By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
What do you think the most influential sci-fi film of the ‘90s was? You might be tempted to say The Phantom Menace, which continued a beloved franchise, or maybe The Matrix, which redefined the action/science fiction genre. Where we’re standing, though, it doesn’t get much more influential than Stargate, which kicked off a sprawling franchise and is now streaming for free on Tubi.
Stargate On Streaming
The plot of Stargate is a little wild if you’re streaming this classic for the first time. Basically, the military discovers a portal on Earth (the titular Stargate) that allows people to travel to a distant and very Egyptian-looking planet. Eventually, they discover an alien menace with surprising ties to Earth’s ancient history. Soon, our characters are in a fight for their lives that may ultimately determine the fate of two different worlds.
Stargate has a better cast than most sci-fi films streaming on Tubi, starting with Kurt Russell, who is perhaps best known for The Thing and Escape From New York. It also stars James Spader, a film legend (we loved you in Secretary!) turned TV icon thanks to Boston Legal and The Blacklist. Meanwhile, the film’s chief villain is played by Jaye Davidson, who is best known for The Crying Game and stopped acting in anything outside of shorts since 1994, the same year Stargate was released.
You don’t have to pay anything to watch Stargate when streaming it on Tubi, but ‘90s audiences were happy to open up their wallets: against a budget of $55 million, this ambitious sci-fi film earned $196.6 million at the box office. It was originally envisioned as the first part of a trilogy of theatrical films, but those two planned sequels were, sadly, never made. However, the movie eventually got a hit spinoff TV show (Stargate SG-1) that became a major sci-fi franchise thanks to TV spinoffs like Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe and their direct-to-video film spinoffs Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.
Obviously, Stargate struck a chord with sci-fi lovers long before streaming was invented, but it failed to impress critics: on Rotten Tomatoes, Stargate has a critical score of 54 percent. Critics generally praised the film’s slick visuals and James Spader’s memorable performance, but they felt that the script and characterization were lackluster. While critics mostly the movie unimpressive, it notably has an audience score of 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, highlighting just how much more general audiences enjoyed this film than the critics did.
That’s part of my answer to your inevitable question of why Stargate, a movie critics hated, is a film you should start streaming ASAP. The movie is beloved by sci-fi fans everywhere for many reasons, including the fact that it’s filled with familiar tropes that add up to something that feels refreshingly new. Sure, there’s a sandy planet evocative of Dune and Star Wars and a stable wormhole akin to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but the actual storyline of this film is very different from its science fiction forebears.
Additionally, the critics were right about one thing: James Spader gives a really amazing performance. He is cast as a nerdy scientist thrown unexpectedly into a sci-fi adventure, and Spader himself seems remarkably out of place in this action-packed film. Such fish-out-of-water casting helps make his performance more believable even as it gives fans of the actor a chance to see a side of Spader they’ve never seen before.
Finally, Stargate is worth streaming on Tubi because it’s arguably the most influential sci-fi film of the ‘90s, a decade that also brought us bangers like The Matrix. Sure, that mind-warping Keanu Reeves film became a franchise unto itself, but its output pales in comparison to Stargate, which ended up with 354 episodes across three TV shows along with multiple direct-to-video films, making it one of the longest-lasting sci-fi franchises in history. Any given room full of nerds will have several passionate Stargate fans, and watching this first film will help you understand what made them fall in love with the franchise in the first place.
Will you find Stargate as compelling as I did when watching it on Tubi, or would you rather blow yourself up than finish streaming this film? You won’t know until you use the gate–er, the TV–to check it out for yourself. Come for the ancient aliens and stay for the stylish premiere of one of sci-fi’s most enjoyable franchises.
