Some films are ahead of their time. The Last Starfighterthe 1984 film about aliens who recruit Earth’s best video gamer to fight in a war, is a fun example. That would probably be better suited for 2014. The Truman Showa 1997 film about a reality show where everyone is but one person, it happened a few years later. Again Galaxy Questthe 1999 film about washed-up sci-fi characters who are supposed to be their characters, fits the bill.
The difference between those films and Galaxy Quest But when Galaxy Quest was released 25 years ago, it was still completely believable and topical. Fans can watch the movie and think it’s about the stars of their favorite sci-fi shows of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, just like them. Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap, etc. Galaxy Quest it feels ahead of its time because, since its release, cultures like the one it portrays have become a bigger, more complex subject. Another film about art. It is as relevant and wise an idea today as it was a century ago.
Galaxy Quest hit theaters 25 years ago this month and has just been released in 4K for the first time. The disc looks and sounds great and includes plenty of legacy features as well as a new, 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary featuring director Dean Parisot looking back on its development.
But, of course, the main attraction Galaxy Quest itself. In case you don’t see it, or don’t remember it, Galaxy Quest follows a group of actors who starred in the sci-fi drama of the same name. It has since spread but the fans are still upset so the actors try, even if it costs them their reputation, to continue living on their fame. One day, a group of aliens come to Earth and capture the characters to help them solve a problem. It turns out, this alien species saw a show in space, thought it was a “document of history,” and modeled its entire civilization on the show. So the characters find themselves in an actual game plan—except this time, it’s a life-or-death situation.
Tim Allen stars as Jason Nesmith, the Captain Kirk version of the group who has a big personality and everyone hates him. Sigourney Weaver is Gwen DeMarco, an indifferent actress whose only role is to look pretty and repeat what the computer says. Alan Rickman is Alexander Dane, a serious actor whose career changed when he took on the role of Mr. Spock. Then there’s Tony Shaloub as “Scotty,” Daryl Mitchell as “Sulu,” and a who’s who of now-famous actors in small roles: Sam Rockwell, Rainn Wilson, Justin Long, etc.
All of this is set up very quickly, setting the tone for the entire film. Parisot, working from a script by David Howard and Robert Gordon, keeps the action moving at a brisk pace. We meet the characters, dive deep into their world, and before you know it, the whole crew is out of space. It turns into an exciting adventure that you get in and out of in an hour and 40 minutes. It’s complete.
Along the way you laugh, you get discouraged, you get scared and you get sad. Galaxy Quest Beez in the trap. And, watching all this happen, especially as a sci-fi fan is magical. Obviously the movie didn’t have a big budget like the sci-fi movies of the time, but that almost homemade feel is better suited to the TV respect it has. It’s at once the period of that early era of sci-fi television and late 1990s comics, and has a modern sensibility about fandom. Everything about it works.
The fandom is the most important thing now, though. Almost everyone in the movie, except the main cast, likes it Galaxy Quest. They all know it’s weird and weird but they don’t care. It makes them happy so they go with it. Some take that obsession too far. Others equip it. And, in the case of the aliens, their love is so great that it almost both destroys and saves them. And, in the end, who makes everyone have a happy ending? Those followers. All of this is seamlessly integrated and beautiful to look at.
Galaxy Quest is currently on Pluto TV and AMC+. The 4K Steelbook is also available for purchase and, if you’re a fan, go for it. You loved it then, you love it now, and you will love it in the future.
Looking for more io9 news? Check out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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