The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy on DVD (2004)

N Stafford from England , 04/05/2005

Ultimately disappointing, this movie adaptation of the book is mostly a collection of the most incorrigible parts of the book - that is, without the context that pulls the book back down to the Earth, so to speak. Martin Freeman does ok as Arthur Dent; however most of the other characters and voiceovers are either miscast or annoying. The acting is overcooked, scenes border on madness, and the CGI - the films one saving grace - borders on Disney. Thanks the Hollywood influence for misunderstanding and butchering another classic - this movie is all one liners and sight gags. The effect of these gags over two hours - is like someone blowing a party cracker for a laugh on a Monday morning - none too funny. I found myself bored through most of the film - which I never expected. I would compare this film to a very long episode of Red Dwaft, without much of the humour.

The GOOD news is, that while in the cinema I saw the Star Wars Episode III preview and it looked great. But as we know - with previews -- such as the Hitchhikers Guide Preview and Hype (they are getting really good at hyping movies aren't they) we can always piece together a garment from a messy pile of string.

  88 out of 114 people found this review helpful

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James Dowling from Wolverhampton, England , 12/05/2005

After seeing the movie of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy I can see why devotees of the original books and series may well have been disappointed.

The motion picture format doesn't really suit some works and H2G2 is one such work. Plus points of the film - Stephen Fry as the voice, Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast, Alan Rickman's Marvin and the retro look of the Guide's animations - were outnumbered by the flaws.

Namely the extremely irritating American porn star wannabe Zaphod, the alterations to what characters said and the chunks missed out, the overuse of the two joke Vogons (joke one - they're officious, joke two - their poetry is crap), the rescue Trillian bit in the middle of the film (although it was great to see the original Marvin in the queue) and how the whole thing ended. Some of its Britishness, its very soul seems to have been left out.

The makers were never going to be able to please everyone, especially we nerdy types who can quote scenes word for word. And in case you're wondering, no I didn't. Well, not too much.

Morale: Don't judge a book by it's movie, especially not this one. I'll stick with my books, DVD of the tv series and CDs of the radio show, thanks very much.

  25 out of 27 people found this review helpful

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TheMovieman from Ramsbottom [Highly rated reviewer] , 13/01/2006

For avid fans of the Radio series, books and TV show this could prove to be something of a disapointment. The film is very well designed and filmed but the interpretation of certain characters tends to jar. This film is less wordy than any of its other incarnations and so alot of Douglas Adams' style is lost. Worth a watch though.

  18 out of 26 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Southampton , 11/10/2005

This is not a good movie, it's not a patch on the books or the TV series or the Radio series. In short, it has as much depth as Vorgon poetry. I didn't know Douglas Adams personally, we weren't buddies, but I'm sure he wouldn't have liked this film.

On a positive note - perhaps the only one - Martin Freeman was rather good as Arthur Dent. I think he shone in the Office and he's turning out to be a rather fine actor, I look forward to seeing what he does next. However, everyone else, including the director, should feel very embarrassed about this mediocre effort and apologise immediately to anyone who has suffered through this film. 2 Stars, one for Martin Freeman and one for the fx, but that's all.

So long and keep the fish, like the movie they stink.

  13 out of 15 people found this review helpful

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