There is no doubt Galaxy Quest is a fantastic film worthy of purchase. This 20th anniversary edition unfortunately adds nothing but a new case, missing a huge opportunity for something new after all this time.
“Twenty years after cancellation, the starts of the Galaxy Quest television series cling to their careers appearing at sci-fi conventions and electronic store openings. When a distressed interstellar race mistakes the show for “historical documents,” Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen) and his crew of has-beens are unwittingly recruited to save them from a genocidal warlord.
Galaxy Quest features an all-star ensemble, including Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell in this hilarious adventure that boldly goes where no comedy has gone before.”
Galaxy Quest, coming up on it’s 20th anniversary, is simply one of the best sci-fi comedies out there. With a stellar cast, it perfectly embodies the spirit of the fandom of shows like Star Trek. Inspiring hope and camaraderie among fans of the show as well as alien races believing it to be real.
These themes the film explores still resonate to this day. Although I’m not an actor, that same fear of losing your worth or respect in any particular field or group is something that everyone can relate to in one way or another, and that’s how all these people feel. As their television show ages two decades, it’s all these actors have to cling to in order to feel some kind of worth. Jason Nesmith, out of all of them, still adores the role he plays in the hearts and minds of his fans, while the supporting cast ride in his wake like animals looking for table scraps. Alan Rickman’s character of Dr. Lazarus can most be compared to that of Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, seemingly desperate to get away from the typecast and iconic character and his famous mantra.
The way each of the characters change in this fantastical situation of living out the adventures of their television show in real life is great. Dr. Lazarus finally accepting his role and the fact that so many people look up to him, seeing that admiration in one of the alien crew that idolize him. Perhaps one of my favorite journeys in the film is that of Guy Fleegman played by Sam Rockwell, a glorified extra in one episode that was killed off before the opening credits, believing he made his mark on the show and trying to milk it for all it’s worth, but deep down having to face his shortcomings and failure as an actor to achieve anything more than that. His insistence that he is destined to relive the same role in real life, being the expendable one, gets a lot of laughs, mainly due to Rockwell’s impeccable comedic timing and acting ability. But, out of all of them, it’s Time Allen’s Jason Nesmith that changes the most. Although he hasn’t found success in other avenues of his acting career, he still respects the fans and seems to love being idolized. This mentality throughout his life seems to have left him a very lonely man, alienating those around him by craving to be the center of attention and adoration at all times. Thinking he can do no wrong, he quickly learns the real life consequences of his actions when negotiations with Sarris (Robin Sachs) goes horribly wrong and people are hurt in the process. He learns to rely on others and to think about more than just himself in order to get the job done.
Everything about the production of Galaxy Quest is still impressive after twenty years. It’s a unique story that went through many iterations before finally introducing us to the crew of the NSEA Protector. I love the correlations between this and the obvious source material, Star Trek. I think a lot of things had to click into place exactly for this film to be as great as it was, and fortunately for us, the cast, the writing, everything about the story perfectly fit into creating one of the best Sci-Fi comedies of all time.
Video
Galaxy Quest is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. This disc is the same as the previous release, which holds up quite nicely. The picture is clear and detailed, with the grain kept in tact at a manageable level. Color balance looks to be good, with a lot of sleek grays and muted colors contrasted against some of the bright uniforms of Nesmith and his crew.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. This track sounds great, with a nice balance between the surrounds and center channel. There is some nice usage of the surrounds with the sci-fi effects, as well as a boastful score that reflects the genre and theme they’re going for.
Special Features
The extras are the same as the previous release, which include:
- Galactopedia
- Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest
- 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
- Actors in Space
- Sigourney Weaver Raps
- Deleted Scenes
- Thermian Audio Track
- Theatrical Trailer HD
For the 20th anniversary of such an amazing film, I was hoping there would be something more than simply a release of the same film in a new package. Although the steelbook is quite nice, and there definitely are collectors of these out there, I was a bit disappointed of this re-release. Unless you’re one who can’t live without steelbooks in their collections, if you have this already, you won’t be getting anything new. Maybe next time we’ll get some new features or a new transfer.