by Lars Lindahl (c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
Lars Attacks! http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Daryl Mitchell, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Enrico Colantoni
Directed by Dean Parisot Written by David Howard
"Galaxy Quest" is a funny and clever spoof on "Star Trek" and its many spin- offs. After seeing numerous television programs and movies imitating William Shatner's bizarre speech patterns, this is the only film that overtly satirizes the whole crew, the ship, the aliens, the trekkies and the gadgets of the infamous 1960's television show. Don't be mistaken, there are plenty of Shatner jokes in "Galaxy Quest" but the film is more than just a simple mockery; it is as much a derision of "Star Trek" as it is a celebration of the show's longevity. My mom, a serious trekkie who also saw the film, found it more amusing then I did mainly because the film holds countless inside jokes designed specifically for die hard fans. The film is still enjoyable to those who do not appreciate "Star Trek" not only because it contains several intelligent jokes that everyone should understand, but also because it has a great deal of exciting action and adventure elements.
The acting in the film is very light and an enjoyable alternative to the heavily dramatic performances from the likes of Matt Damon's Tom Ripley or Denzel Washington's Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The actors are having fun playing their parts and because of their mirthful attitudes, the audience has the same amount of fun watching them. Playing actors who star in "Galaxy Quest" a popular sci-fi show of the past, the cast is full of stereotypes immediately identifiable with those on "Star Trek." Tim Allen is perfect as the pretentious Shatner captain who always receives credit for a job well done. Allen is basically doing a live action Buzz Lightyear, which is fine because he is so good at it. Sigourney Weaver plays your traditional scantily dressed crew member whose only real purpose on the show is to look beautiful and to attract male viewers. Weaver makes her character work, although it would have been nice to see her break out of the constant sexism she faces at all times. The biggest surprise from the cast was Alan Rickman's hilarious performance as a Spock-like character who is tired of saying the same "Live Long and Prosper"- like one liner. Rickman shows that these actors are forever doomed to their characters on "Galaxy Quest," they can never have another role again without the comparison of "Galaxy Quest" by their audience. The rest of the cast is enjoyable, including Sam Rockwell as the paranoid unnamed actor who dies on the show before the opening commercials. Although Rockwell tended to overact at times, like he did in "The Green Mile," he certainly has his moments especially towards the end.
"Galaxy Quest" does an excellent job grabbing the viewer's attention with a memorable opening scene set at a sci-fi convention. The movie not only perfectly satirizes "Star Trek" episodes and characters, but it also portrays fanatics with perfect accuracy. Once the actors actually go into space to fight real life combat against real evil bad guys, the momentum dies down a bit, especially when compared to its opening twenty minutes. However, the film remains constantly enjoyable and humorous. "Galaxy Quest" is a short and refreshing break from the myriad of three hour movies releasing for Oscar consideration. This is a must see for Trekkies.
by Lars Lindahl (c) 2000 Lars Lindahl
Lars Attacks! http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews