100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 19: Galaxy Quest

Director: Dean Parisot

Genre: Adventure/ Science Fiction/ Comedy

Runtime: 102 minutes

Year: 1999

Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Missi Pyle, Justin Long, Rainn Wilson

Description: The alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help.

Review: Sigourney Weaver is no stranger to the science fiction genre. In “Galaxy Quest” this genre is mocked. Together with Tim Allen and Alan Rickman, they play actors from an old science fiction TV show called “Galaxy Quest”.

The movie starts with a segment from that show, that stopped running after 1982. Eighteen years later the actors are still going to conventions in the costumes of their characters. The relationship between all the actors isn’t as good as it used to be. Jason Nesmith, who played Commander Taggert on the show, is the only one who’s still happy with his fame. The others are annoyed by his arrogance.

The next day, Jason wakes up with a hangover and a group of strange people is waiting for him at the door. They ask Jason to join them on their spaceship, not knowing that they are actual aliens, to fight the evil General Sarris. Jason manages to get the rest of the cast to go with him. The aliens think that the TV show is a documentary and see the actors as their role models. Their spaceship is an exact copy of the one in the TV show.

If you know “Star Trek”, you can see many resemblances. This is what the creators wanted, because the film mocks the genre. “Galaxy Quest” is really funny, both when it comes to the characters and the situations they get themselves into. Tim Allen is perfect for a movie like this and Sigourney Weaver fits in as well. Alan Rickman not so much, so you would think, but this is one of his best roles. He is surprisingly hilarious and steals every scene he is in. I also loved Sam Rockwell, who plays a character who had a guest role on the show once and his character died. Now he is afraid he will die in real life.

“Galaxy Quest” is a movie that many people probably won’t like, because it’s sometimes a bit ridiculous. But I loved this movie!

Rating: 4,5/ 5