Anthony's Film Review - Galaxy Quest (1999)

A funny and clever satire of science-fiction and its devoted fans...

Galaxy Quest makes fun of Star Trek, but it can still be amusing to those who are not fans of Star Trek or even science-fiction in general. The film stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Daryl Mitchell, and Sam Rockwell as the cast of a sci-fi TV show called Galaxy Quest. They spend some of their post-career days attending sci-fi conventions to sign autographs. For the numerous die-hard fans of the show, it's a very exciting time. For the cast, they are just motions to go through.

Later, they are teleported to a spaceship by aliens who have seen Galaxy Quest from their home planet. Unfortunately, they actually believe Galaxy Quest is a documentary instead of a fictional show for entertainment. Assuming the cast to be real space heroes, the aliens ask them for help, because there is a threat from another alien race. Naturally, these former actors are stunned to be put into a real-life version of their show, not to mention that the aliens believe everything they see on TV (including Gilligan's Island).

The crew's adventures take them through space by ship, designed by the aliens and literally based on the spaceship design on Galaxy Quest. They stop on a desert planet to retrieve a vital substance to power the ship when it needs repair. They also encounter the planet's creatures, including a giant rock creature. But the evil alien race is still an adversary, and the crew now must use all of their wits to emerge victorious.

The movie really does have a funny story. Not just with the space crew, but also the fans of the show. The movie is really made to poke fun at science-fiction fans. There are scenes involving a true Galaxy Quest fan, whose knowledge of the show is so vast and virtually complete that, at one point, he helps two of the crew members navigate through their ship. It is so funny to see it make fun of science-fiction in a way that I have never seen before. From what a good friend tells me, the movie is even funnier if one is a Star Trek fan, because some of the character interactions are based on the actual facts about the cast of the original Star Trek (e.g., Leonard Nimoy hated being associated with Spock).

I applauded when the end credits began rolling. It's truly a film with an original idea that is executed in a very clever and amusing way. It's the kind of movie I want to see again and again, especially as I am telling you this right now. It's so good that I wished it were a two-hour film instead of one and a half hours. Anyway, seeing Galaxy Quest really made one of my Friday evenings an enjoyable one. I recommend it to anyone who loves science-fiction as well as anyone who enjoys a smart satirical film.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Galaxy Quest, visit the Internet Movie Database.