Reviews

I give Galaxy Quest a "10", but not because it's perfect. This movie aims for success on so many levels that if it was perfect it would deserve at least a "12". As it stands, it will likely find a place in movie history as one of the great comedies, one of the great sci-fi movies, and probably the greatest sci-fi spoof. (Not to mention possibly the best thing Tim Allen has done with his talent so far!) The more levels you can appreciate the movie on, the more rewarded you will be as a viewer.

You don't need to be into sci-fi...as long as you can live with it, imagination-wise, there will be plenty of humor for you. Every main character is funny, and so much of the humor is universal--based on tensions between characters, or the fish-out-of-water premise, or the naivete of the Thermians--that any comedy lover should enjoy this movie. And with outstanding performances by terrific actors in what amounts to about 10 main characters (once you include the nearly-perfect Thermian leads, and Brandon) there is plenty of humor for anyone who likes to laugh.

If you *are* into sci-fi, you will be served up delights in layer upon layer. It doesn't just spoof Star Trek...it produces a fantastic ricocheting of spoofiness and loving, laughing tribute. With the original Galaxy Quest show being the Star Trek spoof, the lives of its stars 18 years later is a spoof in itself, as they re-live their sci-fi personas on stage at conventions and at opening ceremonies for high-tech stores. ("By Grabthar's Hammer...what a savings.") Meanwhile, the world of the Thermians is yet another spoof of the original spoof--a real-world, functional version of the show's fictional environment. (A great laugh on that level comes when Daryl Mitchell's Laredo sees his control board on the real version of the Protector. "Look -- this thingie!") And before you know it, the movie's plot has become yet another spoof--and by this time it's a spoof of both Star Trek and Galaxy Quest at the same time. And the actors whose lives had become spoofs of the fictional show which is a spoof of our "real" show start end up living out dramas that appear to be pulled straight from episodes of their old show (which seem heavily inspired by classic Star Trek episode models). (A great laugh on this level is when Sam Rockwell's "crewman #6" Guy starts freaking out when he realizes they are living out the episode where his expendable character died.)

Then, once this movie has wrapped itself around itself like a hilarious, inventive rope, it takes a deep breath and a giant bounce, grabs its own tail, and attempts to bring the whole package home in a super-satisfying ending sequence that works on every level. Which it does.

And before you come away from this review thinking that with all that spoofing, the movie must be farcically ridiculous...well, that's the truly amazing part. With all the layers of absurdity that make up the movie, it's remarkably realistic (considering the premise) and heartwarming.

This is not Spaceballs- or Scary Movie-style spoofery. This is some sort of amazing magic spoofery which manages to interlace itself seamlessly into a real story about characters we care about. It spoofs the Star Trek body of work while simultaneously matching or exceeding the best of it. It mocks the wholesomeness and false camaraderie while also embracing it. It takes utterly cynical characters and brings them on a transformative voyage that is as preposterous as it is hilarious as it is real and rewarding.

At the same time, you could scrape all that out of the way and just watch this movie for the funny moments, and you'd still have something that's more satisfying than 9 out of 10 comedies.

"Let's get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!"

I don't know what the harsh critics of this movie were expecting. It's a predictable movie with a familiar theme, as others have mentioned, but I don't know what folks found so disappointing. If you can handle the first 5-10 minutes of silliness, you will enjoy the rest of the movie. If you're looking for a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece...well, first of all, you might want to stay away from John Goodman movies. ;-)

This movie is good family fun, has some funny lines and nice character interaction, and the conflict/romance plot, while completely predictable like the rest of the movie, does the job it's supposed to do. The bad guy gets stuffed, the good guy gets the girl, the hero is redeemed, etc. Those aren't spoilers, since anyone who watches movies enough to be reading this site can see it all coming by the second commercial break. Still, I wasn't disappointed by that, since unlike others, I didn't think a movie called "King Ralph" was going to reach new peaks of comedic genius.

I gave it a 6/10. Worth watching for some chuckles and classic theme vibes. I also don't think the British greats were wasted in it...I think it made for decent corny fun, and having O'Toole et al be part of it was a big part of that.

They could have picked a better tune than "Good Golly Miss Molly" for King Ralph's big performance though. :-)