Stargate

Approached with a generous spirit and a vacant mind, this bombastic sci-fi epic is hugely enjoyable. Having deciphered the symbols on an ancient stone, eccentric Egyptologist Dr Jackson (Spader), accompanied by hardass Colonel O'Neil (Russell) and a crack marine patrol, walks through the stone portal to an alternate world where a raggle-taggle band of desert-dwellers are ruled by despotic King Ra (Davidson). O'Neil has secretly brought with him an atomic device, his suicide mission to close the Stargate for ever. The unwitting Jackson, however, has eyes only for the lovely Skaara (Cruz), whose downtrodden people rise up against their oppressors. At this point, it's best to surrender to the bombardment of glossy images and spectacular fx, a (manu)script from which many pages appear to be missing, and a stirring score that drives all before it. Futuristic tosh, certainly, but fun all the same.