Disclosure: I am a Trekkie. Dyed-in-the-wool, through and through. So I approach this film from that perspective.
The movie:
"Galaxy Quest" does the impossible - it makes me enjoy something with Tim Allen in it. I place this movie in that rarefied category of "spoof movies that are equally entertaining as spoofs and as stand-alones." By this, I mean that you could never have watched an episode of Star Trek (shame on you!) and still enjoy this as a science fiction movie. Other films in this category include "Hot Fuzz" (Buddy Cop pics) and "Shaun of the Dead" (Zombie flicks). We are given a plot revolving around the cast of a Star Trek-like show, a few decades after their run on TV. They are stuck in a dreary cycle of conventions and appearances cashing in on their previous fame. Then, something strange happens: real aliens approach them, asking them for their help in an interstellar war.
What is especially surprising is how emotional this movie made me. I think its loving depiction of fan devotion, mixed with the somewhat sad portrayal of middle-aged actors who are bitter over typecasting, really hit home for me. The happy ending was made all the more affecting. I was pretty much ready to check my brain and critical eye at the door by the time this movie was finished, however formulaic the resolution might be, objectively speaking.
The cast is very good and the humor is dead-on target. Allen is perfectly cast as a self-important blowhard with an undercurrent of insecurity. Sigourney Weaver is also a standout, demonstrating fine comic timing. The alien characters are charming and quirky. The effects are also surprisingly good, equal to some of the later Star Trek films!
The Blu-Ray:
The 1080p image presented on this disc is a definite uprade from the SD DVD, but it isn't exactly a "beat you over the head" HD image. It shows a bit of softness and a bit of Digital Noise Reduction (DNR). The movie was filmed in 1999, and this does look better than some images of that vintage ("Dark City" springs to mind as a DNR'ed mess from about the same year). It's just not a spectacular transfer, at the quality level of, say, 1999's "Fight Club." That said, the faces do not have the waxy look of the worst DNR, and certain shots show nice detail, especially in cloth. The effects shots also look very nice. The print is pretty clean, too. It's just somewhat evident that there was no major restoration work.
The soundtrack is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 channel mix that does a fine job. Dialogue is never overpowered, and some of the battles and explosions contain booming bass and rear channel surround information. Most of the track is pretty front-loaded, however.
Extras include about an hour and 15 minutes worth of documentary features. The most interesting are a feature on the ILM effects (which were pretty good), as well as features on casting, production, and the like. Unfortunately, all the features are in SD. Only the included movie trailer is in HD. 12 minutes of deleted scenes round out the extras.
Bottom line: This is great family-friendly entertainment. At the inexpensive Blu-Ray price, if you don't own it, and you love either Star Trek or Sci-Fi in general, you really can't go wrong. It would have been nice to have had a fancier set and a slightly better transfer, but even with its SD features, this is better than most bare-bones releases of "less successful" movies.
I see this as a "love letter" of sorts to both Trekkies and the Trek cast and crew. I enjoy watching this more than the new Trek movie, for what it's worth. If you haven't seen it, you really should!
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