Galaxy Quest is a movie about Star Trek and everything surrounding the television series. From sets to conventions and actors, everything is present and accounted for. This is not a parody or a mockumentary but fucking masterpiece of comedy. Incredibly well-crafted and intelligent, it will bring a smile to a face of any Star Trek fan. And those who haven’t seen the cult television show will also have a good time. This movie also pokes fun at the actors and their personalities with a lot of charm.
I mean, the cast of Galaxy Quest simply coulnd’t have been better. Tim Allen was phenomenal as the captain along with perpetually hilarious Alan Rickman. And I think I don’t need to tell you just how good Sigourney Weaver was in a role that’s a polar opposite of the character that made her famous. Now, these are just some of the main guys and gals, the supporting cast is also great. Starting with young Sam Rockwell, rocking that Guy spacesuit, continuing with Justin Long’s debut and finally ending up with Rainn Wilson in a role of an extraterrestrial. What more to want?
The script is densly packed with small jokes and gags, while the main story is more in the vein of the real series. This provided a nice balance between comedy and action with a couple of smart concepts. I also liked how they derived humor both from the series and the real life events. For example, when Gwen talks about an article almost entirely dedicated to her boobs, this actually happened to Jery Ryan or Seven of Nine. There are a lot of these nods to things that have happened over the years involving Star Trek.
So, cast of the cult TV show (that is almost the same as Star Trek) is a strange group of individuals, each with his own problems and weird personalities. When their egocentric leader accidentally embarks on a real spaceship and promises aliens that he will deliver them from the dangerous enemy, it will take the strength of them all to overcome this obstacle.
If you think that Galaxy Quest is one of those quickly put together commercial cashgrabs you’re sorely mistaken. The production values are excellent and special effects juicy. I mean, they are comparable to best science fiction movies that came out during this period. Which is not strange since they were done by freaking ILM. This simply one of those timeless feelgood movies that will always be fun.
And although this is a love letter to Star Trek, the concepts explored here are a staple of science fiction. From first contact, robots, strange computers and diverse crew, everything feels cozy and familiar. And the whole thing doesn’t feel like it’s pandering to anyone, something that’s a deal-breaker, for me at least. So, don’t waste any time and check out this underrated masterpiece, you won’t regret it.
Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: David Howard, Robert Gordon
Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell
Fun Stuff: Sigourney Weaver said that whenever she put on the blonde wig to become Gwen, “I could feel my IQ drop precipitously”.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/
