Remember when you were young how it felt watching Star Trek for the first time? All those times that you thought about new races and new civilizations out in the universe? Remember when you thought, what if this was actually real? What would happen if you took the "trained" crew of actors from Star Trek and put them on a real version of the ship? Now replace the name Star Trek with Galaxy Quest and you have yourself an incredible movie! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of the Tim Allen film Galaxy Quest, Paramount has released a new Deluxe Edition DVD loaded with brand new interviews and features!
Story:
It has been 18 years since the television show "Galaxy Quest" left the airwaves after having completed four successful seasons of adventure and the crew are still trying to hold on to the spotlight by appearing at fan conventions. When some of the fans turn out to be REAL aliens from another planet in need of assistance, they come to request aid from the Commander of the spaceship Protector himself, Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen). These Thermians are under attack from a ruthless being known as Sarris. The leader of the Thermians, Mathisar (Emilo Coltanoni), explains that his race has modeled their culture and society after the "historical documents" of the NSEA Protector…Historical Documents? Don't these guys know that it was just a TV show? Apparently not. Nesmith doesn't quite understand the situation at first and unknowingly attacks Sarris, believing this all to be an acting gig. When the situation becomes a reality, Nesmith enlists the aid of his former crew-mates, Dr. Lazarus (Alan Rickman), Lt. Madison (Sigourney Weaver), Tech Sargent Chen (Tony Shalhoub) and Lt. Laredo (Daryl Mitchell) in the opportunity of a lifetime. Together this misfit cast of actors must find a way to put up with each other long enough to save an alien race from extinction.
Highlights
The casting in this movie is quite simply perfection.
-Tim Allen's take on Captain Kirk is amazing. His blatant jumping and dodging around on the rock planet is a perfect example of Kirk in action. There are references to the fact that Nesmith has slept with many of the extras and any female to walk on to the set, much like how Kirk acted in the show. The way that Nesmith has separated himself from his co-stars in the film itself is very similar to how Shatner has acted in the past. Great comments about how Nesmith "managed to get his shirt off" also refers to the Star Trek series.
-Alan Rickman's Dr. Lazarus is also meant to be a direct spoof of Spock (with a little bit of Worf thrown in there as well). Rickman's character had been involved in the Royal Shakespeare company but has now been stuck in this role for years after being type-cast. His catch phrase has driven him to the point of insanity and every time he has to say or hear the words "by Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!", he literally cringes. I wonder how Leonard Nimoy feels about "Live long and prosper" after all these years?
-Sigourney Weaver breaks out of her own type casting and plays the sexy Lt. Madision, who is also Nesmith's love interest in the film. It was great seeing her portray this character as it was the polar opposite of what Ripley was in the Alien films. Weaver herself even said that was what had attracted her to the role.
-Tony Shalhoub was quite possibly the best part of this film. His deadpan reactions made this film 100% better. You never know how this character is going to respond. Is he stoned? Is he drunk? We don't know. But there is a moment in the film where the rest of his cast members are just in total shock and he is smiling like a kid in a candy store. After you have watched this movie, go back and watch it again and pay really close attention to this character. There are several moments that I had never really caught before since there is a ton going on in each scene, but Shalhoub has some hilarious subtle moments.
-Justin Long plays a small role in the film as a fan who believes that all these adventures are real, and when he learns that it is actually true he ends up being the one to save the day! This film is supposed to not only be a homage to the world of Star Trek, but also to fandom itself. There are some very hardcore fans out there who follow these adventures religiously.
-Also, take a close look at the Thermians and you will see Rainn Wilson aka Dwight from The Office!
Special Features
This isn't just a re-release of a film from ten years ago. The team at Paramount has gone out of their way to reunite the cast and crew of Galaxy Quest for some great new interviews and special features. It is interesting to hear what these actors thought of this movie ten years later. Everyone has positive things to say about the entire creative process. All of these featurettes provide a new insight into the making of this film and contain some hilarious moments with the cast and crew.
Features include:
-Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest
-Never Give Up. Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector
-By Grabthar's Hammer: What Amazing Effects
-Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race
-Actors in Space
-Sigourney Weaver Raps
-Deleted Scenes
-Thermian Audio Track
-Theatrical Trailer
Overall
This is a movie that you can watch over and over and it doesn't get old. Not only is it entertaining, but it is a great look at the world of popular culture and what kind of effect it has on our society. If you don't own this movie, then go buy this release. If you do own this movie, then go buy this release. There is something new for everyone. This is going on my shelf next to the original DVD release. It is worth owning two copies of the film just for the special features alone. Hopefully this film will eventually be released on Blu-ray as well…maybe for the 20th Anniversary? (Well by then we wont be using Blu-ray… but you get the idea).
ComicsOnline gives Galaxy Quest: Deluxe Edition 5 out of 5 chances to use the Omega 13 Device
