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Reviewed by Colin Jacobson
DreamWorks, widescreen 2.35:1/16x9, languages: English DD 5.1 [CC], subtitles: none, single side-dual layer, 20 chapters, rated PG, 102 min., $26.99, street date 5/2/2000. Supplements:
Directed by Dean Parisot. Starring : Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Sam Rockwell, Missi Pyle. For four years, the courageous crew of the NSEA Protector -- "Commander Peter Qunicy Taggart" (Tim Allen), "Lt. Tawny Madison" (Sigourney Weaver) and "Dr. Lazarus" (Alan Rickman) -- set off on thrilling and often dangerous missions in space…and then their series was canceled! Now, twenty years later, aliens under attack have mistaken the Galaxy Quest television transmissions for "historical documents" and beamed up the crew of has-been actors to save the universe. With no script, no director, and no clue about real space travel, the actors have to turn in the performances of their lives to become the heroes the Thermians believe them to be.
For example, take the extremely negative advance word generated for last winter's Galaxy Quest. Through the newsgroups I visit, I heard over and over how terrible this movie would be and how DreamWorks would take a bath on this fairly expensive release. GQ was to be a complete flop that would also be universally panned by critics and provide a blemish on the resumes of its participants. Or maybe not. As it happens, GQ opened last Christmas to uniformly positive reviews, good word of mouth and a decent little box office gross of $71 million. Okay, the latter didn't set any records - it's really fairly weak for current times - but it certainly disqualified the film from earning any status as a "bomb". GQ stands as a modest success, but it can be seen as a success nonetheless. And it turned out be a fun little movie as well. The plot essentially views the continuing popularity of a Star Trek-like TV show called (surprise!) Galaxy Quest and the less-than-scintillating lives led by its stars. They still make their livings through various promotional appearances tied to the show; none of them seem to have careers that are on the fast-track, and other than Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), who played "Captain Taggert" on the program, they appear pretty tired of this lifestyle. The twist comes when some oddballs who initially seem to be just more obsessed fans show up on the scene. It turns out they're from the planet "Thermia" and have followed the TV show from afar. All believe it to be real and entreat Nesmith and crew to help out with their battle against a reptilian baddie named Sarris (Robin Sachs).
This isn't a criticism. After all, most movies provide pretty predictable plots. I mean, it's not like we think there's any chance James Bond or Batman will be killed, and although we knew exactly how Apollo 13 would end, it remained very suspenseful and tense. As such, though GQ winds its way toward its conclusion in a fairly easily anticipated manner, the movie nonetheless provides a tremendous amount of fun. Few phenomena are as ripe for lampooning than the popularity of Star Trek and some of its more - ahem - unusual fans, but that aspect of GQ takes a backseat to the movie's fun take on some of the typical aspects of the show. I think general audiences will find a lot to like in GQ, but it clearly adds to the pleasure if you know much about "Star Trek" episodes and some of their clichés; GQ pokes affectionate fun at these. One reason GQ works as well as it does comes from its terrific cast. I never would have imagined Allen as a Shatner-esque hero, but he does a fine job in the role; he pulls off the comic parts of the role and the action scenes with equal aplomb. Sigourney Weaver returns to space as Gwen DeMarco, the actress who plays sultry - but redundant - Lieutenant Tawny Madison. Weaver doesn't get as much to do as I'd like, but she seems to have a lot of fun in the role, and she looks so good it's hard to believe she's now 50; maybe blondes do have more fun! As much as I enjoyed the performances of Weaver and Allen, two other actors make GQ the delight it is: the always-wonderful Alan Rickman and Tony Shalhoub. No matter what these two are in, they always add spark and life to the films. I've been in the bag for Shalhoub since his small role as the cab driver in 1990's Quick Change, and his laid-back line readings here are consistently the funniest parts of the movie.
I won't call Galaxy Quest a classic, but it certainly provides a fun and exciting experience. This sort of semi-parody could easily fall flat, but it's done with enough affection and wit that it works quite well. Add to that the presence of a tremendously strong cast and you have a definite winner. Galaxy Quest appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. You'll note that I didn't include my usual "original theatrical aspect ratio statement. That's because most of GQ was 2.35:1 in theaters, but not all of it. The movie started with a 1.33:1 ratio - duplicated on the DVD within the 2.35:1 letterboxed framing - and soon expanded to 1.85:1. That ratio stuck until Allen ends up on the Thermian ship; at that point, the screen shifted to 2.35:1 and remained that way for the rest of the film. Personally, I don't understand why the 1.85:1 segment was altered to match 2.35:1. Admittedly, the TV doesn't offer the same impression as a movie screen, where we took in a strong impression of the growth in scope of the projection. On a TV, the effect could be similar - there's no reason that 1.85:1 couldn't have been "windowboxed" ala the 1.33:1 image - but it loses the grandeur. Nonetheless, I wish they'd used the 1.85:1 windowboxing and delivered GQ in exactly the same presentation as seen on movie screens. The 1.85:1 segments don't last that long, and it seems silly to use it theatrically but deem it unimportant on the smaller screen. Oh well - what're ya gonna do? Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled critique. While not flawless, Galaxy Quest looks quite good and lives up to the standards it should meet for such a recent offering. Sharpness generally appears nicely crisp and clear, with only a few instances of softness that mar the presentation. Moiré effects and jagged edges are very minor nuisances, and the film presents fewer artifacts from the anamorphic downconversion on my 4X3 TV than usual. Print flaws appear completely absent; I noticed no examples of scratches, nicks, hairs, speckles or grain at any time.
Also very good is the film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The soundfield offers a nicely enveloping experience, with audio that almost constantly surrounds the viewer. The forward realm dominates the mix, but not to any extreme; the placement of sounds seems appropriate and well-balanced. Split surround usage appeared a bit limited and the activity level in the rears could have been a more intense, but for the most part, the mix seemed very nice. Sound quality appears equally good. At times, dialogue revealed a little bit of edginess, but most of the time speech seemed clear and natural; I definitely had no problem understanding any lines. Music was smooth and dynamic, with bright highs and solid lows, and effects sounded clear and packed some fine punch as well. While the activity level could have been a bit stronger, overall GQ provides an audio experience that seems very positive and fulfilling. GQ doesn't qualify as a full-fledged special edition, but it does include a few nice supplements. One odd bonus is the "Thermian soundtrack" that can be selected from the audio setup menu. This track replaces the normal English dialogue with the strange chattering uttered by the Thermians when they are without their translators. It makes for a rather different experience. More normal extras can be found as well. "On Location In Space offers a ten-minute promotional featurette. The piece sticks to the light and fluffy side, but it provides some fun information and packs in enough interesting details to merit a look. A more comprehensive documentary would have been nice, but this program seems entertaining.
The "Cast and Crew" area provides pretty solid biographies for 12 actors and six crew members. Additionally, the segments for actors Allen, Weaver, Rickman, Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, and Sam Rockwell and crew members Dean Parsiot, Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth, Stan Winston feature interview clips if you select the small icon at the top of the screen. All of these are quite brief except for those from Allen and Parsiot; the latter snippets last at least a minute or two, whereas the others top out at maybe 30 seconds at most (and some, like Winston's, end after about five seconds.) Additionally, we find the theatrical trailer for GQ plus "Sneak Preview Trailers" for fellow DreamWorks offerings Chicken Run, Road to El Dorado, and Road Trip. The DVD finishes with a few text screens worth of production notes. These are pretty brief but they provide a nice look at the creation of the movie. Actually, I missed one supplemental feature: "Omega 13". I won't comment on what exactly this piece is, because it may spoil the ending of the film, but suffice it to say it's a really dopey extra, especially because you have to watch the whole film to access it; the DVD won't let you select it unless you've gone through the movie. (If you're impatient, just fast forward through the picture.) Don't be surprised if "Omega 13" isn't worth the effort, though. Despite that one silly supplement, Galaxy Quest generally makes for a fine DVD. The movie itself is a tremendous amount of fun that benefits from the presence of an absolutely stellar cast; I suppose it's possible a film that features Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub and Alan Rickman could stink, but it seems unlikely. The DVD itself offers good picture and sound plus a small complement of nice extras. Fans of both science fiction and comedy will find Galaxy Quest to offer a very enjoyable experience. (And kudos to the filmmakers for refraining from the temptation to have Allen yell, "To infinity and beyond!")
Current as of 5/26/2000 Official Site--Hosted by Amazon.com, the site includes cast interviews, info on cast and filmmakers, and photo gallery.
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Does Internet buzz ever get anything right? I suppose it happens on
occasion, but usually the know-it-alls who spout off pre-opinions in various
locations don't have the slightest clue about what they're speaking.
The results are honestly fairly predictable. Each crew member has to deal
with their own fears and preset attitudes, but there's little doubt any of
them will fail to come through in the end. Face it - this isn't the kind of
movie that doesn't let the good guys win, and the path the characters follow
to get there offers virtually no surprises.
As for Rickman, no one does acerbic like he does, and his nasty attitude as
Sir Alexander Dane, a "serious actor" forever trapped in an absurd role,
also makes his parts of the movie tremendously enjoyable. Rickman's one of
those actors who can do more with a small facial expression than most
performers can muster with every ounce of their beings, and his presence
here adds greatly to the film's success.
Colors looked perfectly fine. GQ sticks to a pretty metallic palette
for the most part, with few bright hues, but what we see appears
nicely-saturated and accurate; I found the greens of Sarris' crew and ship
to be especially pleasing. Black levels are also strong, with appropriately
dense tones, and shadow detail looked adequately opaque but not overly
thick. Some of the softness seemed a bit troubling, but other than that,
this is an excellent presentation.
"From the Cutting Room Floor" supplies seven deleted scenes. These run a
total of nine minutes and 45 seconds and generally offer expanded versions
of existing segments. None are terrific but they seemed pretty good; a case
easily could have been made to keep all of them, especially one that gives
Weaver more of a tough side. Lots of times, deleted clips are pretty
useless, but these are quite strong.