Current music:	The Potato Bugs - Possibility
Entry tags:	movies, scifi

Movie Review: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
This will be a spoiler-free review, because I'm nice like that.

All in all, I enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I would recommend it to anybody who has read the book(s) but is wondering if the movie will be "good enough" to be worth the $7.50 (or whatever) to sit in the theater. I would NOT recommend it to anybody who has never read the book and is considering seeing the film because [it is getting good reviews|it has the guy from The Office in it|they've already seen Miss Congeniality 2]. Rumors that the movie is disjointed and incoherent are true. I know the story quite well (I'm what you would call a rabid, frothing fan of Douglas Adams) and I felt like they weren't describing things very well. They jump around a lot and if you don't already know about certain things that they don't bother explaining, the movie will (I assume) not have nearly the comedic or dramatic (Yes, there is drama) effect that it is supposed to.

So, I am not gearing this review to the person who has not read the book. I'm sorry, but I think you should see something else. Or, better yet, read the book first and then go see the movie. You only need to read the first book, and it's a good read. Even better, find a time machine, and go back to when you were 10 and make your 10-year-old self read the book. That way, by the time you get to the present, you'll be as rabid a fan as I.

So, what works?

1. The new stuff. The new stuff is fantastic, and there's a lot of it. New gags, new scenes, new plot lines, and old stuff twisted in new ways. I found nothing that was changed or added that removed any bit of fun from the movie. This, to me, was the second most important thing to make the movie work, and they nailed it.


2. The comedy. This movie is funny. Even (and sometimes especially) the slapstick parts are good, and there is quite a good amount of Adamsesque social commentary to go around. This is the first most important thing (And these two things are why I recommend the movie).


3. The Story. The plot line is well constructed and follows a logical path, and comes to a satisfying conclusion. I'm not going to give anything away, but I will say that the ending of the movie is not the same as the ending of the book, and some may not like it (But not for the simple reason that it's different than the book). Am I being cryptic enough? Good.


4. The Music. There is a musical number of "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish" that I'm still humming today. And they have the music from the TV series in there as well. That was nice to hear.


5. The Special Effects. Some of the special effects are top-notch big-screen amazing kind of "wow" type special effects. Others are low-quality b-movie back-lot type special effects. All, however, fit exactly where they should.


6. The Guide. The guide was nice, updated for a more sophisticated audience. You'll like it.


7. The Heart Of Gold. I liked the "new" Heart Of Gold.


8. Mos Def as Ford. I think he nailed the part. Period.


9. Warwick Davis as Marvin. Superb.


10. Marvin Himself. After the initial "I never ever imagined him that way," Marvin quickly grew on me.


11. Martin Freeman as Arthur. Again. I can't add to it. He was perfect.

And what doesn't work?

1. The pace. This movie moves FAST. The new stuff that I mentioned above was not really needed sometimes, and they shrank the scenes and dialog down to the bare essentials (or less) to fit it all in. I would have happily traded one or two side plots to have a bit more explanation of what the hell was going on.


2. Zooey Deschanel as Trillian. I had two problems with Trillian. First off, Zooey is HOT with a capital HOT. I think I missed a couple of things because I was looking at her. Second, and I don't know if it's her or me, but she didn't really seem to be acting so much as reading lines off of a teleprompter.


3. Humma Kavula. I didn't like the entire scene, from how they found him to when they left. John Malkovich did a fine job, and the special effects were good, but the story... Meh. (Yes, I'm being vague. No spoilers, remember?)

And what was I indifferent about?

1. Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox. It was hard to decide if I should put Zaphod in the plus or minus category, so I made this new one for him. He was supposed to be over the top, and was. ALL THE TIME.


2. Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast. I liked Slarty, but I preferred the one in the TV show. Plus, you can't have a numbered list with only one item. They taught me that in high school.

So, all in all, go see it if you know the story. If you don't know the story, learn the story and then go see the movie.

____