Coming... when I get the DVD...

The director's cut has restored some of the cut scenes back into the movie. On first viewing, I found the new additions facinating. But that could have just been because I was seeing them for the first time. On a later viewing, I found that the cut scenes didn't really add anything to the story, and ended up bogging down the movie—probably because the remains that we're shown in some of them is visually confusing and unclear. And that's despite their apparent intention of increasing the tension!

On my last viewing, I was struck by how the movie is a bridge between the themes Roland Emmerich was exploring in Universal Soldier and Independence Day. On the one hand, you have the Sarcophagus (the ultimate expression of technology being used to reanimate the (recently) dead), and on the other hand, there is the overconfident alien(s) engendering to exploit the Earth—or at least the humans of the Earth—for resources.

Of the three films, 'Universal Soldier' had the better bad guy (arguably what makes or breaks these kinds of films). That's not to say that Jaye Davidson's Ra was bad or badly portrayed. He was the right character for SG-1, just not for the movie. Nevertheless, I did like how Ra was never portrayed as being in a rush, and how he appeared to be somewhat bemused by the reappearance of Earthlings in his domain, and the effects of that. I also feel that Stargate handled the defeat of the aliens much better than Independence Day did—what with having Ra's overconfidence and assumptions play as much a role in his defeat as the luck, courage, and resourcefulness of the Earthlings and their newfound allies.

Ultimately, if you've seen the theatrical version of the movie, you don't have to rush out to find the director's cut (you should be trying to find the director's cut of Alien!) If you're a Stargate fan, it may be worthwhile to see it—if only for the alternative take on the Stargate whirlpool damage (or lack thereof) a buried Stargate causes in the ground.

In the works!

In the works!