Galaxy Quest - Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition - Buy from Amazon
I never got around to watching this movie for this review. I didn't need to, as I've seen it probably 10 times, if not more. It's one of my
favorite movies and one I can sit down and watch over and over again. So without watching the DVD, here's my recollection of the plot.
Tim Allen stars as... well... as Captain Kirk, or at least as an actor who played a Captain Kirk-like character on a short lived TV series. Years later he still makes a living appearing at conventions with the rest of his cast (Alexander Dane, Tommy Webber, Fred Kwan, and Gwen DeMarco). At one such convention he overhears someone making fun of him and how his castmates hate him, so he takes it out on a Fanboy named Brandon. Shortly after he is approached by a group led by Mathesar who claims to be a representative of the Thermian race, who are in need of help. Thinking it’s a job, he agrees. Little does he know he will be transported up into space where he will be forced to deal with the evil alien Sarris. After he is returned to Earth, he tells his castmates, who of course don't believe him, but he convinces them to come with him this time, with one of the show's extras, Guy Fleegman, tagging along (after all, a job is a job). Now they are all stuck in space and have to help the Thermians defeat Sarris, despite the fact that they are all just actors and not real heroes.
I think I hit all the key points, and outside looking up the spelling for some of the names, I didn't have to research any of it. Like I said, I don't need to; I've seen the show that many times, and every time I see it I love it. Granted, I am a Star Trek nerd, so I get all of the in-jokes, but even casual fans will laugh here. Hell, even those who don't consider themselves to be fans of Star Trek will know enough of the show to get 90% of the inside jokes, and there are plenty of material here that focuses on the character and the movie world they inhabit. You could watch this movie without ever hearing about Star Trek, and you will still probably love it. And the replay value is so high, that it is an easy purchase. The only question is if it is worth the double dip.
Extras start off with an 18-minute long retrospective that includes interviews with most of the cast and much of the crew, as well as clips from the movie and behind-the-scenes footage. Very cool. Never Give Up, Never Surrender is a 23-minute featurette on the cast, and it is also a mixed of talking heads, behind-the-scenes, and clips from the movie. It's clear the cast loved making this movie. By Grabthat's Hammer spends 7 minutes on the special effects, which was a massive importance of the movie. The movie would not have worked as well if the special effects were not up to the level of a serious movie. Alien School is a 5-minute featurette on the Thermians, and how Enrico Colantoni helped create them. Actors in Space talks about the actors they play in the movie, and how the actors all know someone who fits at least one of those stereotypes. Sigourney Weaver Raps ... I'm not even going to describe this. There are several deleted scenes, some with intros. In total its runs about 12 minutes long. Finally, you can watch the movie translated into Thermian. I don't think there are many people who could sit through the whole think like that. Sadly, there is no real audio commentary track, but there are a ton of featurettes, so the DVD is definitely worth the upgrade.
If you've never seen Galaxy Quest, buy the Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition. If you have seen it and you don't own it yet, buy the Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition. If you own it on DVD already, buy the Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition.