I've got to hand it to the folks at MGM/Fox. This year marks the 15th anniversary since the Stargate film hit movie theaters, and the film was a semi-popular success. Since then, two shows with the Stargate prefix have aired in syndication (SG-1, with Richard Dean Anderson, and Atlantis), with a third reportedly in the works. While this film, subtitled The Ark of Truth, is a direct-to-video feature, a second (Stargate Continuum) has recently been released. It's personally unclear to me why the franchise has been as popular as it has, but clearly the shows must be doing something that the film was never able to accomplish, and that's reach their demographic clearly and cater to it as much as possible.

The Ark of Truth was written and directed by Robert C. Cooper, who was executive producer of both SG-1 and Atlantis. The intent of the film was to serve as a multi-episode arc for SG-1, however the Sci-Fi channel cancelled the show, and this story was used in its place. In the film, the SG-1 is supposed to acquire the Ark of Truth, which is located in the Ori galaxy. The SG-1 go to the galaxy, with a man on board who first alerts the Ori to their presence, and later attempts to sabotage the Ori forces, but what's used to do this wreaks havoc on the SG-1 ship "Odyssey." In the middle of all this, Earth is being threatened with destruction. All in a day's work, right?

The good thing about The Ark of Truth is that the band comes back together for a reunion of sorts. Dr. Jackson (Michael Shanks), Lieutenants Colonel Mitchell (Ben Browder) and Carter (Amanda Tapping) are aboard the Odyssey, and even Teal'c (Christopher Judge) all come back for the final part of the puzzle. As someone who's relatively new to the mythology of the franchise, I was surprised at how much of a world was created for the characters in this series. As a result, I didn't have much of a rooting interest into the loose storylines from the show, and how this film tied them up.

In looking at the film from a separate context though, it feels like Joss Whedon's Firefly, both in the level of vision and in smug, witty banter. Elements of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Runaway and The Fifth Element seem to have been pulled into the film, with swatches of British Columbia exteriors reminiscent of various sci-fi shows from the '90s. Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Bakers Boys) appears as a general on Earth, but I can understand why after hearing Browder talk, it sounds like The Dude with a laser beam. The storyline involves a couple of other elements that I didn't buy and dismissed them, and when they did pay off at the end, they felt a little too corny for my tastes. This was 100 minutes of Do. Not. Want.

Having said that though, the film's creators certainly know their audience and give each of the characters their moments to help appease the fans of each. There are other characters and subplots in the film that I haven't covered, but while I didn't find them all that appealing, I know that others would. When you've invested enough time and effort into almost 200 episodes for many of these characters, it would be heresy to say that this film isn't worth it to those who like the show more than myself. Cooper juggles the subplots well and does a good job of keeping the pace of them all going, but I think The Ark of Truth might have been better suited as a standalone segment, using the SG-1 characters. Perhaps the approach to doing this may be more refined in the future.

With an AVC MPEG-4 encode, Stargate The Ark of Truth looks pretty boring on Blu-ray. Presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, Director of Photography Peter Woeste keeps the film looking real ordinary. Film grain is abundant throughout, but is distracting through many of the sequences in the forest when SG-1 goes looking for the Ark. Blacks are hardly sharp or providing detail, and image detail is scarce. Even on the close cast shots, the image softness is disappointing. There's no background detail to be gained either, so the film is both dull to watch and not multidimensional whatsoever. This alone is disappointing.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound option is only marginally better. Dialogue doesn't waver in the center channel, and stays strong throughout the feature. With the visual effects and action sequences, I was expecting more activity in the front and rear channels than I actually got. The early firefight with a fake Ark was on the boring side of things, and when the replicator is in the Odyssey, you'd expect more directional effects in the satellites. There was one really cool sequence when a super stargate powered up and thundered through the subwoofer, so in case you're wondering why I've scored the sound the way I did, that's why.

Judge, Cooper and Woeste join up for a commentary that's fairly lively. Cooper and Woeste talk about the more technical aspects of the film, while Judge pitches in on the production side and tosses a joke out there every so often. They cover the differences in shooting a feature as opposed to a television show, and on what they tried to pick up on from the show. The discussion on shooting on film versus high definition is an interesting one as well. It's a very chummy track (with good reason, the participants have known each other for awhile), and worth listening to for fans of the show. Next is "Uncovering the Ark of Truth" (29:45), which serves as the making of look at the film. Cooper discusses where the show was when it was cancelled, and the motivations for doing a film. The cast also share their opinions on coming back to the material and the characters they play. The crew gets a lot of time in this segment too, as there's a bit of conceptual art, stunt/pre-production footage, and location scouting. The post-production is highlighted near the end, focusing on the visual effects and even the music composition. Wow, this is like a real movie! Quite the all-encompassing little featurette here. There is a prelude to the film, which you can either view here as a standalone piece (9:05) or at the beginning of the feature, which should bring you up to date. The film's publicity stop at the 2008 Comic Con is next (19:53), which lots of eccentric people asking show-centered questions, including a guy who sang a SG-1 parody to the tune of "All-Star" by Smashmouth. While all of this might sound a little geeky, it's an enjoyable and fun experience for all. Trailers for various Fox sci-film films like The Happening, X-Files 2, Babylon A.D. and the Stargate shows completes the disc.

Ultimately, your decision on Stargate The Ark of Truth is largely dependent on your tastes. If you enjoyed the SG-1 series, you'll be relieved that there's closure to many of your lingering questions. On the other hand, the Blu-ray disc fails to impress either visually or sonically. So why bother buying this at an inflated premium when you can get the standard one cheaper? My thoughts exactly. Technophiles, trust me, it's not worth your time.