue. What we did see I enjoyed because Sam bought Jack's favorite cereal *sniff* and the obvious acknowledgement of someone knowing who she was in the store. How Cam copes makes me wonder how Sam coped herself. Sam is stuck being noticed by people, grieving over the loss of loved ones (and Jack), and to top it off she can't work in any of her skill strengths. I don't know how Sam coped not being able to do the work she loves, or even continue being a soldier. Just seeing Sam's expression alone when she is told this in the bus says it all. I don't want to repeat myself later on I will stop while I am ahead hehe. I would've liked to see more of Sam coping in an alternate timeline that had strict guidelines considering what was seen by her actions in "The Road Not Taken". However, I do understand this movie had so much going on and some things had to be trimmed down. Overall, I really enjoyed the dark emotional and psychological perspective of Sam in the movie. Tapping carried so much emotional weight in her scenes that you really didn't need any dialogue for those moments.
"Not a Discredited Wackjob": Dr. Daniel Jackson -- Since Michael was filming his stint on 24 I wasn't expecting much screentime as compared to Amanda and Ben. What we did see I really enjoyed. Daniel was pretty much at his smartalex best in this one haha. I thought it was creative to have Daniel lose a leg to remedy the schedule conflict Michael had, and well he didn't want to go to the Arctic either. While Cam and Sam were dealing with their own personal struggles Daniel was living with his handicap and seeing his alternate self lambasted in the academic community. He was pretty much seeing his own set backs all over again, and pretty much couldn't do anything about it. Even after he....um....called himself. To have to go through it all over again would royally suck. A part of me felt there should be more discussion about Daniel coping with his handicap. In the film it was pretty much talked about it, and then moved on quite quickly. I guess perhaps because Brad Wright had to come up with a quick solution to make things work in the production process there wasn't enough time to go into Daniel's handicap.
I did get a kick out in the fact Daniel had yet died again haha. I remember The Ark of Truth San Diego Comic-Con panel, and one fan asked the question if Daniel was going to die. Needless to say it in fact did happen. While I knew Daniel would return after his many....er....deaths this is the third death that struck a chord with me. The other two moments would have to be from "Fire & Water" and "Meridian". In Continuum I didn't know if Daniel would return or not whether it be being left behind in the Arctic or the moment when he got shot. When he got shot it felt so final because it was in slow-motion with an epic musical score was behind it. This movie would be the time where Daniel would, in fact, stay dead because I was spoiler free with this movie. In the end I was happy to see the original SG-1, in fact, alive and well at the end of the movie *sigh*. I was realized then if the Stargate SG-1 series was ever brought back with its original cast I wouldn't want anyone to die *sniff*. I want them to live happily ever after despite what obstacles they face. Overall, I was really pleased with what they did with Daniel in the movie, and he brought some much needed humor to this movie too.
The SG-1 Trio: Cam, Sam, and Daniel -- One of the reasons I really loved this movie is because there was a heavy emphasis on this SG-1 Trio. Anytime a movie, book, or tv show can balance three characters in a terrific way color me a happy camper. I've always enjoyed the friendships of Daniel/Cam, Cam/Sam, and Sam/Daniel. So to have all three of them together was quite the treat for me *fansqueels*. Plus it's an extra bonus to have Michael, Ben, and Amanda just have a great chemistry with one another. However, when talking about Stargate SG-1 when does this cast not have chemistry with each other d'oh.
Due to Michael's schedule Daniel had the least amount of interaction within the trio. Alas, I loved every moment he had with them. I've always loved Daniel's humor with Cam, so I liked seeing that continue in the movie especially when they were in the F-15 fighter jet. I also liked seeing Cam's concern for Daniel in the Arctic and submarine. In regards to Sam their long standing friendship was definitely shown with subtle looks. Overtime, Sam and Daniel would sometimes interact with just a shorthand look between each other. I wouldn't be surprised its due to the fact Amanda and Michael are close friends in real life, and worked together for so long. I had three favorite moments between Daniel and Sam. First, when Sam has to stay goodbye to Daniel in the Arctic. Guh, that moment is a killer because Sam is crying saying her non-goodbye *sniff*. Second, the constant facial expressions and looks between them during AT!Jack's interrogation scene on the submarine. Daniel's faces when AT!Jack talks to Sam, or Sam's faces when AT!Jack talks to Daniel. There are these looks that convey "Seriously?", "Huh?", and "WTF?!" hehe. Lastly, the moment when Sam sees Daniel die in front of her. Now Sam has seen Daniel die in front of her numerous times, but this moment there is no way of knowing they will succeed in fixing the timeline. So for Sam the moment when she saw Daniel die was brutal and final. Just to see the hardcore shock on Sam's face made me all teary eyed. I did like how Sam went back to work after that moment because I figure Sam would force herself back into the here and now to fix the timeline. Fixing the timeline would not only save Jack, but also Daniel and billions of other people in the galaxy. It was a good parallel to what Sam had to go through when the SG-1 Trio arrived in the cargo hold of the Achilles.
Cam and Sam's friendship had a strong emphasis in this film, and it just left me a giddy school girl inside. As I stated numerous times, so forgive me, but I don't ship Cam and Sam romantically. I can see why others do, but I still view Cam and Sam as a sibling relationship. Plus I'm biased because I love me some Jack and Sam goodness hehe. Regardless, there is no denying that Cam and Sam have one of the best friendships on the show.
I have several moments throughout the film surrounding these two that I just adored. First, Cam coming to Sam in her moment of grief over Jack. The trio find themselves in a very cold, frozen cavern, and it's Sam's area of expertise to figure out what happened. Alas, poor Sam is in shock seeing Jack die in front of her *sniff*. Man, did Amanda Tapping kill that moment!! I liked how gentle Cam was with Sam to get her back on track to ensure their well being. Btw, I really loved how Cam had to literally move Sam to pretty much save her, and Sam grabbing Cam when he started to become a Grandfather's Paradox on the Tok'ra homeworld. Second, when Cam and Sam were walking across the Arctic. I just loved their banter while discussing how and what could've happened with Ba'al's plan. As time goes by Sam is pretty much dwindling in strength the more they walk. I loved how Cam use his signature distraction humor about not liking the spot to die haha. Third, I loved Cam and Sam's interaction during their scene when AT!Landry. Throughout AT!Landry's monologue Cam and Sam have these great exchanges with each other from mouthing "Navy" to the sad looks that they won't be returning to their timeline any time soon. Fourth, I really loved seeing how Cam and Sam interacted side by side in their F-15s. Lastly, the moments inside Ba'al's time machine fail safe. I thought it was a hoot that it was Cam this time to cut off Sam's technobabble hehe. What really cut me to the core was Cam's reaction to Sam's death *sniff*. I was shocked and surprised anyways because as I previously stated with Daniel's "death" that it looked to be so final. The same is true with Sam's "death" as well, and the way Ben delivered his line just made me even more sad *sniff*. Overall, I just loved what they did with Sam and Cam's friendship in this movie from Cam's gentleness to Sam's support.
Action Sequences, Visual Effects, Cinematography/Directing, & Music -- Martin Wood is one of my favorite directors, and he did an amazing job with this movie. I loved the whole look and style of the film. There was a lot of location shooting which gave the movie a more real quality to it. Wood and Co. did an amazing job with the footage in the Arctic. First, I have to say I was blown away they actually went to the Arctic and filmed an actual U.S. Navy sub merge from the ice. I was impressed that it was Ben, Amanda, and Richard the whole time while filming too. Anyways, back to the topic the filming of the Arctic was so beautiful!! The whole cinematography look was outstanding from the filming on the Achilles to Ba'al's time machine. I also liked how he did the split screen during the interrogation scene of Cam, Sam, and Daniel. It reminded me a bit of how they do Wood used split screens on Sanctuary. This film has to be one of my favorite Martin Wood directing projects.
The action sequences and visual effects were just as outstanding!! I really loved the visual effects of Ba'al's fleet above Earth from coming out of hyperspace to positioning their motherships in attack position. I loved the Achilles visual effects from the ship to the water. There was a lot more action in this film in comparison to The Ark of Truth, so I was really happy to see an increase balance between action and drama. My favorite action sequences were: the timeline alteration on the Tok'ra homeworld, escaping the frozen Achilles, the awesome dogfight in the F-15s over the ocean, Goa'uld attacking Earth, the Battle at Ba'al's fail safe, and Old!Cam killing Ba'al and his Jaffa. The action sequences pretty much kicked some major bum!! Btw, I must say I'm finally glad to see our military characters in F-15s considering they are in the Air Force branch.
The musical score was pretty fantastic!! I'm a big musical score junkie, and I thought this movie had some great scores that were memorable to me. My favorite musical scores were: "A Day at the SGC", "For Good of Others", "The Sinking of the Achilles", "Endless Horizon", "Breaking the Ice", "New Identities", "The Armada", "The Battle Over the Ocean", and "Fall of Heroes". I'm glad Joel kept in the signature SG-1 theme music and some notes from Jack and Sam's love theme *swoons*. The score was pretty much excellent, but it always is with the series.
Easter Eggs, References, & Cameos Galore! -- Man, this movie was loaded with so much callback goodness!!
*Cameos -- Major Davis, Apophis, Camulus, Nirrti, Cronus, Ra, Siler, Walter, Martin Wood, Kenny "Evil" Gibbs, Brad Wright, Free Jaffa Nation (name drop!), and the U.S.S. Alexandra. I'm not counting Hammond and Jack because they were in the movie in more than one scene. Btw, I loved seeing all my favorite System Lords in one scene!!
*Episode Callbacks -- "Bounty" (Vala's gun & Cam's homestead), Solar Flare Time Travel ("1969" & "2010"), "Children of the Gods" (Teal'c chooses the Tauri), "Lost City" (too many to list!!), and "2010" (Original SG-1 die heroic deaths *sniff*).
*Dead Again -- Apophis and Daniel die....again hehe
*Langford -- It's written on the box the Stargate was placed in is a direct reference to the Langford family who protected the gate for years.
*Before They Were Part of SG-1 -- Daniel's (non)unsuccessful theory about pyramid landing pads. Sam wanting to go into the NASA program to become an astronaut. Once again two forks in the road that were paved without the knowledge of the Stargate and building of the SGC. A concept that was discussed way back in season one's "There But For the Grace of God" and "Politics".
*Jack's Cereal -- Sam buys it in the store *sniff*
*Russia -- Even in this timeline the Russians still find the other gate.....love it! Btw, I loved how both countries worked together to allow SG-1 to succeed in their mission. No comment on the current political landscape.
*Inter-Service Rivalry -- "The Navy?" is mouthed with surprised by Cam and Sam. Great nod to the military rivalry hehe.
*Original Release: Mitchell states in his interrogation scene that Stargate Command started in 1997 and almost says 1994. Stargate SG-1 started in 1997, and the original movie was released in 1994.
Overall, the movie was fantastic!! Normally, I wouldn't be as lenient on a movie, but in this case I think it is valid to do so. The production of the last two movies were done in peculiar circumstances with actors who had sometimes conflicting schedules with other projects. Sure I would have loved more moments with Daniel and Sam in their new identities, however; I understood why those moments were trimmed down or were not in the movie. Regardless, this movie is still totally EPIC!! It makes me sad I have now ran out of Stargate SG-1 series to watch *sniff*. On that note I plan on making a reflection post about the whole series in general sometime during the summer months.