Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Reviewed - Bad -Real bad.

[mapper]

I have just discovered something, though:
The author at planetmagrathea claims that he saw this 31st March; if he wrote his piece the following day, can the whole review have been one of the most cruel April fool's jokes ever concocted??

Ahh, never thought of that! I am still going to see it this weekend. Going into a movie with low expectations is always better then high.

 

[brewnog]

Just been to see it. I'm glad I did.

The acting was mostly piss-poor, much of the casting dire, and the screenplay dubious at best. As with any film, details of the book have been missed out, but so have large chunks of plot which a HHGG virgin might otherwise appreciate. Some of the best gags have been modified so slightly so as not to make a pragmatic difference, but so that they just lose their effect, and it's hard to see why this has been done.

However, the special effects were rather nicely done (particularly the shop floor scenes on Magrathea), and a small few of the characters (notably Alan Rickman as Marvin, and Zooey Deschanel as Trillian) played their parts true to the book, and with some degree of sympathy for the previous works. The original radio/TV series theme tune has at least been included, and there are some nice new ideas worked into the film. There's also a cracking dolphin song...


I walked in with low expectations, and came out slightly relieved that they hadn't ruined it as much as they could have done. My non-HHGG affiliated friends seemed to enjoy it, though found the plot different to follow at times. Did I mention the dolphin song?

 

[arildno]

All right:
So, does it suffice if I imbibe a couple of pints (of beer, that is) before I watch the movie, or should I drink 3?

 

[brewnog]

All right:
So, does it suffice if I imbibe a couple of pints (of beer, that is) before I watch the movie, or should I drink 3?

3 should be ok, avoid piss breaks unless you fancy missing a few chapters of the book. Don't forget your towel...

 

[Huckleberry]

I saw the movie today. Its been years and years since I've read the books but I've always been a big fan. The movie wasn't that bad. I suspected it would be much worse. I wasn't rolling on the floor like I did reading the books (cause that would be gross in a movie theater), but I did enjoy it. If I wasn't a fan of the books I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. I did get a few good chuckles out of it.

 

[JamesU]

I saw the movie today. Its been years and years since I've read the books but I've always been a big fan. The movie wasn't that bad. I suspected it would be much worse. I wasn't rolling on the floor like I did reading the books (cause that would be gross in a movie theater), but I did enjoy it. If I wasn't a fan of the books I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much. I did get a few good chuckles out of it.

Finally someone says the truth. It wasn't a bad movie, the special effects were great, and it got *** 1/2 stars.

 

[Dooga Blackrazor]

I'm currently reading the books, but I've only read about three chapters. Despite that, I went to see the movie. I thought it was spectacular. Perhaps, because people already read the book, they feel it doesn't do the movie justice and have a predisposed view of it. I hadn't read LOTR before I saw the movie, and some people say the LOTR movies were bad. I've only read the Fellowship of the Ring atm, but I thought the movie was better. Tolkien's excessive imagery was meant for a movie rather than a book.

Basically, I think the movie deserves more recognition.

 

[brewnog]

I just don't understand how or why they intentionally made it less funny than the TV series. Oh well.

 

[Huckleberry]

I don't think most people in the U.S. would appreciate the type of humor in the original television series. Die hard fans would love all the inside jokes and cheesy humor, but the filmakers are trying to appeal to a wider audience. They don't want to exclude children from that list, and the finer points of the humor of Douglas Adams gets left out of the movie. I still think they did a pretty good job keeping in some of the funnier bits.

 

[aychamo]

I saw the movie last night. I was dying laughing through the opening song and through most of the first part of the movie. I saw it late at night and was tired so I got a little bored in the middle, but I consistently laughed out loud.

I wish they would have done more anti-god stuff :-)

 

[loseyourname]

I saw it last night as well. I was very thoroughly unimpressed. Although there wasn't any toilet humor or anything, the jokes seemed like something a 15 year-old science geek might find funny. The dolphin song was just stupid. I'm not going to say the movie was terrible, but it did seem rather pointless. I've never read the book and my girlfriend (who has read it) told me that it was just meant to be clever and not have much in the way of plot or character development, but given that the movie really wasn't all that clever (I'd say I laughed at about half the jokes and rolled my eyes at the other half), a little bit of a storyline that an average viewer might actually care about would have been nice.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Adams' writing doesn't transfer to film very well I don't think, though I have never seen the original movie or TV series. I'd say the guys from Monty Python probably would have done a better job but the humour would not have gone over well with most Americans.
I thought it was pretty good. In regards to the quality of the acting I thought that the majority of the characters were portraid rather well, even if portraying them well made the acting seem piss poor. I especially enjoyed the way Ford/Mos Def was always doing something with his towel and Zooey makes a damn fine Trillain.

 

[loseyourname]

I always enjoy Alan Rickman. He even makes Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves watchable.

 

[ShadowKnight]

Yeah so it's been a month since it came out and I was finally bored with $6 in my pocket with a few hours to kill right next to a theatre. That's what it took to get me in there. Unimpressed. Zooey is a good Trillian, Alan Rikman is a good Marvin - although Marvin looks really stupid, who ever heard of a fat robot? Did anyone else feel they should have used Dave Chappelle as Ford?

 

[JamesU]

Today, more than any other day, I've seen a lot of threads resurected

 

[ShadowKnight]

Must not be much else interesting to talk about right now

 

[Integral]

My family and I enjoyed it. We are now shopping for a copy so my daughter can read it. I read it years ago and think I understood more of the general idea of the story better then when I read the book.

 

[ShadowKnight]

Yeah. Now that I've seen it I have to go re-read the book because the movie confused my memory of the story. I KNEW I should have just played video games at the arcade for those 2 hours I was waiting for my truck...

 

[FredGarvin]

I just saw it and it was so-so. I laughed at a few points. What made me laugh the most was watching my wife and other family members try to get their minds around the improbability drive. They were thoroughly confused. They liked "so long and thanks for all the fish" in the opening tune. What will I do with them?

 

[Huckleberry]

A trip to Sea World may be in order.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

There are a couple of good songs on the sound track that I would like to download if I could but I don't think I would spend the money for the whole CD.

 

[Sempiternity]

..but the filmakers are trying to appeal to a wider audience. They don't want to exclude children from that list

That certainly seems true. My 11-year-old sister, who's never read any of the books and is into Neopets(.com), cats, and similar things, was laughing through most of the movie, especially around the part about the sperm whale suddenly being called into existence over an alien planet =)

 

[Mk]

So what's the verdict? Should I rent it?

 

[JamesU]

Yes...rent it