Stargate Continuum is the second film and direct to DVD after Stargate SG-1 ended its run on the SCI-FI Channel.  After having loved Stargate: The Ark of Truth I expected Stargate Continuum to be a better viewing experience since Continuum saw the return of Richard Dean Anderson, the late Don S. Davis and several actors who’ve appeared as Goa’uld villains over the 10 year span of SG-1.  Also, the prospect of a stand alone SG-1 adventure that didn’t have anything to do with the Ori arc was something that I looked very forward too.  So is my anticipation paid off?  Yes it is.  Is Stargate Continuum a better film than The Ark of Truth?  Yes and no.  Stargate Continuum might actually be a bigger film in scale, but I liked The Ark of Truth story more.

Stargate Continuum starts off with SG-1 and General Jack O’Neil attending a Tok’ra extraction ceremony for Ba’al.  Ba’al is the last of the Goa’uld System Lords that is now being brought to justice.  During the ceremony Teal’c and Vala disappear into thin air as well as the Tok’ra one by one.  The rest of SG-1 try to escape only to go through the gate and end up in a world that has been changed.  Ba’al has traveled back in time an changed the history of the galaxy and only SG-1 can stop him.  Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black with Cliff Simon as Ba’al star in Stargate Continuum.  Returning and reprising roles from throughout the 10 year TV series is Richard Dean Anderson, Don S. Davis, Peter Williams, Vince Crestejo, Ron Halder, Jacqueline Samuda, Steve Bacic, Gary Jones, Dan Shea and William Devane as President Henry Hayes. 

Likes:

• The scale of Continuum is much larger than Ark of Truth and anything done in the TV series.  During production filmmakers captured practical shots of Air Force aircraft and Navel Submarines, specifically a Submarine crashing through the ice in the Arctic.  Since Stargate is heavily based on CGI effects those practical special effects is a pleasure to see.
• Speaking of CGI; Stargate has never been anything largely impressive as if a big budget film would be, or should be in some cases.  However that said, I’ve only had several complaints over the course of the series.  Continuum has a larger budget than a series episode would have so filmmakers stepped it up with some fantastic shots, most notably, cities being attacked by a fleet of Goa’uld Motherships.
• Ben Browder who plays Colonel Cameron Mitchell had a hell of a lot to do in this film.  He’s such a great actor and a character, seeing that he basically was the lead star instead of being an ensemble was a pleasure. 
• I found the writing to create the time travel, clever.
• After SG-1 returned to a different Earth, the team had to spend a year away from each other and were forced to do anything that had nothing to do with their prior profession.  Watching that year was interesting for each character and you could feel their frustration.
• Much of the action was very enjoyable to watch; as well as simple fun.
• Cliff Simon as Ba’al is just great.  Simon has a charm about his villain character that not many characters in the Stargate Universe have, which is the reason why he’s become so popular to the fans.

Dislikes:

• To put it simply, I’m so sick and tired of time travel.  Science Fiction as a whole has overused time travel and it needs to stop.  The time travel issue in the upcoming Star Trek is something that worries me because time travel in Continuum is what made it less enjoyable for me and I don’t want that to happen with Star Trek.  SG-1 has done a number of time travel episodes so it’s not like we’ve never seen it before in this franchise.  Granted, it gave us the opportunity to see characters that have been long gone but they weren’t in the film enough to really cause an impact.
• Most of the returning villains were under used.  Vince Crestejo who plays Lord Yu had a lot to do in the series but in Continuum it was just a cheap cameo.  That’s also the same for Peter Williams who plays Apophis.  As for some of the others, Jacqueline Samuda (Nirrit) and Steve Bacic (Camulus), their presence in the film isn’t important and doesn’t need to be there.
• Another useless cameo of a love character; Colin Cunningham who plays Major Paul Davis.  He walked past the camera and didn’t even have a line.  Lame.
• The biggest problem I have with Continuum is Richard Dean Anderson.  Ever since it was announced he was going to be in this film, it got myself and everyone else excited.  He didn’t even do anything important in this movie except make a few jokes.  He was only in it for a total of 15 minutes give or take a few minutes.  I was expecting him to be involved in the story and partake in the action.  I was wrong and it turned out to be the biggest disappointment in Continuum.

As good as Continuum is and as much as I like it, I feel that The Ark of Truth had a more solid story.  The under used characters and the time travel/alternate universe is very frustrating for me, however the larger scale makes Continuum and enjoyable film.  I’m going to have to stick to my guns and say that I like The Ark of Truth better and it deserves a better rating than Continuum but that isn’t saying much because I give Stargate Continuum an 8 out of 10.

-Phil