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Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest

List Price: $12.99
Your Price: $9.74
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Low Key But First Rate Comic Space Adventure
Review: 'Galaxy Quest' is an old, long discontinued TV space adventure series with an extremely geeky cult following. To put it another way, 'Galaxy Quest' is 'Star Trek' modified just enough to keep the intellectual property lawyers at bay. Its cast featured the macho captain Taggart played by Jason Nesmith played by Tim Allen; Lt. Madison played by Gwen DeMarco played by Sigourney Weaver, whose job on the ship is to repeat everything the computer says and have great breasts; Spock analogue, the alien Dr Larazus played by Alexander Dane played by Alan Rickman; and a few others. None of them have tasted remotely comparable acting success since, so they continue a little desperately to squeeze a living from their GQ celebrity. It's not something they mostly much enjoy, especially Dane who remains in his dreams at least true to his former self-conception as some great Shakespearean actor. Even the normally enthusiastic Nesmith is starting to find the whole business depressing.

Meanwhile in a distant part of the universe, the Thermians pick up transmissions of GQ. Having no concept of fiction they assume they are watching reality: 'historical documents'. Inspired, they model their society on the values they see embodied in the show. And then, endangered by a threat from evil alien Sarris, they turn up at a GQ convention to ask for help. Next thing our old troopers know they are on a very real replica of their fictitious spaceship and expected to take command in a serious emergency. A few large problems present themselves. Sarris, for one thing is desperate to know what the ships most spectacular hi-tech gizmo, the Omega 13, actually does. But of this Nesmith et al have no idea, they' re just actors after all. Indeed there is a pile of stuff about how everything works they have no clue about and they have to solve the problem by getting in contact with a few skinny geek schoolboys back on Earth with an unhealthy obsession with every obscure technical aspect of the TV show...

This is one of the very best American movie comedies of the late 1990s. The idea is a splendid one and it is stuffed full of rich comic conceits. It works beautifully as a gentle affectionate parody of the whole 'Star Trek' world. And it works beautifully too as a self-contained, character-driven comedy. Indeed, comedy aside, just as an adventure story with good guys in conflict with ugly green baddies, it's a lot more exciting and enjoyable than 100 other sci-fi movies that play it straight. It is intelligently written, ably directed and very well acted. Rickman and Allen are especially good among those playing human characters; Robin Sachs is a brilliantly malign Sarris; but the film is completely stolen by Enrico Colantoni as Thermian Commander Mathesar, at once the funniest and most lovable alien you are likely to encounter at the movies any time soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Quest Worth Undertaking by garrie keyman
Review: I love this movie; everything about it smacks of gourmet cinema fare. I can count on my fingers the number of movies I would willingly watch over and over and Galaxy Quest makes the grade. If you are a fan of sci-fi, enjoy parody, and don't take your own passions too seriously, chances are you'll agree.

So, what makes this Spielberg Dreamworks video worth your time? Plenty. Let's start with the cast. For me, few actors (unless they happen to be named James Naughton) have sufficient draw of their own to prompt me to crack my wallet; there simply has to be more than an actor or two I've enjoyed in the past to captivate my interest in a movie. In this regard Tim Allen (Home Improvement, The Santa Clause), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Gorillas in the Mist), Tony Shaloub (Wings, Searching for Bobby Fisher), nor Alan Rickman (Sense & Sensibility, Harry Potter) strayed from the mold. Yet in this hilarious and yet sometimes touching vehicle it is hard to imagine anyone better suited to their roles. This holds true for other cast members Sam Rockwell (The Green Mile), Enrico Colantoni (Just Shoot Me, Stigmata), and Justin Long, as well.

Welcome to the tale about a crew of has-been actors from a twenty-year-old television show trying to milk their fading fame for all it's worth. While attending a fan-filled sci-fi convention, the self-absorbed Jason Nesmith (Allen) is approached by a group of Theramian emissaries hailing from the Klatu Nebula. Nesmith, who played the Kirk-ish Commander Peter Quincy Taggart on the 70's-something TV show Galaxy Quest, understandably blows-off the alien visitors as just one more clutch of costumed groupies who have spent too many days in warp drive. The Theramians are not easily put off. They have modeled their spaceship - indeed, their entire society -- after every detail garnered from the show under the mistaken belief that the transmissions of the old television series were in fact a collection of historical documents. Now, threatened with extinction by the evil Sarris (Robin Sachs) who wants the ever-smiling Theramians to surrender the mysterious Omega-13 device, Mathesar (Colantoni), leader of the surviving Theramians, together with his companions continues to appeal to their hero, Nesmith, for help.

The next day a hung-over Nesmith finally accompanies the Theramians to their ship -- thinking it merely another campy gig where the spaceship is little more than a highly impressive mock-up -- and proceeds to open fire on Sarris. Only when he is encapsulated in gel and jettisoned home in the most hilarious wake-up call of sci-fi movie history does Nesmith realize the Theramians, and therefore the menacing Sarris, are real. Unfortunately, no one knows what the Omega-13 does; the series ended before that part was written into the script.

Sci-fi fans will readily recognize parody of various industry standards including Star Trek (Original Series, Next Generation Series, as well as some of the movies), Gremlins, Star Wars, and Flight of the Navigator. So if you find Beryllium Spheres are strangely reminiscent of Dilithium Crystals or that Sarris and his eye-patch remind you of the formidable character Christopher Plummer (Sound of Music) portrayed in Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country, it's not coincidental. Yet while Galaxy Quest is a sort of ala-carte all-you-can-eat buffet of sci-fi fandom and cliche, don't err here; you needn't get the inside jokes to enjoy it. And with its PG rating, this is a movie meal the entire family can all sit down and devour together. Now that's good cookin' from Hollywood.

What makes Galaxy Quest above par is that not only does it deliver on the laughs, it is well structured; well-directed (Dean Parisot); has a four-star apropos soundtrack (David Newman); and near-flawless top-drawer special effects (Stan Winston). What's more, it has the singular distinction of featuring my all-time favorite alien race. If foreign-exchange programs ever go inter-galactic, I'd pick a year with those endearingly innocent and gut-bustingly hilarious Theramians, hands-down. Galaxy Quest is precisely the kind of movie (should you stop by unannounced) that you are apt to find us re-enacting at home.

There is a lot more I would love to say about this movie and the apt portrayals of the cast - all of it good - but alas, space does not allow. Suffice it to say that through the course of the movie the crew of TV has-beens sets aside their well-entrenched habit of in-fighting to save the day, although not before enduring a harrowing series of stair-step crises which build to the expected triumphant climax (this is, after all, a comedy). Still, it isn't all silliness, and it is precisely that breed of subtle yet gripping artistry which graces the viewer here: that well-written smartly balanced blend of laughter and loss capable of propelling any would-be-winner of a movie to an enduring sell.

If you like to go where no one has gone before but prefer going with friends and having a great time en route, watch this movie. Then remember one thing: Never give up; never surrender (even when you've been reduced to signing autographs at the local Sci-fi convention).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: NICE SPACE TO VISIT
Review: All movies don't have to be great. A good one will seem great in the Milky Way of mediocrity known as the film industry.
GALAXY QUEST, simply put, starts out well and continues without a dip at a high entertainment speed. It's well written and the jokes are funny. The cast do a great job and, again, are very funny.
As an added bonus it's a movie you can watch with your best buddy - the kid (Mild language notwithstanding).
There are bountiful references to STAR TRECK but they don't matter.
The film has a good decent budget look to it and for once the CGI effects add to the film rather than take it over.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Intergalactic Silliness
Review: "Galaxy Quest" gives sci-fi lovers a swift, but soft and loving, kick in the pants. It is dead-on with its parody of sci-fi television, the actors involved, and the herds of loving fans who, admittedly, do take their science fiction just a little too seriously. If your a fan of shows such as "Star Trek," "Farscape," or "Doctor Who," you'll definitely identify with this movie.

What makes this movie so unique, however, is the fact that it uses the sometimes fanatic behavior of sci-fi fans who take their favorite shows too seriously and puts that passion in actual aliens who believe the crew of "Galaxy Quest" are real.

It pokes fun at just about every stereotypical sci-fi fan. From youngsters who argue over certain inaccuracies about the ship with the "captain" to average looking folks trying to mimic their favorite vixen from the show, it's all here. Overacting, underappreciated and Shakespearian-trained co-stars fed up with miserable catch phrases, child-stars trying to break from the past, etc. The stereotypes overflow.

As a science fiction film, "Galaxy Quest" stands quite well on its own. The special effects are brilliant considering this is plugged as a comedy. The acting is superb, especially Sigourney Weaver, who pulls off being a dim-bulb blonde in great contrast of other characters she has played. Tim Allen, Tony Shalhoub and the rest of the cast are perfect.

This is a fun film worth owning, especially if you love your science fiction with a great story and brilliant visuals.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Enjoyable, but a little on the weak side.
Review: *-*-* MINOR SPOILERS *-*-*

*-*-* MINOR SPOILERS *-*-*

I enjoyed this film, even though I thought it was a touch weak. Personally, I don't care much for Tim Allen as a thespian, but I did appreciate the self-importance he brought to the role of Kirk...um, Taggert. =)

I enjoyed the fact that the writers spoofed the Star Trek culture gently and affectionately, but with military precision, with pinpoint accuracy. I like the fact that the filmmakers convinced me to buy into the concept of a TV show becoming "real" and I am very appreciative of how stylishly the filmmakers implemented this concept.

For me, the actors who shined in this film were Alan Rickman (especially when he avenges his alien friend's death, even though it was a little too "soap opera" for my tastes), Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni and Tony Shalhoub.

On the flip side of the acting coin, I thought the filmmakers squandered Sigourney Weaver's exceptional talents. I'm not sure whom I would have chosen instead, but Sigourney is far too elegant and stately, far too regal to play Tawny Madison.

What prevents this film from being worth keeping for me is the script. Sometimes, the ideas were far cleverer than much of the dialogue, and the storyline simply falls apart at the end.

I have never been a fan of the "deus ex machina." The "deus ex machina" is a huge crutch for hacks and jobbers. Yes, I know why the writers included the "deus ex machina," to add another layer of density to the spoof, to continue poking fun at the conventions of television and to belittle the "by the numbers" cookie cutter culture of television production...but it just doesn't work.

IMHO, the script simply does not rise to the level of classic, and that completely squashed any interest I might have had in owning this film on DVD.

GALAXY QUEST *is* a nice way to kill two hours, though. =)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "That Was a Hell of a Thing"
Review: Sometimes you're taking a chance when the only description in the review on the front of a DVD box is the single word, "Funny." Is it "ha-ha" funny or "my soda tastes funny, try it" funny? Fortunately Galaxy Quest delivers more than great laughs, it has well-done special effects, good writing and characterization, and acting that's well above average. Tim Allen does a good job of distancing himself from the Home Improvement Tool-Man character, while Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman portray their characters with a vulnerability they don't usually show in their more commercial work. Tony Shaloub is excellent as always.

Plot-wise, Galaxy Quest is little more than "The Three Amigos in Space" (of course, Star Trek was pitched as "Wagon Train in Space," so perhaps the similarity is apropos). It does enough new and differently with the premise, however, to make this a good film in its own right. The inclusion of the Sci-Fi convention fanboys in the climactic scene was hilarious, and at the same time managed to ring true. Cmdr. P.Q. Taggart, having to fight the twin El Guapos of the alien, Sarris, and egomania - well, that's one more El Guapo than The Three Amigos had, isn't it?

There are a few bonuses on the DVD, but an actor and/or director commentary would have been nice, too. The Thermian audio track is of the native Thermian squeaking variety, not the mis-inflected English spoken most frequently in the film. Usually deleted scenes are cut for a reason: they're not very good. Several of the extra scenes on the DVD, however, could have been included in the final release without any problem (one clears up a continuity problem involving Sigourney Weaver's uniform zipper). The "making-of" documentary is nice. The cast/crew bios are good and provide a nice little Easter Egg Hunt, as well.

I really enjoyed this movie. More than just funny, it's clever and witty, too. If the DVD packaging is ever redesigned, that's three words they can put on the cover. Check it out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A DVD to own
Review: This movie answers the question, What if it were all real? It's a hysterical parody of sci-fi convention culture, mixed with the genuine surprise that - Hey, those phasers aren't shooting blanks. I was a bit skeptical that Tim Allen could pull off the larger than life role of the captain of a starship; but, nobody warned him that it couldn't be done. It's a movie about rising to meet the expectations of the people who depend on you most.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Liked it more the Second Time!
Review: I saw this film in theaters when it came out 4 years ago and I really didn't care much for it. At the time I was only 15 and did not get most of the numerous jokes sprinkled throughout the film. I watched it again for the second time last night and loved every single minute of it. I never realized just how entertaining and funny this movie was. The entire cast was great, especially Tim Allen and Sam Rockwell(the expendable crew member!). If you haven't seen this film and you love sci-fi or comedy spoofs, check this one out.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. It is the first movie I have ever seen in a theater and actually wished I could get a refund because it was so bad. Every time I need to explain to someone how bad a movie is I always compare it to this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best SF comedy ever
Review: It's also one of the best comedies, ever. It started out a bit slow--it helps if you have a lot of knowledge about Star Trek, which is what the first part of the movie gently mocks ("Do you still live with your parents?" asks a girl of a Trekker trying to pick her up. If you understand that, then you'll understand the entire first part of the movie.). After that, the action picks up. What really impressed me about this movie is the growth of the characters. It's funny, and sad, and poignant. What more can you ask for in a movie? I enjoyed it thoroughly, and so will you.


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