Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: MGM
Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: All
Runtime: 102 min
Chapters: 28
Size: 50 GB
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: January 13, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: AVC @ 33.5
Audio:
English DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1; Spanish & French Dolby
Digital 5.1.
Subtitles:
English SDH & Spanish
Extras:
• Commentary with Writer, Producer, Director Robert C.
Cooper, Actor, Christopher Judge, and Director of
Photography Peter Woeste
• The Ark of Truth: Stargate at Comic-Con – in SD (19:53)
• Uncovering The Ark of Truth – in SD (29:45)
• Stargate SG-1: The Road Taken: Prelude to Stargate: The
Ark of Truth - in SD (09:05)
The Film:
7
While both DVD and Blu-ray editions of
Continuum
were
released together as Direct-to-Video feature films in July
of 2008, we've had to wait nearly a year since the DVD of
The Ark of Truth before it would make its presence known in Blu-ray. As those who haven't been following the long
running television series can (and should) learn from the
nine-minute summary/prelude to this movie in the Bonus
Feature "The Road Taken," The Ark of Truth concludes the Ori
story arc that was the core of the final two television
seasons. And along with
Continuum,
The Ark of Truth may or
may not be the last word from SG-1 by this cast. (You may
refer to my review of
Continuum
for a more detailed
background for the series and the feature films.)
While both Ark of Truth and
Continuum demand a certain
familiarity with Stargate lore and storylines, The Ark of
Truth is designed to wind things up for devotees of the
series, whereas
Continuum
works as a standalone episode.
Both movies are rewarded with a bigger budget and it shows,
even though some of the sets and models (such as the opening
mountain village and lift off from it) are entry-level
mattes and CGI. I found the story and all its various crises
and developments to be generally satisfying, never seeming
to make things longer just to satisfy the temporal
parameters of a television show. I thought less of the Replicators who come off as little more than an infection of
erector set spiders, and when the crew fights them off it's
hard not to be reminded of Aliens. On the other hand, I
liked that the SG-1 crew were all professionals at their
jobs, some with sensible lines to say. No 1960s Star Trek
cut outs here.
The Movie: 7
The movie opens with a brief prologue set in the ancient
past – really ancient – where those opposed to the Ori and
what they stand for debate the use of the Ark as a weapon of
last resort. The Ark would reverse Ori brainwashing so it
would likely end the hold they have over humanoids. They
decide not to go there, and the Ark is buried until the
present when SG-1 seems about to discover it. Alas not,
though in the process, the team secures a reunion with a now
penitent Tomin, Vala's erstwhile "husband." Tomin (Tim
Guinee) provides new information that sets the team on a
path that promises the Ark.
But two forces are at work that, independently, auger bad
news for their efforts: the first is that Ori Priors and
their armies are poised (once again) to strike the Earth in
a decisive battle, so time, as usual, is critical. The
second is that the current stand-ins for our CIA have plans
of their own to deal with the Ori since they have no faith
in SG-1 to recover the Ark. (I guess they haven't been
watching the TV series!) They insist that Marrick (Currie
Graham), the ultimate slimeball, accompany the mission –
with secret orders to sabotage SG-1's efforts and substitute
their own battle plan that has the potential of a serious
backfire. We're talking serious! here.
The whole cast of regulars are here (minus, of course,
Richard Dean Anderson), plus a couple of seasonal supporting
players, most importantly Morena Baccarin as Adria and Sarah
Strange as Morgan Lefay.
Image:
4/7
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
I am sorry to report that Fox's Blu-ray of The Ark of Truth
suffers from unreasonable amounts of noise, most apparent in
dark scenes, of which there many. The image is less than
highly resolved to begin with: it's grainy and soft, with
only fair black levels - thus the noise to some extent due
to what might have been deemed necessary brightening. Yuk.
Audio & Music:
6/8
I thought the dialogue was more correctly balanced here than
in Continuum. The uncompressed audio mix never quite seemed
up to sci-fi fantasy standards, even though it is more than
adequate for TV fare.
Operations:
5
When I want to find a scene in chapter search I don't want
to spend time trying to figure out which scene is being
selected. In this case, the thumbnails are only barely
enlarged while chapter titles , as if we've known them all
our lives, are posted at the top of search bar. On the other
hand, I liked that when we return to the menu from any given
bonus feature the next one in line is selected, ready to go.
Extras:
5
The three bonus features (plus commentary where not nearly
enough is heard from the Judge) are the same as on the DVD –
nothing new for the Blu-ray, except, if you can believe
this: a trailer for
Continuum
in SD. The Ark of Truth: Stargate at Comic Con is a bloggy video of events of the
2007 San Diego Comic Com featuring Browder, Tapping, Judge
and Cooper in a panel before cheering fans who were able to
ask the usual probing questions and generate some strange
singing. A good time had by all.
Uncovering The Ark of Truth is a half hour making-of featurette that is all the more relaxed than many for its
being peopled with actors and crew that have worked together
for years. It is divided into segments that cover concept
and design, make-up and FX and safety concerns on the set,
the music of Joel Goldsmith (son of the legendary Jerry),
working with director/writer/producer Rob Cooper who has
been with the series from the start (not as creator and
developer, but there, importantly, nonetheless.) Stargate
SG-1: The Road Taken functions as a Prelude to The Ark of
Truth. It's short at nine minutes, but gathers the necessary
plot points form Seasons 9 and 10. If only the bonus
features were in better image quality, thus the low score.
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Bottom line:
6
I liked the movie as a bigger extended episode from the
series. Too bad about the video quality, though I doubt it
will deter fans.
Leonard Norwitz
January 24, 2009
