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Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest

List Price: $12.99
Your Price: $9.74
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: JOLLY GOOD SHOW
Review: This is a delightful movie, full of the kind of overboard heroics, histrionics and mayhem that made STAR TREK as popular as it was. Seeing the conventions with all the GALAXY QUEST questies is so incredibly ironic. But what makes this movie work is the superb direction and acting that manages to bring such wonderful life and credibility to its pedestrian plot. Although the idea of having actors forced to do the real thing is far above pedestrian, so forget that comment! It's a good plot.

Tim Allen is wonderful as the Shatneresque hero who uses his egotistical bravado to commandeer the Thermian's ship. And yes, it's funny how he loses his shirt to the rock monster! Sigourney Weaver, a simply amazing and versatile actress, shines as Tawny, the blonde airhead who repeats everything the computer says. (She's quite dishy too as a blonde!). Alan Rickman is wryly humorous as the serious actor who abhors his role, but comes through solidly when necessary. A marvelous performance. Sam Rockwell as the only non-series persona is hilarious as the actor who knows he's gonna get killed because he's just a "guest star." Tony Shalhoub is great as Fred, too. The entire cast of Thermians is delightful in their innocence and awe of the actors who they think are the real thing!
It's a fun out of this world comedy and one of the best spoofs in a long time.
Relax and enjoy!!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: If You Hate Star Trek, You WILL Hate This
Review: OK, I'll admit that I don't get the attraction of Star Trek. It was an amazingly stupid show, and I never did understand why my brother was glued to it each week. Now twenty-some years later, we have "Galaxy Quest," which, to my mind isn't that far off from "Star Trek" as it would like people to think. It would like you to think it's poking fun at the Trekkies, but it really didn't play much differently than an actual episode of "Star Trek."

I watched the film (rented, thank goodness, not purchased) to see Alan Rickman, and I'm disappointed that he would waste his time with such drivel, even if his character ("I've done 'Richard III,' for God's sake!") may be somewhat like himself. Alan Rickman isn't hard up for work, I'd think, and to play second fiddle to Tim Allen is one of the low points of his career. If you want to see Rickman being the clever fellow he is and stealing the show, then see "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" or "Truly Madly Deeply."

Leave this one to the geeks.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By Grabthar's hammer, this is a funny movie
Review: I've never really been a fan of Tim Allen or Sigourney Weaver, so I put off watching this movie for a good while. I kept hearing and reading about how funny it was, though, so I finally gave in and watched it. The stories I heard are true because this is really an excellent comedy. I myself have some natural tendencies toward the type of TV show fans being lampooned in jest here, but we geeks have an amazing quality of laughing at ourselves when what we are seeing is genuinely funny. The idea is actually just short of brilliant; take the cast of a Star Trek-like science-fiction show cancelled twenty years ago and put them in a situation wherein they have to become the characters they played in order to save themselves and an entire civilization. The script is excellent, introducing great characterizations of the characters early on, keeping the action and comedy coming fast and furious, and maintaining the comedy at a witty and fresh level.

Tim Allen plays Jason Nesmith who plays Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, an obviously Shatner-inspired character who continues to hog all of the spotlight garnered from the old Galaxy Quest series, not realizing that his fellow cast members hold him in some disdain for his egomaniacal antics. A surprisingly blonde and very funny Sigourney Weaver plays Gwen DeMarcol who plays Lt. Tawny Madison, and she has always been unhappy about the fact her character on the show was never taken seriously. Then there is Alan Rickman's character Alexander Dane who plays the reptilian-human Dr. Lazarus; this formerly successful British "real actor" despises his rubber-headed character and constantly laments the depths to which his previously distinguished career has sunk. The other characters are also great: the fairly weird Fred Kwan (Tony Shalhoub) who plays Tech. Sgt. Chen, former boy actor Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell) who plays Lt. Laredo, and even Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell), better known as the expendable character whose lack of a last name makes him expect to meet death around every corner. You absolutely have to love the odd alien Thermians who seek the help of Commander Taggart in a last ditch effort to save their people and culture from a ruthless menace, believing all of the Galaxy Quest shows they intercepted in space to be actual historical documents of the bravest ship's crew to travel the universe.

The new adventures of the crew of the NSEA Protector, with the characters pretending to be the heroes they aren't, are rollicking good times interlaced with plenty of comedy and ruminations as to how our heroes ended up in this kind of unbelievable situation. There are even a couple of poignant moments inserted into the story which complement the comedy quite well and provide further insight into characters who, quite impressively, never really become total parodies of themselves. The special effects are also excellent, and that is another thing that Galaxy Quest has going for it. In this type of comedy, the special effects would seem to be of secondary importance, so their impressiveness serves to keep the storyline from sinking into campiness. Industrial Light and Magic handled all of the space scenes and some of the alien monsters, and the preeminent Stan Winston created some incredible aliens and monsters to fill this outrageous universe. The DVD only makes a great movie even better, throwing in such extras as an enjoyably informative making-of featurette and a number of deleted scenes.

You don't have to be a science-fiction fan to enjoy Galaxy Quest, although it will probably resonate more with those familiar with the Trek-like nature of the subject matter. Underneath the laughs and thrills hides a decidedly human story that inspires as it entertains, and this kind of quality comedy should be easily recognized and enjoyed by just about everyone. It would have been so easy to turn this kind of movie into something really silly if not insulting, but Galaxy Quest is nothing short of a brilliantly made comedy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Watch & Learn
Review: There are so many bad Sci-Fi films out there producers may want to take note and think about making more Sci-Fi spoofs. They could definitely learn from Galaxy Quest (GQ) which takes true-life scenarios (Sci-Fi shows, actors, fans, & conventions) and create a wonderfully funny movie. What makes GQ succeed are excellent writing, unique storyline, great special effects, and wonderful casting.

Six members of a fading Sci-Fi show (a la Star Trek) are relegated to making public appearances and signing autographs at popular conventions. Faced with no careers and never ending lines of GQ maniacs, they are simply playing out all they have left. Lo & behold, a group of actual aliens ask the Captain & crew for their help in battling an evil general bent on their extermination.

What results is a fine example of comedy acting from those we never expected, namely Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman. Tim Allen, who plays the Captain, excels at comedy but I was surprised by both Weaver and Rickman's performance. In particular Rickman who plays a talented actor fallen into the typecast dust bin and forced to utter his famous line over and over. Was also impressed by Sam Rockwell playing a one episode cast member who has the unlikely role of being like one of the, Star Trek Red Shirts (expendables). The aliens are also all well played with their intriguing accents and body gestures especially Enrico Colantoni and Missi Pyle.

I was blown away by the special effects from the visuals of space to the spaceships and the evil general Saris. I guess I was expecting something low budget. However, the strength of GQ comes from the writing and acting. Great lines delivered by great actors in a compelling story. Sci-Fi cliches abound and our familiarity makes them all the more hilarious: from the heroic womanizing Captain; the highly intelligent yet under-appreciated alien; and blonde but useless bombshell for the young lads. There is nothing cerebral here but knowing how difficult comedy can be, means that someone was using their brains when they crafted this very funny and uplifting gem. Brilliant!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well... nothing short of amaising...
Review: This is one of the best movies I've seen.
The idea is excellent and you can't get much better for an SF comedy. All I would like to add is the fact that while some may look at it as to a parody of Star Trek and other sci-fi series, it's not really one... It's a plain SF movie, with an action of it's own, with no direct reference to other movies and you don't really need to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: By Grabthars hammer... you shall be avenged!
Review: I remember seeing this movie when it came out, and I thought it was pretty funny, but seeing it again recently, I found myself liking it more than I did the first time.

The story is about the actors from a short lived sci-fi show and what they do to earn a living, surviving on faded fame. Amid the sci-fi conventions, store grand openings, and internal squabbles, they suddenly find themselves thrust into senario straight out of their old TV show. It seems a distance race of aliens has intercepted television transmissions from Earth and regards what they see as 'historical documents'. They mold their lives and civilization around this old sci-fi show, right down to creating an exact replica of the space ship from the show. As it turns out, the aliens are in serious trouble and need the assistance of the Galaxy Quest members to help them deal with another, hostile alien race.

Watching the actors now having to deal with the reality of the situation, as it were, is extremely funny. All do a great job, but my favorite is Sam Rockwell's character, Guy. He was the actor who was one episode and credited as 'Crewman Number 6'. In his episode, he died in a horrible fashion, and quick enough as to never have gotten a full character name. With this extremely minor claim to fame, he milks it for all it's worth, following the mainstay actors around on their convention and store opening circuit, like a parasitic organism hanging tenously on to the best thing he has going for him. Once the fantasy becomes reality, he provides some of the most memorable moments with his constant fears that he will die in some horrible manner due to the fact that he was such a minor character on the original show. My favorite lines in the movie comes from his character when he's looking at a tatical display and they are about to be attacked by an enemy ship...

Guy Fleegman: Hey guys, there's a red-thingy moving toward the green-thingy.
Jason Nesmith: What?
Guy Fleegman: Red-thingy moving toward the green-thingy. I think we're the green-thingy.

Anyway, I think this movie did a great job in having fun with the whole 'Star Trek' genre and it's fans while not ripping them to shreds. This movie has a tendancy to grow on you, with its humor and the special effects are quite good.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Funny as hell!
Review: Especially for Trekkers. Really hits home on how one actor who played an alien is so typecast and even hits onto the fans themselves, like 'shippers. Lol! Kind of does make you wonder just how the actors would have held up if they'd actually had to do what their characters were supposed to do.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cheesy, But Fun
Review: It's nice to see a sci-fi movie that in many ways hearkens back to the old Flash Gordon flicks or B movies of the 50's that didn't have to rely on spectacular special effects to get the story across. Granted this movie is still slick effect wise, but the movie doesn't go overboard with "in-your-face" special effects. While the acting is a bit cornball, this is simply a fun movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun!
Review: Galaxy Quest is an obvious parody of Star Trek although non-Star Trek fans will enjoy it too. I'm not a huge Tim Allen dan but he's great as the over-the-top actor turned starship captain who finds his one great success story is a little more real than he imagined. Inventive story line, solid acting, and lots of humor keep the movie fun and moving. Certainly not too deep, but just as certainly not a brain-dead comedy either.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Instant Addition to Any List of Classic Comedies.
Review: My friends and I couldn't believe how funny this movie was when we saw it recently for the first time, and we all agreed that it was horribly marketed at the time of its initial release. This is not a cutsie kids' flic like the usual Tim Allen fare (The Santa Clause, etc.)- this is a sophisticated comedy with excellent performances from a talented cast. Tony Shaloub is excellent; Sam Rockwell is excellent; Allan Rickman steps outside the box in which he's usually cast and gives a hilariously dry, stuffy performance; Tim Allen captures both the hubris and the genuine love of craft that a young William Shatner embodied, before he become a mere satire; all of the aliens (the Thermians) are a riot. And who knew Sigourney Weaver was hot? There is as much subtle performance as there is over-the-top slapstick material; basically, GQ offers something for every fan of good comedy.

If you are a science fiction fan or can identify with that culture, the movie is an even bigger score. It perfectly captures the dorkiness of science fiction conventions, and does an excellent job of parodying obsessed fans, without ever making them the object of ridicule. The special effects rock, too, providing confirmation that the excellent script and story line weren't compromised by slapdash production.

I have watched Galaxy Quest several times by now, and show it any time I have friends over who haven't seen it or even heard of it. It pleases each and every time. A totally underrated classic.


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