My Review of "Galaxy Quest"

Galaxy Quest is a comedy that came out back in 1999. I remembered watching this movie and having a riot of a time. At the time, I was recently introduced to the Star Trek world and loved it. This movie came to me at the perfect time because it makes fun of everything about Star Trek and its fans. Watching this movie 25 years later, I was surprised how well this movie has held up.

It all starts out at a fan convention for the famous TV show Galaxy Quest. The starts of the show are backstage waiting to greet the fans. Of course, the show's star, Jason, is late. Jason's got a bit of a big head not only because he's the star of the show but because the fans revere him. The rest of his costars are fed up with his egotistical antics.

This first quarter of the show is fine but it's merely to introduce us to our cast of characters; we have Gwen, she's the stereotypical eye candy of the show; Alexander is the acting thespian that believes he's too good for the show; Tommy is the child star of the show that's all grown up; and the we have Fred who is an easy go lucky guy. To add to the mix we have Guy.

Guy's character is really fun because he was once an extra of the show and nobody remembers him. He's along for the ride but acts as a reasonable person. Basically, he's almost like a representation of us as the audience in the movie. Whenever he's in this movie he basically steals the show. There are a number of laugh out loud moments that he's involved in.

The basic premise of this show is that there is a pacifistic alien culture that believes the show was real. They modeled their whole culture out of it and even a starship. They replicated everything out of the show. Unfortunately for this alien race, they're being bullied by another alien race. Who else would be able to save them but the cast of Galaxy Quest?

When the aliens finally bring the crew aboard that's when the real fun happens. The cast all believe that it's part of a promotional thing until they realize this is a full blown intergalactic war and they're in the thick of it. It sometimes plays well as a fish out of water story but they do a lot more to it to keep us engaged.

Really the beauty of the movie is the metamorphosis of each of the characters. They learn to overcome their shortcomings and become better people. In turn, they also learn to like each other while they're doing it. It's really a fun and uplifting story that will have you feel good throughout it's run time.

Admittedly, the first part drags a little especially when you've seen this movie before but it really kicks into gear when they all get into space. The special effects are quite dated by today's standards. They have remastered this movie in 4k. So if you have the 4k player and the disk it does look better than before. They added a new soundtrack that makes it a little more immersive with things flying by your ears if you have a home theatre setup. It's nothing to write home about but it is a nice little touch that adds a little something to what I never experienced in my first viewings of this movie.

Overall, I had a grand old time watching this movie again. It's just as much fun as when I saw it so many years ago. This is still one of my top comedies. It appeals to all sorts of people so I think you can still get into it even if you don't know much about science fiction or Star Trek. I highly recommend it and that's why I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10.