Emmerich, together with producer
Devlin, would go on to greater success with Independence Day, before
failing spectacularly with a certain large lizard. Which is appropriate,
given their fondness for 'dinosaur movies' -- undeniably epic in scale, yet
severely challenged on the cerebral front. You can detect the seeds of
their "intellect-free" cinema here, which manages to entertain, without
requiring the slightest conscious thought from the audience. They clearly
*love* the feel of science, but prefer to handwave wildly at it: the
plot-critical idea about needing six points to fix a location in space is
bunkum. Best ignore this, and appreciate the nifty visuals: like all their
films, it would work much better at the cinema. Spader is the Egyptologist called in
to decipher squiggles on an artefact; doing so opens a gateway to somewhere
else and leaves him struggling to communicate with people possessing silly
hair-dos -- not least, Army goon Russell. You may find yourself checking your watch as you await the
next spectacular set-piece, but don't worry, it won't be long. Will Spader
save the newly discovered world? Who cares?
C-