Galaxy Quest is a film that could’ve been bad. The idea of washed-up sci-fi television actors has to play their roles for real to save an alien race. The idea is so goofy but through the stellar cast and the filmmaker’s love of the genre, Galaxy Quest became a beloved sci-fi comedy. The film may seem like a parody of “Star Trek” and Trekkies but in reality, it’s an homage to the classic series and their fanbase. The film takes everything that people loved about “Star Trek” and twisted it around to fit within this comedic world. After all, heroism and respect for other alien races are what made “Star Trek” so great.
Yet it’s the performances by the cast that made this film so good. Plus, you can’t talk about the film without talking about the amazing performance by the late great Alan Rickman. The film gets a lot of its humor from his defeated deadpan performance is just hilarious to see. There’s just something about seeing a high-brow thespian doing things that they think are beneath them that are always fun to watch.
Another standout is Sam Rockwell whose over-the-top performance steals a lot of the show. He’s also seemingly the voice of reason for most of the film too. Yet you can’t blame him since he’s worried that he’s going to be the “red shirt” nobody that dies. But overall, the cast is just simply fun and the chemistry between each actor is great. It does feel like they have the relationship of a family—which is what you want in a starship crew.
Overall, Galaxy Quest is a sweet love letter to “Star Trek” that’s disguised as a parody of it. The cast brings a seriousness to their roles which elevates the film while also making it entertaining too. It’s no wonder that people love this film 20 years after its release.
Movie Rating: 4/5 atoms
Video
Galaxy Quest hits Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG-AVC with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture has a medium contrast which leads to high brightness and deep blacks. Unfortunately, the high brightness means bloom in bright areas. At the same time, the black levels are deep with zero loss of details in the shadows. You give and you take. The colors look natural as the color saturation doesn’t look dull nor intense. The details are incredibly clear though. You can see it in Sarris’ skin. However, this also highlights the dated CGI and the film grain. Overall, the picture quality is pretty decent.
Video Rating: 4/5 atoms
Audio
Galaxy Quest hits Blu-ray with a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio track. Although the film features some action scenes, there’s not a lot of them. As a result, there aren’t many opportunities for dynamic audio. Nevertheless, when it does show up it’s very distinct—like when Jason activates the Omega-13 or when there’s a gunfight. The music does get a lot of love in the mix. David Newman’s score sounds layered across the soundstage. Unfortunately, the score also drowns out the atmospheric sound effects. But thankfully, it doesn’t drown out the crisp dialogue from the center channel. Overall, this is a good mix.
Audio Rating: 4/5 atoms
Special Features
Galaxy Quest has the following special features on the Blu-ray disc:
- 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
- Tech Talk with Sergeant Chen
- Alex Tours his “Personalized” Quarters
- A Running Spat Between Old Flames
- Guy Gets Attacked
- Alex’s Motivational Speech
- Gwen Saves the Day
- The Crew vs. Sarris
- Sweet Serenity at Last: The Director’s Cut with Intro
- Thermian Audio Track
- Theatrical Trailer
“Galactopedia” is a dated but interactive informational hub where you can learn more in-depth details about seemingly everything in the film. The information pops up on the index to the left of the screen and it’s up to you to select the information you want to know more about. It’s a bit difficult to navigate so be prepared for that.
“Historical Documents” is a slightly funny and in-depth behind-the-scenes featurette. Unfortunately, some of the featurette where the cast and crew just fish and heap praise on those in the film. “Never Give Up” breaks down all the actors in the film. Once again, it’s another love fest featurette. However, you do get to hear all these funny stories that happened on set.
“Grabthar’s Hammer” and “Alien School” are featurettes that aren’t as funny as the other featurettes. Unfortunately, this also exposes the lack of in-depth information given in these features. “Actors in Space” is a funny featurette where the cast poke fun at themselves and their profession.
“Sigourney Weaver Raps” is exactly what it sounds like and it’s as cool as it sounds. She held it down. The deleted scenes are all needless additions to the theatrical cut but Alan Rickman’s scenes are all extremely hilarious. The Thermian audio track is basically what it sounds like. It plays the entire film in the Thermian’s natural language. In other words, it’s a lot of high-pitched squawking and loud noises.
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5 atoms
Extras
For the 20th anniversary of Galaxy Quest, Paramount Pictures released a new Steelbook edition. The front features a badly designed cover which features the main three actors while ignoring the rest of the crew of the Protector. Also, it crams everything it Can onto the cover as well. We have Sarris up top, some Thermians at the bottom right, and the Protector next to them. In the back is Commander Taggart’s catchphrase “Never give up, never surrender.” The steelbook itself has a glossy, slick, and smooth finish.
Extras Rating: 2/5 atoms
Overall, Galaxy Quest is an entertaining example of paying comedic homage to something without parodying it. It truly is a labor of love. The picture quality and audio mix are good while the special features are old but informative. It’s just a shame that Paramount didn’t include anything else in this landmark 20th-anniversary release.
Overall Rating: 4/5 atoms
This Blu-ray was reviewed using a retail/advance copy/unit provided by Paramount Home Entertainment.
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