Review: ‘Galaxy Quest’ 10th Anniversary DVD
Galaxy Quest
does not turn 10 until Christmas, but with all the [[[Star Trek]]] hoopla this month, Paramount Home Video wisely releases the 10th anniversary edition on Tuesday.
This love letter to [[[Star Trek]]] and its fans was the commercially successful and satisfying in joke-filled story of the actors from a cancelled science fiction classic being recruited by interstellar fans in their time of greatest need. Can actors rise to the role of hero? Well, we pretty much know how this will end, but still, getting there is great fun.
Opening with a science fiction convention that is remarkably true in feel, the movie shows us how trapped the performers feel in these roles, along with the petty squabbles that have plagued them for years. Tim Allen plays William Shatner, or that is, the Shatner who felt trapped by Captain Kirk before letting himself in on the joke and embracing it. There’s the marvelous Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane, would be Shakespearean actor, trapped under the latex of his television alter ego, and hating every minute of it.
While some of Star Trek’s supporting players embraced their cultural status and used it with success, none of these performers have had similar luck and are reduced to store openings and convention appearances for income.
Until they board the real NSEA Protector, built with remarkable fidelity by the Thermians, who hope the stellar adventurers can help them avoid being conquered by a hostile race. From that point to the conclusion, we see these people grow and learn, while we cheer their every step. Writers David Howard and Robert Gordon take the fan experience and bring it to life, with tremendous affection. Director Dean Parisot is also fully committed to respecting the source material and has great fun while showing tremendous respect for his audience.
The cast is filled with wonderful performances from Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni, and Missi Pyle. A young Justin Long fills in for those of us in the audience, using the fan collective to help save their beloved heroes/
Some have hailed this one of the best Star Trek movies ever made and in many ways they’re right. The movie succeeds in being rewatchable – in snippets on cable as you surf – or all the way through as on the DVD.
Affordably priced at just $14.99, the movie comes complete with a slew of new featurettes so the celebration continues. Historical Documents: The Story of [[[Galaxy Quest]]] features fresh interviews with Gordon and Parisot along with members of the cast and Star Trek writer/director Nicholas Meyer. There is also 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, and Actors in Space. All provide interesting comments and an appreciation for the filmmaking process.
When Sigourney Weaver couldn’t attend her agent’s birthday party, she got help from Daryl Mitchell to craft a rap then was backed by Sam Rockwell, Missi Pyle and Mitchell. The short clip is very entertaining and shows some of the camaraderie that happens during a shoot.
From the 2000 DVD release are the deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer. All in all, this is a nice tribute to a terrific film, one that belongs in your library.
Goodness Gracious! That is the largest graphic I've ever SEEN on ComicMix!I couldn't possibly agree more with this review. Galaxy Quest is a wonderful movie. I also like the fact that two of the stars have created two of the biggest "Space Opera" characters of all time, Ellen Ripley and Buzz Lightyear.
I do have to add one caveat to the review – the opening convention is more typical of a comics/media convention (like DragonCon, for instance) than of a straight SF convention (like WorldCon).
What a wonderful film. Rode the line between parody and tribute perfectly, great dialogue and all based on a story that's been written god only knows how many times by fans.Dunno if it's in the new copy, but there's a cut scene on the first release featuring Parker and Stone regular Dian "Little Bitch" Bachar as one of the Thermians. It also had a selection on the DVD menu for the Omega 13. If you tried to select BEFORE you watched the film, you got a spoiler warning. If you selected it AFTER watching the film, the Omega 13 activates, resinding the DVD 13 seconds, to the tail end of the credits. Very funny.Darryl "Chill" Mitchell was hilarious both here and in short-lived TV show Veronica's Closet. Ironically, seated in the Chekov position, he got to do a lot of screaming. Darryl suffered a spinal injury some years back,but even though he's in a wheelchair now, he's still quite a busy actor. Had a few good scenes in Spike Lee's "Inside Man" a while back. This was the first film we saw Sam Rockwell in, and we had the same feeling about him we did when we saw Marisa Tomei in Oscar, that we were going to hear from him again, and we didn't mean a postcard.Missi Pyle is another one of those actresses that is FAR funnier than people realize. Needs more work.