Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - SPOILERS LIKELY

[Afgncaap5]

I didn't see one of these up on the front page of CFM, and that's where I'd assume it would be....if I find it on a later page, I'll delete this one.

Anyway, did anyone else see it yet?

I got an opening day ticket, and went wearing a bath robe and a digital watch, and carrying my towel. I've never been mistaken for a "Hard Core Fan" before, as one of the theater workers put it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I say this even more definitely than when I said that I enjoyed the Incredibles.

Something stirred deep in my soul when I heard "Journey Of The Sorcerer" again....it felt like the Universe was suddenly the best place to be, which you can take to mean whatever you want.

In my opinion, there was enough of the classic stuff to appease the die-hard fans (myself), but enough new-yet-still-in-the-same-vein stuff to make it seem like I was actually getting my money's worth.

Anyway, I've started a bingo card for this movie. Can you spot:

-The Original BBC Marvin Robot?
-The guy who played Arthur Dent in the BBC mini-series version?
-Journey Of The Sorcerer (this one should be easy)
-The head of Douglas Adams?

Those were the things that I caught when I was watching....well, to be honest, someone else pointed out the old Arthur Dent to me. But aside from that, I caught 'em.

I think my only real complaint with the film is that we never once heard the phrase "Mostly Harmless."

Other than that, I was wowed.

I mean, I was expecting to be bothered by Zaphod's lack of a second head and a third arm. But boy oh boy....I wasn't bothered at all. (hint hint, nudge nudge, there's a spoiler in there).

Anyway, what did everyone else think?

[Mr. Atari]

I posted my review in "So I Just Finished Watching...2" yesterday.

And here it is again:

Mrs. sampo and I went this afternoon and we both enjoyed ourselves. There were multiple omissions and changes from the book, but I didn't mind. Most of the changes made for a better movie version. I know there are militant fans who are probably spitting blood right now, but I thought it was fun.

Things I liked:
The characterization. I wouldn't necessarily give the cast straight A's (Mos Def was especially forgettable), but the moviemakers did a great job of portraying the goofiness of these people.

The Guide. The animation and the narration were both spot on.

The humor. I really liked Zaphod's antics. And the overall "Britishness" of the humor.


Things I didn't like:

I did miss some of the fun dialogue interchanges that made Adams' book such a good read.

I thought there was too much of the Vogons. I know the film needed villains, but the bureaucrat joke doesn't hold up for 90+ minutes.

Marvin was poorly realized. He wasn't nearly condescending enough, and he looked too much like a Spaceball.


Overall, it was a great way to spend an afternoon with my wife. We both laughed out loud multiple times, and I didn't feel cheated out of my hard earned money. B+

[Captain Hygiene]

I was going to see it since it came out on my birthday. However, the "preeminant" Douglas Adams expert in Britain declared it terrible, not just as an adaptation, but as a movie. I may have to go see it if "actual people" like it.

[[e-mail]]

Afgncaap5 said:

Anyway, I've started a bingo card for this movie. Can you spot:

-The head of Douglas Adams?

I saw that. But did you know that his head is in the movie twice? It appears once at the end when the infinite improbability drive activates. It also appears when Slartibartfast is showing Arthur the Magrathean factory floor. The huge custom-made planet behind them is in the shape of Douglas's head. The easiest part to recognize is the nose (oddly enough), which is only slightly bigger than Douglas's actual nose .

All in all I loved the movie. I saw it twice over the weekend. The Vogons were amazing. I couldn't believe all of the emotions and mannerisms they were able to convey through those animatronics.

I've read the books, listened to the radio show (speaking of which, the new season starts tomorrow www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/), watched the TV show, even read the comic book. The thing about h2g2 for me, though is that it's rarely a laugh-out-loud kind of humor. I ususally keep the humor inside and the reason it's funny is because it's so clever. That happened a lot in the move though there were many parts that made the whole audience I was with laugh.

I'm really mad right now at Ebert and Roeper at what they said about the movie. They gave it two thumbs down but everything they said was wrong. You can listen to their bull&%$# review here: tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/today.html (though as of my writing this, this week's reviews haven't yet been uploaded). They didn't just miss the boat on this one, they missed the whole damn ocean. But, to be honest, I enjoyed the beginning and ending better than the middle. It also could have benefitted from 5-10 more minutes of exposition to keep the non-fans on track.

The movie made nearly $22 million in the US alone over the weekend so a sequal is possible.

I recommend it to any fan though it's likely that every fan has already seen it at least once, anyway.

Jeremy

[marytrobot]

I'd have to agree with Sampo, there where some jokes from the book that I would have really liked to have seen played out, but it's ok. I was really glad that they carried the towel joke the whole way through (which by the way I took a towel with me to the theater, and I'd have to say yes it is one of the most useful things to have)
But my one beef is the horrid attempt to put Arthur Dent and "Trill" together. The dialoge for their "Romance" just didn't work, the characters just weren't right.
Oh and Arthur's casting was PERFECT.

[mummifiedstalin]

I plan on seeing it, but I still haven't.

I'm quite a fan of the old British made-for-TV version, though. Most people hate the guy who played Ford in that one, but I thought the casting for everyone (with the exception of Trillian) was brilliant. I even liked the cheezy Brit-sci-fi effects.

[Torgo]

I might see it this week, because my mother has the week off and we like going to the movies and this looks like the least evil thing still playing. I was unimpressed with the trailers and TV spots, and have never read the book. But hell, Alan Rickman's in it, can't be all bad.

[Afgncaap5]

[e-mail] said:

I saw that. But did you know that his head is in the movie twice? It appears once at the end when the infinite improbability drive activates. It also appears when Slartibartfast is showing Arthur the Magrathean factory floor. The huge custom-made planet behind them is in the shape of Douglas's head. The easiest part to recognize is the nose (oddly enough), which is only slightly bigger than Douglas's actual nose .

Hey, nice eye there. I caught the head at the end, but I didn't see the planet shaped like it (however, I did notice in the credits where it said "The Planet Shaped Like Douglas Adams' Head, used with permission from the game Starship Titanic (yet another one of the fascinating games from Mr. Adams)). I just dismissed that as being a reference to what I saw, though I see now that I was mistaken. Thanks.

[Croooooow]

I liked the movie and was very surprised it did so well it's opening weekend

[Dr. Ted Nelson]

I cant listen to anyone that griped about this movie. Afgncaap was right about it. It satisfies die-hard and newbie alike. I am somewhere in-between. Read the books a long time ago- most of them. Never saw the original series (was told they were poor) and now I might just. Thought the special effects were great, the new additions like those to Malkovitch's character (approved by D.A. before departing this world) were tolerable if not enjoyable.

Cant wait to see if they continue with the series.

[Poe33]

I am telling you- if you enjoy Adam's work- you will LOVE my novel.


Check it out!

[mummifiedstalin]

Read the original radio scripts...or get the actual recordings. There are some sections in the last parts of that which never made it into the novels, the TV production, or the movie. It's good stuff.

[Torgo]

After some jackass from the Empire destroys an entire planet with the Death Star.

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced." - Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars

If it were indeed to happen, the destruction of an entire planet with billions of sentient beings would indeed be a tragedy. Could it translate into comedy? Of course it can. Observe...

After Mike acidentally helps professor Bobo destroy the Earth in a future where Apes evolved from men.

"I felt a great disturbance, as if a million monkeys suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced." - Crow T. Robot, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Epiosde 804 The Deadly Mantis

Hillarious.

Riding this idea would be the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a movie in which the entire Earth is destroyed and everyone on it (with the exception of two people) and we're supposed to find it funny. Is it funny? That depends. Before the movie there was a tediously dry trailer for the Longest Yard staring Adam Sandler. I think it was put there as some sort of test: If this stuff makes you laugh, you might have bought a ticket for the wrong movie.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is very obviously written in the style of infamous British comedies. Some of the best efforts here would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Shaun of the Dead. Both were absurd, yet smart and amazingly funny. As for Hitchhiker, it's nowhere near those towering pieces of comic genius, however it can get the belly laughs going. There are even spots of genius that are worthy of those two. GAG SPOILER! One part worth mentioning, and my favorite gag in the movie happens very early on, where Ford Prefect is recounting how he met Arthur. In it we see Ford holding his hand out as a gesture of peace to a car that's racing head on toward him right before Arthur saves his life. Ford then explains he did this because he assumed that automobiles were the dominate lifeform on this planet. This is an absolutly brilliant gag in my eyes. It's easy to see how an extraterrestral would make this assumtion. After all, it always seems that there are more cars on this planet than there are people.

So yes, it's funny. That means it's worth a look, right? Once again, that depends. Hitchhiker has great moments, but it's also very odd. There were times that I was left scratching my head wondering what the hell just happened. I'm certain some of these items were explained a lot better in the radio series and novel it was based on, so I probably missed something that fans didn't.

If I were to give Hitchhiker credit for one thing, however, it damn sure knew how to handle it's cast. Out of the main characters, there is not a single one you get tired of looking at. Each are so unique, colorful, and likable that you always seem to welcome a new character into the story just to see who's next. The actors who play them do a bang up job as well.

Would I recommend Hitchhiker? Sure why not. It's cute. Maybe a little too cute for it's own good. I'll probably have to check out the novel to see if it handled this idea full of potential better than this, though.

** 1/2 out of ****

[Mr. Atari]

Torgo said:

Hitchhiker has great moments, but it's also very odd. There were times that I was left scratching my head wondering what the hell just happened.

That comment would have made Douglas Adams very proud. I think it's the reaction he was always shooting for.

[Torgo]

sampo said:

That comment would have made Douglas Adams very proud. I think it's the reaction he was always shooting for.

I like him already.