"Galaxy Quest" ran for four years in the late 1970's before its cancellation. The series has gone on to become a cult favorite, with "Galaxy Quest" conventions all over the U.S. and command performances of the "Galaxy Quest" stars. It's a show that just can't seem to die, even twenty years later.
Or so the story of the new film "Galaxy Quest" goes.
Tim Allen stars as Jason Nesmith who stars as Peter Taggart, commander of the NSEA Protector. Nesmith and the co-stars of the long defunct "Galaxy Quest" have been reduced to live appearances as the Galaxy Quest characters to make their livings. It's a living Nesmith thrives upon, but which the others have grown to detest. One morning, Nesmith is contacted by a group of aliens who believe the "Galaxy Quest" series they've been watching is a series of historical documents. They've built their entire society based upon the series, and now they're in trouble.
And they want the Galaxy Quest commander to help.
Of course this all pays homage to "Star Trek". The sets are similar, the characters are similar, though taken to extremes, and even the ship has it's similarities. You can almost see William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in this series, and that's good. It brings a bit of nostalgia to an already pretty good film.
But don't get the idea this is just for Star Trek fans. It isn't. While the similarities are certainly there, the film stands on its own and you don't need to know anything about Star Trek. Perhaps the one thing you do need to know is that conventions such as the one for "Galaxy Quest" we see in the film really did occur, and were well attended by "Trekkies" -- Star Trek fans. I mention this only because the Galaxy Quest conventions might be unbelievable to someone who didn't know that Star Trek conventions occurred, and occurred quite often.
Technically, the film is as good as anything I've seen. Computer generated special effects have become so good it's often hard to tell them from the real thing. The computer generated alien miners are very good, but perhaps aren't the best I've seen. The rock monster -- seen in prevues -- is very well done, as are shots of the various space ships and battles.
The story's complexity and quality surprised me. While primarily a comedy, the film has some genuinely touching moments, and has enough twists and turns that you're not always sure exactly how things will turn out. I did find some things a bit too obvious for my taste, but there are times even the best film can't refrain from foreshadowing a bit too much, and at least in one case, that was certainly true here.
Tim Allen puts in probably the best acting job of his film career. If this role wasn't written for him, it was probably rewritten for him. I don't mean that to be disparaging. He does an excellent job, and seems absolutely content both as Jason Nesmith and Peter Taggart.
Sigourney Weaver as Gwen DeMarco as Lt. Tawny Madison gives us a competent performance -- she rarely does otherwise -- but gives us little more. Perhaps thats the fault of her character. Or of both of them. She isn't allowed to stretch her acting abilities, or even to give us what could be her best. She's playing an only somewhat competent actress, and while she does a good job, it certainly isn't the superior acting I've seen of her in other films.
One notable actor -- not because of his character or superior acting in the film -- is Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman as Crewman #6. Fleegman is the host of the Galaxy Quest convention, and seems to want the fame and notoriety accorded the cast. Fleegman was once on the "Galaxy Quest" series -- as the crewman who gets killed just before the first commercial break. Sam Rockwell played Billy the Kid in "The Green Mile", also showing now.