The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Review Thread

[sshuttari]

Review Thread - Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

http://www.filmnet.dk/posters/hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy2.jpg

Theatrical Release Date: Apr 29, 2005 (Wide)

Cast & Crew:
Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Alan Rickman, Zooey Deschanel directed by Garth Jennings more »

Synopsis:
Don't Panic . . . Stick out your thumb to join the most ordinary man in the world on an extraordinary adventure across the universe in the hilarious comedy, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Earthman Arthur Dent is having a very bad day. His house is about to be bulldozed, he discovers that his best friend is an alien and to top things off, Planet Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur's only chance for survival: hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft. For the novice space traveler, the greatest adventure in the universe begins when the world ends. Arthur sets out on a journey in which he finds that nothing is as it seems: he learns that a towel is just the most useful thing in the universe, finds the meaning of life, and discovers that everything he needs to know can be found in one book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

MPAA Rating: PG - for thematic elements, action and mild language

Release Company: Buena Vista Pictures

Genre: Comedies, Adventure, Aliens, Theatrical Release, Space Travel, Space, Outer Space, Spaceships

Official Website:
http://hitchhikers.movies.com/

Review

http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=263

Some reviews are just plain awkward to write, especially if you're a fan reviewing a new iteration of your chosen obsession. I've read Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker books, got the TV adaptation on DVD, read the comic book, played the computer game, have all the different versions of the original radio show pretty much memorized, and even have a commemorative towel or two hidden away somewhere. And I loved this film!

But it's so easy to start this kind of review by saying how much you loved it, then spend five paragraphs picking out all the faults and problems, and then ending limply with a final 'but I loved it anyway!' and everyone who reads the review gets the impression it's a dreadful film.

In short - it's hard reviewing something you really care about.

So let's begin with a list of just some of the wonderful things about the film, to set the right tone:



The casting is superb, with every single person suiting their parts quite magnificently.

Yes, even Mos Def.

The effects are bogglingly good.

Stephen Fry replaces the late Peter Jones with aplomb and class (although I still would have preferred Oliver Postgate).

Simon Jones, the original Arthur Dent, has a cameo.

The TV Marvin android appears too.

The animations accompanying the Guide's entries are funny and clever.

We got given free towels at the screening, which isn't strictly relevant to this review but I thought it was nice anyway.

Most of the new material fits seamlessly into the H2G2 world, especially the excellent sequence where we visit the Vogsphere.

The new romance between Arthur and Trillian is actually quite charming, and although his final declaration of love feels a bit shoehorned in it's hard to think anything but lovely fluffy thoughts when the radiant Zooey Deschanel is on screen being gorgeous.

The final image of the whole film is Douglas Adams' smiling face. I got a bit choked up at that point, I admit it.

The Divine Comedy sing the closing theme song.

It just feels right, like this is a film Adams would have liked and been proud of; that indefinable quality of tone or spirit is intact.
So let it be known, I loved this film. It's faithful, irreverent, fun, funny and in no way the disrespectful waste of celluloid Adams fans had secretly been dreading.

Now, the nitpicking, all of which is, be warned, minor:


The new material featuring John Malkovich goes absolutely nowhere and doesn't really add much to the film. It feels like the dangling thread of an abandoned storyline.

Just what is Anna Chancellor's character doing?

I think some coherence has been sacrificed in pursuit of pace. Some things that I understood may not have been instantly apparent to a viewer new to this world. For example, we never find out why the pan-dimensional beings want Arthur's brain. I know, because it's in the book, TV series and radio show. But it's not explicitly stated here, and that's a mistake. Given that the film actually feels a little too short, surely a few more lines could have been left in to make things clearer every now and then.

Ford is a bit underused.

One of the joys of the radio show is Adams's pleasure in twisting language into all sorts of new and amusing shapes. Much of that delightful wordplay is lost here, and some of the Guide entries are truncated so that they provide information but not laughs, but I suppose that was inevitable.

The film just kind of ends. It doesn't feel like there's been a big climax, really. Then again, given that Adams concluded the first book where he did simply because the deadline had run out and he handed in everything he'd written so far, I suppose that's strangely fitting.
The radio shows sort of felt as if they were all being made up as they went along, and there are points where this film feels much the same. This may be considered a fault in most films, and will almost certainly provoke a few sniffy reviews, but here it feels in keeping with the source material so that's fine.

Essentially, then, the flaws you find here, although not exactly the same, are the same kind of flaws you would have found in the radio shows and books. Which somehow contributes to the sense of rightness that the whole exercise manages to summon up.

And the things that are right about this film are legion.

If you've never encountered The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy before then this is as good a version as any to use as your introduction, and you're in for a treat. And if you love this film as much as you should, then go out and track down the original radio show, because there's more, much more, where this film came from.

[droidguy1119]

Well, you beat me. My review will be up Tuesday evening...

[sshuttari]

Well, you beat me. My review will be up Tuesday evening...


sweet, i cant wait to read it.

[JBond]

Well, you beat me. My review will be up Tuesday evening...

Can't wait either, don't be generous if you don't like it ;)

[droidguy1119]

Admittedly I am feeling a bit worried now. Hopefully it's not too bad.

[Drizzt240]

Dear Lord........a review thread not created by Droid.........it cannot be...

[FilmJerk]

so whats your rating?

[FVD]

I'll be seeing this movie Thursday regardless of the outcome. I can't wait (not to mention Droid's review :D).

[sshuttari]

so whats your rating?

7/10

[WuTical]

The casting is superb, with every single person suiting their parts quite magnificently.

Yes, even Mos Def.


what is that suppose to mean ?

[Tornado]

what is that suppose to mean ?

I think he means that when Mos Def was cast, the fans weren't too thrilled with him and figured he would ruin the movie. Then he's saying that he didn't ruin it and he did a good job apparently.

I was going to see this opening night, but now that I'm pretty much flat-broke and waiting for Episode III tickets to go on sale, I'll wait a while.

[iv3rdawG]

I like Mos Def, I liked him in The Italian Job :)

[Moridin]

So the movie ends with SPOILER the guys heading out for lunch at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?

[WuTical]

I think he means that when Mos Def was cast, the fans weren't too thrilled with him and figured he would ruin the movie. Then he's saying that he didn't ruin it and he did a good job apparently.


cause it seemed like he saying that even Mos Def is a hip hop artist, he didn't ruin the movie...(thats what most reviewers say about hip hop actors)

[Moridin]

No, it's because Ford Prefect in the books is described as this really British-looking guy.

[DarthBastard]

No, it's because Ford Prefect in the books is described as this really British-looking guy.

No he isn't. It's just what many people assumed.

[Warren]

No, it's because Ford Prefect in the books is described as this really British-looking guy.

And there are no black people in Britain?

Even if there weren't, remember, Ford's an alien.

[Moridin]

Traditional British guy, I mean. And besides, Mos Def is American.

[Mat]

My anticipation is pretty neutral right now. The clips up at Yahoo aren't very good. The falling whale was a lot funnier in the book than it was in that clip. The only one I really liked was the dolphin sing-a-long.

This project has really been sending mixed signals since the first real trailer came out.

[Warren]

Traditional British guy, I mean. And besides, Mos Def is American.

And Ford Prefect isn't British OR American.

Douglas Adams himself said that only Arthur has to British, the others can be judged on merit alone. Mos Def has received Golden Globe/Emmy nominations in the past.

[Moridin]

Yes, but Ford doesn't change form in the books, and the form he has is the one he had on planet Earth: A british guy's.

[sshuttari]

Ford Prefect is an alien, he doesnt have a British accent, nor does he act british he acts like an alien. He is a piculiar character who doesnt understand sarcasim and if anyone on this planet should be considered an alien from another planet its him. Even the people who knew him considered him odd, eccentric, and a boozer. They just thought hes from Guildford another town where people acted diffrently.

Those are the reasons why it doesnt matter what skin color Ford has as long as he acts odd.

[Moridin]

Ford Prefect is an alien, he doesnt have a British accent, nor does he act british he acts like an alien. He is a piculiar character who doesnt understand sarcasim and if anyone on this planet should be considered an alien from another planet its him. Even the people who knew him considered him odd, eccentric, and a boozer. They just thought hes from Guildford another town where people acted diffrently.

Those are the reasons why it doesnt matter what skin color Ford has as long as he acts odd.
He would obviously have a British accent if he would somehow try to fit in Britain. Anyway, I don't really care that Ford's played by Def, I was just trying to explain why fans didn't like the choice.

[tedward]

Seen it. Didnt really find it funny - or like it. Those who were in to the series all seemed to like it though so, what more can I say?

[droidguy1119]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Review Thread

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/droidguy1119b/review%20threads/hitchhikers_guide_to_the_galaxy.jpg

Trailers
San Diego Teaser http://hitchhikermovie.free.fr/pages/trailerdownload.html
Teaser http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy/hh_trailer_large.html
Trailer http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy/trailer_2/hh_trailer_large.html
Trailer 2 (Internet Exclusive) http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy/trailer_3/hh_trailer_large.html
UK Trailer http://www.thefilmfactory.co.uk/hitchhikers/trailers/movies/uk/trailer3/hi/clip.mov
TV Spot http://bvbp-qt.vitalstream.com/HitchhikersGuide/HG2TG_TVspot1_8791_1500.mov

Synopsis
When Earth is destroyed to make way for an interstellar bypass, last remaining human Arthur Dent finds himself on the journey of a lifetime he didn't ask for as his close friend Ford Prefect, really an alien researcher for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, rescues Arthur from destruction and takes him across the universe.

Official Website
www.hitchhikkersmovie.com

April 29th, 2005

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/droidguy1119b/review%20threads/pichitchhickers5.jpg

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
A Review by Tyler Foster
for www.funkdiggityfresh.com

Despite being an entertainment journalist, and therefore extremely fond of silly puns, I'll avoid the two obvious words and say this instead: leave your towel where it is, keep drinking your tea, and continue being amused by your digital watches. There's no need for you or any underwater friends you might have to bid so long and flee the planet because, while it's not perfect, director Garth Jennings, his crew and a fantastic cast have succeded in bringing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to the big screen in one, big, Douglas-Adamsy piece. Deviations from the book and some flat moments do crop up (more later), plus there's a bit of a struggle to find a central plot (just like the novel), but the film is still a great tour of Adams's universe as it jumps wonderfully from place to place, quirky, offbeat, and blissfully entertaining.

The movie dispenses with the vague story even quicker than the book, as Earthman Arthur (Martin Freeman) and alien Guide researcher Ford (Mos Def) are off and running almost immediately in the wake of the evil Vogons' destruction of planet Earth to make room for an interstellar bypass. Martin Freeman's performance as Arthur is not too bad, although a bit uneven (possibly more a fault of the movie's editing than Freeman himself). He and Mos Def develop a nice comic timing together as the movie sets itself up. As for Mos Def, while in a few scenes he overacts a bit (the Vogon Poetry scene comes to mind as the worst example) he creates a likable presence and is quite amusing as he seems slightly detached and amused by everything. Stephen Fry's narration as The Guide is fantastic, with a slightly dry, very witty and very British tone that seems fitting of such a wholly remarkable book.

Ford and Arthur soon end up on the Heart of Gold, stolen by Sam Rockwell's Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy. Rockwell's performance is the hardest to peg, as while he is incredibly funny at times, during others, such as all but one of the double-head sequences, he's awful. He's also using an oddly-chosen accent. By the second half of the film, however, he's settled into the role much better, and a scene inside the base of Deep Thought is hilarious. With him is Trillian, or Tricia McMillan, played by Zooey Deschanel. She's one of the movie's best performances: charming, funny, and beautiful and lovely in the way Trillian should be. The movie's use of her character is less admirable, because while scenes while Arthur and the gang head to rescue her from the clutches of the Vogons are amusing, the storyarc serves almost no ultimate point whatsoever.

Pointlessness crops up elsewhere as the movie's worst problem, although admittedly all of these tangents include some very funny moments. John Malkovich's Humma Kavula ends up as another amusing but useless side note. The movie's editing is heavily flawed, as if the filmmakers started simply pulling pieces of paper out of a hat to decide what went in and what stayed out, and then tried to force the storyline into the resulting film. But of course Marvin (voice of Alan Rickman) is always unhappy to point out the uselessness of not just those bits, but also life, the universe, and everything, and his presence is one of the movie's highlights (surely he would have something effectively downbeat to say about such praise). Lastly, Bill Nighy shows up as a bemused planet inventor for the last act during the movie's most visually wonderful scene on Magrathea's factory floor. This sequence is truly one of the most wonderful things I've seen all year.

Jennings' direction, aside from the sloppy editing, is right-on-the-money. There are hundreds of little stylistic touches in the look and feel of everything in the movie's universe that it's obvious why Spike Jonze reccomended Jennings for the job. The Vogon puppets are a big victory in animatronics versus CGI, and yet the film uses its own CGI perfectly, painting the galaxy in vibrant colors. Joby Talbot's score is majestic and even amusing at times. And the opening sequence...I'll stay quiet. I guess now I should admit that while I, as a fan, was pleased, others are likely be unhappy with all that's missing, such as Ford turning into a penguin, a girl in a cafe with the great idea, Genghis Khan, "mostly harmless," and lots of Adams's wonderfully constructed dialogue. Plus, the love angle is a bit corny, and I have no idea what Anna Chancellor's character was supposed to be doing.

But if it's the spirit that counts, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is running at 100%. The fact that everyone on the cast and crew seem to have had their hearts and minds in the right places has resulted in a film that feels loving for those who loved the work, which is the most satisfying feeling a fan can get. And while it would be unfair of myself (19) to say that the more than 20 years of waiting for Adams's novels to reach the screen was worth it, it seems true anyway, it was worth it for these people to have worked on the movie. It's better than the Celestial Care Home Omnibus and the Encyclopedia Galactica combined. The movie is dedicated to Douglas Adams, and so it should be, because despite all odds a group of filmmakers have created the most fitting tribute to him as they possibly could, filled with wonders, sharp humor, and a lot of dry British wit. It almost seems infinitely improbable.

Grade: ***

Starring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy and John Malkovich
Written by Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick | Directed by Garth Jennings
Touchstone Pictures (2005) | 110 Minutes
Rated PG for thematic elements, action and language

[JBond]

Good to hear.

Damn, I liked the "penguin" line ;)

[Ramplate]

Haven't seen it - but I know it is an ambitious thing to try and fit in the space of one movie. I think people who haven't read the book are gonna get lost. And the people who know the book are gonna find something left out.
I'm still going to go see it though

[FVD]

Nice review as always Droid. I can't wait to see this movie. Just another 18 hours now. ;)

[HeadHunter]

I am off to see this tonight...Looks forward to it too

[sshuttari]

I dont think any fan of Douglas Adams books should complain, this movie isnt perfect it has its greatness and lowness, but overall its deffinitly worth ur time, and money.

[HeadHunter]

yup...I thought it was excelent myself :D

[bluntcave]

yup...I thought it was excelent myself :D


...Inspite of not getting any of the references :D

Yeah, I thought it was excellent too.

[Brenzi51]

I just picked up the books and they are great. I'm hoping that I won't be completely dissapointed...but, I trust you guys when you say that it's not too bad.

[CapricornDevil]

I can't wait to see this movie. I saw the older version, read the books, and am anxious to see it this weekend.

Whether he likes it or not, I am dragging my boyfriend to the theatre this weekend. :P

[HeadHunter]

...but, I trust you guys when you say that it's not too bad.


mwahahahhahaha YES.....TRUST ME!!!

[darthspielberg]

Wow, was that a good freakin' movie. I saw it in a preview at the theater i work at, which is a cinema pub, so everybody else was drunk of their minds. Nobody liked it except for me and my friend, who are both big Douglas Adams fans. We got all the jokes, they did not. While it was fun to watch them go "what the f***" I still wish i could have watched it to see the film with fellow Hitchhikers. i give it 8/10, because some of the new plot lines, while funny, kind of slowed the film down a bit.

[Iben]

mæ, I don't even know when this movie opens up over here, again I feel so cheated!

[Glordreen]

I have never even heard of the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy until this film, so I hope I will like it.

[Warren]

Seeing it tonight, can't wait.

[Fanible]

Just got back from it. I really enjoyed it. I got more laughs out of it durring the first half, but I enjoyed most of it. My one major gripe with it is was Marvin, who, as with the previews, I didn't find him funny then, nor in the movie now. Alan Rickman's voice was completely wrong imo.

Other than that though, the movie was lots of fun, and as with the series, the most bizarre and creative story out there. You have not seen anything like it. Here's hoping the sequel gets green-lit, opening with the Resturaunt at the End of the Universe.

I loved the Guide. It was great, with really great animation to show. I also loved all the special effects and Jim Henson's creations. Reminds me of a past viewpoint of someone saying to me that doing animatronics and puppetry was a step down in technology. What a bunch of crock. The Vogons in this were some of the most vividly real creature creations ever put on film, furthuring my gripes about George Lucas thinking the current CGI technology is so phenomenal for his films and can only be used. This movie's Jim Henson creature creations were down right as real as you can get. Speech and interaction with them was absolutly great.

Also one thing that seemed weird to me was that in a past really early review where the critic did nothing but mainly bash it, and then complain about missing sequences... well, all I know is that it had many of the scenes he supposedly said wern't in it.

And for those who havn't seen it yet, stay after the credits. Near the end/middle of the credits it has a little extra treat from the Guide, and one of my most memorable, favorite mini-stories from the books.

8 / 10

[sshuttari]

Just got back from it. I really enjoyed it. I got more laughs out of it durring the first half, but I enjoyed most of it. My one major gripe with it is was Marvin, who, as with the previews, I didn't find him funny then, nor in the movie now. Alan Rickman's voice was completely wrong imo.


And for those who havn't seen it yet, stay after the credits. Near the end/middle of the credits it has a little extra treat from the Guide, and one of my most memorable, favorite mini-stories from the books.

8 / 10

I agree Marvins voice was completely wrong with ALan Rickman doing the voice.

Im seeing the movie again with my Hitchikers gang, ill remember to stay after the credits this time.

[darthspielberg]

i liked Alan, but that is my opinion. He could be wrong in some people's opinion. I just liked him.

"while you were gone, i was talking to the computer...He hates me."

[Fanible]

I guess I didn't find his lines very funny either (Marvin's never been super funny to me), but with the right voice it probably could of been funnier.

I guess I should mention the couple other minor gripes I had. There were two opening titles for Hitchhiker's. They shouldn't of had the first one durring the first sequence. The title should of simply waited till it actually showed the guide.

Also I thought the movie should of been longer. It felt way too short to me. As well, adding Malkovich's character and story was a bit weird if they were going to leave it unresolved. I suppose they might touch up some more on him if a sequel is done. Actually, they kinda have to.

[Ewok Droppings]

Never read the books myself, but just saw the movie. I don't know what to think I guess. Interesting, but very rarely do I come out of a movie without an opinion as to whether or not I liked it. The jury's still out for me.

[iv3rdawG]

Well, just got back from the movies. When I first saw a trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I thought to myself "Wow, this is just going to be another stupid disney-like comedy." But with nothing else to see today, and a day off my brother, my friend, and I went to go see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And all I have to say is that this movie was hillarious. Marvin was great, as were the mice and I really love the dolphins song. Mos Def was my favorite, followed by Same Rockwell. 10/10

[gamepro]

this movie sucked, it was so stupid

[WuTical]

this movie sucked, it was so stupid
driodguy...this guy right here might take your job as a movie reviewer one day :rolleyes:

[poashaggy69]

This movie was great! It was just...it was great! 10/10

[cg124]

driodguy...this guy right here might take your job as a movie reviewer one day :rolleyes:


no offense,but your not exactly a high quality reviewer either

http://www.comingsoon.net/forums/showthread.php?t=38411

[iv3rdawG]

This is one of my favorite lines:

*Door Sighs*

Arthur: Did that door just sigh??

[sshuttari]

my favorite line is Ford saying "Arthur im a sofa"

[poashaggy69]

Hahahaha I think my favorite part would have to be when they were all made of yarn because of the hyperspace thingy! hahahaha that was so genious I was laughing pretty hard. This is such a light hearted movie and pretty much great for anyone to see...it's just...Great!

[Quagmire04374]

I saw this today, never read the book, but loved it. Great movie, perfect cast with no major people, but they fit the roles perfect. The whale scene was one of the funniest as well as when Arthur and Ford were changed into sofas.

This movie is just good fun, and original. I will be picking this baby up on DVD.

8/10

[sshuttari]

Hahahaha I think my favorite part would have to be when they were all made of yarn because of the hyperspace thingy! hahahaha that was so genious I was laughing pretty hard. This is such a light hearted movie and pretty much great for anyone to see...it's just...Great!

u mean yarn

[fantasticfour40]

For fans of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, don't panic, I enjoyed this movie of the beloved Douglas Adams book. I am first time Hitchiker fan myself but some of it I thought was the weirdest and funniest movie I've ever seen. It was also different The thing that struck me weird about it was the Vogons, those creatures from the planet Vogosphere. The Vogons are like ugly looking creatures that look like they were made out of clay and goo. The thing that struck me funny were the rest of the beloved characters including Humma Kuvala(John Malkovich) and Marvin the depressed Robot(Alan Rickman) that Adams created. The thing that was different was that it had it's own authentic way about things. Anyways let me tell the story of the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. First and foremost, it's about a man named Arthur Dent(Martin Freeman) who is whisked away by an alien friend named Ford Perfect(Mos Def) and together there journey through time and space after Planet Earth has been scheduled for demolition by the Vogons to build an intergalactic freeway. The story is clever, innocent and harmless. The actors played their roles well. The effects are sometime stirring and sometimes boring. I didn't get to see much of the character Slartifiblast. I didn't understand how they developed him in the book or the movie. But, it was still fun to see the character to come life. The ending sort has that sequel thing going for it. It ends as they go to the Resturant at the End of the Universe. "The Hitchiker's Guide was very funny. "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy is certainly not all memorable but it is one heck of a funny and thrilling ride at the movies.

[Cloud Buster]

Cloud Buster's Money & Time
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/the_hitchhiker_s_guide_to_the_galaxy/_group_photos/martin_freeman6.jpg

Don't Panic!! The big screen version of Douglas Adams' cult classic, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has finally hit theatres. So grab your towel, open a pack of peanuts, and make sure your babel fish is planted squarely in your ear and we'll see how many Hitchhiker's cliches I can fit into this review.

For fans of Douglas Adams -- you're in for a treat. For those who are new to the franchise...not so much. Admittedly, I'm a Hitchhiker's fan myself (if it hasn't already shown). However, as this review is for everyone, I'll leave my "fan notes" until the end of the review.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a fun, witty, and completely original science-fiction comedy. Just like when Douglas Adams first pitched his radio play to the BBC in the late 70s, there is still no real "science fiction comedy" genre. The closest we usually come is with movies like "Galaxy Quest", which are parodies of pre-exisitng science fiction, not a parody of science itself. Therefore, almost every single moment of the film is filled with cosmic paradoxes, physical improbabilities, and a general commentary on the fact that in a hundred thousand years of development as a species, we are no closer to grasping an understanding of the universe than a tea leaf can grasp to size of the East India Company. From the moment the film starts to the moment it ends, your mind is filled with images and ideas that you will probably carry with you for the rest of your life -- even if you don't enjoy the film. There are some things so absurd and different from what we're accustomed to that we simply can't block it out of our minds.

From the very beginning, the film is extremely fast paced. It's obvious that the filmmakers were concerned that, with the enormous amout of plot points and gags to fit in, pacing and time was going to be a real problem. Unfortunately, they took it a bit too far, and the movie suffers a bit from trying to cram too much in to too short a space of time, often not even giving you time to understand a punchline to a gag that's been built up for 5 minutes, much less find it funny. This is not a problem for Hitchhiker's fans, since they either are seeing a gag they're farmiliar with or are already accustomed to Adams' tangental sense of humor. The result is a film that is not poorly paced, but very often leaves you wishing you either had just a tad more than what you were getting, or makes you wonder why the story is in the place it is at all.

Therein lies the second major problem of this film - plot points that come off very weak. The best example is the use of the character, new to the Hitchhiker's story, Humma Kavula (John Malkovich). The entire Humma Kavula sequence was almost pointless to the story -- although very entertaining. That being said, the thread did end up having a major point in the story, although it would have been much stronger if our heroes had travelled to his planet (Viltvodle 6) with the intention of getting the coordinates to Magrathea in the first place, rather than happeing there by chance and having Zaphod suddenly and for the first time want to confront his old nemesis. In the end, the film basically jumps from one spot to the next, with little or nothing interconnecting each in any way.

These, however, are more than made up for by the wonderfully colorful cast of characters we take this journey with. The performance by Mos Def, which has been highly in question, is a bit hit-and-miss. When he's on, he's really on, but when he's off....he's just...there. I think Mos Def was a good Ford, but it would have been nicer if he departed a bit more from the 80s TV version of Ford and added a bit more spice to the character. The strongest link is by far Arthur Dent, played by Martin Freeman. Dent is our eyes and ears in the story, and though the film strays from him at times, he's always nearby to sympathize with us when we're totally confused by how things work in this crazy universe. Sam Rockwell's portrayal of Zaphod Beeblebrox is also very entertaining, as is Zooey Deschanel playing Trillian who steals our gaze with her natural charm whenever she's on screen. Marvin the Paranoid Android is, as expected, a ton of laughs, and I honestly feel that Warwick Davis' movement contributes more to this than Alan Rickman's readings. Marvin also has one of the best lines in the entire film: during a tense moment, Marvin points out, "I've been talking to the ship's computer". "And?", he is asked by his shipmates, and replies; "...it hates me."

One review I read early on asked a one line question: "What IS Anna Chancellor's character doing?". I'm inclined to ask the same thing. Her motives are unclear, and appear to change from scene to scene, taking a turn at the end that was, while not entirely inappropriate, at least unexpected.

The most outstanding character in the film is, of course, the guide itself. Well voiced and wonderfully animated, the guide serves as the platform that helps tell us the story, but more often than not fills us with loads of useless information that we just can't get enough of. Most of the guide entries are slightly trimmed down from previous versions, but they generally do not suffer.

The film's ending is clearly more catered to a hollywood audience, which is too bad since the rest of the film isn't. The ending upset me as a fan (which I'll mention later), but is a good way to end the film from a stand alone point of view. It's obvious, however, that the filmmakers hope to make a sequel out of the next story in the series, called, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe".

The production design is nothing less than superb, and is almost woth paying to see alone. From the wonderfully decorated sets, to the creature shop's amazing alien life-forms, to the visual effects, there isn't a shot in the film that isn't eye candy.

In summary...

What Worked:
- The Infinite Improbability drive. VERY well done.
- Arthur Dent
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the book within the movie)
- Starship with Improbability drive: 1 Pu. Coordinates of lost planet Magrathea: one head. Sperm whale falling to the ground: priceless.
- The Magrathean planet factory floor. Amazing.
- Joby Talbot's score.

What Didn't Work:
- Anna Chancellor
- Trillian getting captured
- The "Ultimate Question" (the way the story was told and unfoled).
- The sequence on Viltvodle 6, though entertaining, just makes you wonder...why?
- The whole sub-plot about Zaphod needing the "Thinking Cap"

Hitchhiker's Guide Fan Notes:
- Biggest gripe: The Earth Mark II restoring the Earth, with all people alive there, back to perfect health. I understand that the Earth Mark II makes an appearance in a later book, but is it really back to "normal"? The most common theme in Douglas Adams' work is the idea of futility in life and the utter pointlessness of the universe. I always loved the final lines in the TV series, after Arthur and Ford are trapped on Earth 2 million years in the past, where Arthur realizes that after millions of years of evolution, growth, and development, it'll just be vaporized in a matter of seconds by the Vogons, mere minutes before discovering the Ultimate Question. He has a great line in that version, "What a life for a young planet to look forward to. What a waste.". The way this movie ended, everything was wrapped up in a neat little package. It was a horrible injustice to DNA, I think, and I'm curious to know if DNA wrote it like that in his original draft of the script.

- The scene with Arthur and the mice. By the end of that scene, finding the "Ultimate Question" had little or no meaning, since Arthur's little speech basically said that the question is what you make of it. This is completely opposite of what we finally do find out is the Ultimate Question at the end of the second book. Those of you who know the story know the real question. Those of you who don't, and really want to know, here: The ultimate question to life, the universe, and everything, to which "42" is the answer is, "What do you get if you multiply six by nine"? As anyone can tell you, mathematically you don't get 42 when multiplying 6x9. The purpose of this contradiction in the ultimate question is to point out that there is something fundamentally wrong with the universe. This, again, goes back to Adams' ongoing theme of futility and pointlessness in existence.

- I didn't even realize it until after I was walking away from the theatre, but WHERE WAS THE MENTION OF THE GUIDE'S ENTRY ABOUT EARTH??? Of all the things they snipped out of the film, those two words ("Mostly Harmless") from the "revised" entry should have been left in.

- Why was Deep Thought on Magrathea anyway?

- Great moment: "Ford....I think I'm a sofa."

- I loved the depth that was given to the total buearocracy of the Vogons, requiring a different form be notarized for every conceivable action, all ending in the great punchline that when the HOG POD escapes Vogsphere, they don't chase it because it's lunchtime.

- Didn't like Deep Thought's voice performance. Loved Deep Thought watching cartoons.

- What exactly was the point, from a writing point of view, of making our heroes use the HOG POD to get to Vogsphere? Seemed a bit pointless to me.

- HOG + Ball of Yarn = hilarious.

- What did Arthur hope to accomplish by carrying Marvin's arm around?

- The movie version of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster = weak sauce.

- The Nutrimat, but no "Share and Enjoy"?

- I missed hearing the doors say "Please enjoy your trip through this door".

- I imagine to a non-HG2G fan, the whole idea of Magrathea and the fact that it's "closed", even though they're still working, makes little sense. Unfortunately, explaining it (and the history of the old empire) would take more screen time than its probably worth.

All in all, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a wonderful movie. If you're a Hitchhiker's fan, run - don't walk - to this film. If you're a fan of science fiction, especially cult science fiction, make time very soon. If you're anyone else...I hope you enjoy it, but I can't make any promises. I think it's worth your time, I only hope you'll feel the same way after leaving the theatre.

Rating: 7 / 10

Cloud Buster's Money & Time
Worth It: Yes

[Moridin]

I still haven't watched it, I'm looking forward to it, but the happy end does sound slightly disappointing. How do they hope to make The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and the rest of the series with that ending?

[iv3rdawG]

Nice review Cloud Buster

[poashaggy69]

Hahahahah, I do hope they make more of these, so much fun! Perhaps the sequel would provide more theories and what not that were left out of the book....ah jeeze I want to go out and buy this now!

[Yuney]

watched it last night, and I absolutely loved it. I really didn't know what to expect when I went into the movie. Just kind of got dragged to it. The opening scene with the dolphins song was brilliant. I don't think I've laughed that hard at a movie in a loong time. Very hilarious and lighthearted. 10/10

[iv3rdawG]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Review Thread

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/the_hitchhiker_s_guide_to_the_galaxy/thehitchhikersguidetothegalaxy_bigteaser.jpg

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Rated PG for thematic elements, action and mild language.
Run Time: 1 hr. 50 mins
Genre: Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi
Starring: Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, Mos Def as Ford Prefect, Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, John Malkovich as Humma Kavula, and Warwick Davis as Marvin.
Directed By: Garth Jennings

Synopsis: Based off of the book by Douglas Adams, Arthur Dent wakes up one morning and finds out that one of his good friends, Ford Perfect, is really an alien from another planet. After the earth is destroyed, Ford and Arthur go on a wild adventure all around the galaxy, with a little help from a book called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

http://movies.about.com/library/graphics/hitchhikersguidepubg.jpg

A Review By: iv3rdawG
I never read the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy written by Douglas Adams, so I really did not know what I was going to be getting into when I walked into this movie. I am a newbie to the series and had no idea what "Always have your towel," meant but now I know.

When I first saw a trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I thought to myself "Wow, this is just going to be another stupid Disney-like comedy." When the Internet trailer came out, and they showed it during Sin City my hopes got a little higher. Still I really didn’t know what the movie was about. The only thing I really knew about it was that it starred Mos Def, a British guy, that girl from Elf, and a robot with a big head.

With nothing else to see on a cold Friday my brother decided to take my friend and I to go see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My friend really didn’t care what we were going to see, he just wanted to see a movie. When we got into the movie we were surprised to see how crowded the theatre was on a Friday morning at 11:20 in the morning.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy completely blew my mind. I thought this movie was going to be so stupid but instead, it was so funny. I loved how the characters were developed and I also loved the storytelling. This movie from the beginning starts out fast, with Arthur's house about to be demolished by workers, his friend, Ford Perfect, comes to take him to the pub and to tell him that he is really and alien, and that the earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace express route. Earlier Arthur met a women named Trisha, or as he will soon know her as Trillian, at a costume party. At that party he also meets Zaphod Beeblebrox and he wants to show Trillian his "Spaceship". As the story goes along you will see how the relationship between Trillian and Arthur keep growing closer together, and Zaphod trying to keep them apart.

Shortly after the earth is demolished, Arthur and Ford hitch a ride on a Volgon destroyer ship. This is when we first see some of the Volgons and where the Jim Henson company shines. This is also where we first meet "The Book" and we find out how intelligent it really is. It can tell you everything you need to know about anything or anyone. We all know how cool that would be if you could really have one of those. A good high point of the film is the animations that The Guide has when explaining something, like the Volgons and how they wouldn’t save their mothers without signing authorization papers and what not. After hearing the worst poetry readings in the universe, Arthur and Ford are sent into space when we hear another funny reading by The Book and what Arthur and Fords chances are of hitching a ride in the middle of space.

Arthur and Ford are surprisingly picked up by the president of the galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, he also stole the ship they are on and is also is a brother of Ford. This is the first appearance by Sam Rockwell, if I didn’t know this was him, the only way I would have known was by his voice. We also see that Trillian is on the ship with Zaphod. Some of the funniest parts of the movie come when the gang is in the ship. Some examples are: the sighing doors, Marvin, and when they hit the Infinite Improbability Drive, and they all turn in to yarn, that made me crack up. Also one of the many great lines by Marvin like this one, "I've been talking to the ship's computer." "And?" They all ask him, Marvin replies, "...it hates me." Arthur and Ford are shown a video by Zaphod and he says that it will blow your mind, right after he says that Marvin replies with saying this in a witty voice, "Its not that good." The video they are show is about the Ultimate Question that will be answered by Deep Thought, after they ask the question Deep Thought replies by saying "Come back and I will answer your question in 7 1/2 million years." After they wait 7 1/2 million years there waits a big crowd waiting for the answer. They soon find out that the actual answer is 42. The people in the audience are stunned and wonder to themselves "42?!"

Zaphod is destined to go to the planet that Humma Kavula, his former presidential candidate, is on, and to get some answers out of him. This is really the only part of the film I did not like, its not because of John Malkovich, its because there was really no need to put that in the story, except if they are going to make another one which includes the gun. When they are on that planet, they go to see him and Zaphod gets one of his two heads taken away his brain is now run on lemons. Also during this part of the movie the Volgons find the gang, and capture Trillian. They are forced to leave without her

Shortly after they return onto the ship, they get away, but soon find out that the mice chewed some wires. There is no way for them to keep on flying says the computer, and they still have to go and get Trillian from the Volgrons. The gang is forced into the escape pod, which the computer says is really fun to drive. This part of the movie was fun, especially when the gang had to go in and start the pod up and try to get it to start running. The gang fly's down to get back Trillian. This part is one of my favorite parts, especially when Marvin has to give Arthur "a hand" and the great pictures of Zaphod in the background doing his little pose. When the gang finds themselves in the prison they have to sign some release forms to get Trillian out. This is also a funny scene with Ford and Zaphod talking to one of the Volgon ladies. After they finally rescue Trillian. They leave the planet and there ship is fixed, well sordev.

Soon after there little rescue mission, the gang is finally on their way to Magrathea. They find out that the planet is closed and if they would like to go in they would need to leave a message after the beep telling them what planet they can be reached on. The gang doesn’t really want to do this so they start to fly down to the surface of Magrathea when they find out that two missiles are coming for them. The computer starts to drive itself and is flying all over the place. Then the gang starts to drive the ship manually when the computer shuts off. Arthur pushes the Infinite Improbability Drive, and one of the two missiles turns into a sperm whale, the other missile turns into a flowerpot. We get some really funny thoughts that the whale is thinking on its way to the ground, this part is read by the guide. The gang lands on Magrathea and finds three portals, only one leads to the right place. Arthur is not sure of what he should do. Trillian then jumps into one of the portals Zaphod had opened, after her Zaphod jumps in, and then Ford. Arthur finally gets the courage to jump in and when he finally does he fly's right out the other side. Right after this Marvin and Arthur are left alone, sitting on the cold Magrathea surface. This part of the movie is simply gorgeous; even if it was done with a green screen it looks fantastic, and very well done.

The creator of Earth Mark II soon meets Arthur. He is told a lot about the Ultimate Question and how the mice came down and were working to find the answer, and how they were doing so well, only to have all their plans blown up, along with the earth Arthur is taken on a journey with him all around Earth Mark II. Some funny things here are the mountains getting painted by a man named Fred, and the great line "Were almost done filling up the ocean." After a long journey Arthur is taken to his house, all nice and perfect looking. When he goes inside he sees Trillian, Ford, and Zaphod stuffing their mouths with food and goodies. Arthur finally gets to sit down and enjoy some tea. But he finds out that the mice want his brain for the ultimate answer. After he kills them, the gang is back to normal and they go outside. When they go outside, they see that they are surrounded by hundreds of Volgrons; they get in a big firefight. When Marvin was shot in the back of the head I was sad, but he got up and shot them with the gun and they all fell over. After that they all go back to living their normal lives. Some even live together.

This movie is my second favorite movie of the year, it is full of funny and smart comedy, and you can go and see it with anyone. It just shows you that you don’t have to have a lot of violence or bad language to have a great movie.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy gets an A

[droidguy1119]

I've updated my review, smoothed it all out and refined my thoughts after seeing it a second time.

[fantasticfour40]

i just want to inform you about this weekend's box-office.
Here it is.

In the battle of the new action films, Buena Vista's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy easily topped Sony's XXX: State of the Union on Friday to set itself up for a number one opening. The space-hopping adventure grossed an estimated $8.1M in its first day of release to lead the box office and also attracted very positive reviews. Depending on how much of the family crowd the PG-rated film can attract with Saturday and Sunday matinee business, Guide might find its way to $23-27M over the weekend.

XXX trailed in its opening day grossing an estimated $4.4M from an ultrawide 3,480 theaters. The Ice Cube starrer debuted on par with the first-day launch of January's Elektra which bowed to $4.5M from 3,203 locations on its way to a three-day weekend sum of $12.8M. XXX should find itself with $12-14M over the weekend which will probably land it in third place behind Hitchhiker's and last week's champ The Interpreter. The first XXX, which starred Vin Diesel and opened in August 2002, opened with a more powerful $17.6M Friday leading to an explosive $44.5M weekend.

Among holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 44% for The Inte

[fantasticfour40]

Question: What's your favorite part of Hitchiker's Guide

Top 3 favorite parts
1. The Humma Kuvula character
2. The visual effects
3. Marvin's dialogue

[droidguy1119]

That's mostly the reason I updated my review...I didn't mention enough the wonderful visuals in the scene on Magrathea's factory floor...absolutely beautiful and one of the most satisfying movie moments I've ever had.

[PS_PoWeR]

4/10

This movie is made for a certain audience and its not me. My friend was warning me as I went in that its like Monty Python humor....but I never saw that so beats me. :) I didn't laugh hard once during the movie and I am usually one to be laughing and enjoying movies.

I liked the sperm whale sequence and the robot shooting the "point of view gun" at the attackers, but those just resulted in smiles, and I seriously cannot think of any other funny parts.

[Boiiinng]

I really liked this movie. More so than I actually thought I would. My only negatives are the inconsistent acting of Zooey Deschanel and the ubrupt, anticlimactic ending. Other than those two complaints, everything else just...well...gelled. If anything, it may have been rushed a tad, but maybe I was so engrossed and laughing so hard that it just seemed to past by quickly. All in all, it was a very intriguing and fantastical adventure. I hope for more.

8.5/10


P.S. iv3rdawG, a review doesn't need the summary of the entire film. :rolleyes:

[fineus fog]

Just saw this film last night so here is my review.

Having no knowledge aprt from a basic understanding of the plot, I found this film to be one of the most entertaingly silly (IN A GOOD WAY) films I have seen in a long time.
The casting is great - Martin Freeman does go a bit Tim every now and then but just seems to play the "everyman" so well.
I am a huge Sam Rockwell fan so felt he did absolutely no wrong but to some he could get a bit annoying, but thats the point I think. Mos Def was great as well but I did have truoble understanding his dialogue (could be the cinema rather than his voice?)
Th e effects in this film were amazing - George Lucas should be taking notes but I guess its too late - the animatronic Vogons are so mucvh better than CGI monsters - they felel so much more realistic, plus the CG work is outstanding.
Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable film - but the humour is very British so not quite sure how it will get on in some countries.
Best moment: the falling whale had me in tears of laughter!

8/10

[neo5595]

This movie did start off promising, but went completely down hill afterwards. This was a terrible movie. It wasnt funny, intersting, or dazzling. This was utter trash. Nothing made me laugh. nothing at all. I didnt care for the stupid plot either. everything was just so terrible. I ended up walking out at the part when the mice want his brain or something.

score: 0/10

[poashaggy69]

Wow...that's a little harsh.

[neo5595]

Im sorry, but I felt the movie to be a complete ledown.

[halo7]

REALLY harsh..

[darthspielberg]

neo...did you read the books? because if you haven't I could see not liking it.

anyway. I just bought the soundtrack. If you like the books, the movie, or just like good movie scores, buy it. Great.

[Drizzt240]

I have a feeling I won't like this movie either.

[poeman]

movie wasnt good at all.. some good scenes but a bad film and i walked out... i never really walk out.

[neo5595]

likewise. I never walk out of movies, but this was just too painful to sit through.


neo...did you read the books? because if you haven't I could see not liking it.
no, i didnt read the books.

[poeman]

i read the 1st book not the other 2... but this was getting too lame after a while.
like i enjoyed some parts to it then iw as like forget it ill just go sneak into kung fu hustle... thatw as a great movie

[fineus fog]

I def think that the british humour is alienating some people!!!!
If you find Monty Python stupid - you'll feel the same about this

[neo5595]

well there you go. I hated Monty Python.

[Fanible]

well there you go. I hated Monty Python.

*cries*

[Cloud Buster]

This movie did start off promising, but went completely down hill afterwards. This was a terrible movie. It wasnt funny, intersting, or dazzling. This was utter trash. Nothing made me laugh. nothing at all. I didnt care for the stupid plot either. everything was just so terrible. I ended up walking out at the part when the mice want his brain or something.

score: 0/10

There's a "harsh review", and then there's this. Your 'review' and subsequent rating of "0/10" gives you very little credibility.

[JBond]

*psssst* He doesn't like Monty Python ;)

He must be one of 'dem "intelectuals."

[Brock Landers]

Im sorry, but I felt the movie to be a complete ledown.

Ironic from someone who has "neo" as part of their screenname.




Movie: 8/10

[darthspielberg]

:lol:

Brock, you never fail to entertain. That was hilarious.

[Frizzo the Clown]

*psssst* He doesn't like Monty Python ;)

He must be one of 'dem "intelectuals."
I love Monty Python. I love the books. Personally, I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

[cg124]

Ironic from someone who has "neo" as part of their screenname.




Movie: 8/10


:funny:


you rule!

[Boiiinng]

I actually don't like Monty Python, never really cared for that type of humor.

BUT, I loved Hitchhiker! To me it wasn't anything like Monty Python. Nothing was out of place or meaningless. Everything flowed together like a well-built machine.

[iv3rdawG]

BUT, I loved Hitchhiker! To me it wasn't anything like Monty Python. Nothing was out of place or meaningless. Everything flowed together like a well-built machine.
ya, same for me

[Moridin]

This movie did start off promising, but went completely down hill afterwards. This was a terrible movie. It wasnt funny, intersting, or dazzling. This was utter trash. Nothing made me laugh. nothing at all. I didnt care for the stupid plot either. everything was just so terrible. I ended up walking out at the part when the mice want his brain or something.

score: 0/10
Τhis is a sad, sad review.

[neo5595]

I knew I would get bashed pretty badly. My review may seem stupid to you guys, but its how I felt about the movie. And to tell you guys the truth, I saw it with 3 of my friends and they were the ones who wanted to walk out before I did. Not to mention there was about 30 other people in the theatre, and not one of them laughed or anything. The theatre was dead silent all the way through. Anyway, I'd appreciate if you guys can just respect my opinion.

[Moridin]

I knew I would get bashed pretty badly. My review may seem stupid to you guys, but its how I felt about the movie. And to tell you guys the truth, I saw it with 3 of my friends and they were the ones who wanted to walk out before I did. Not to mention there was about 30 other people in the theatre, and not one of them laughed or anything. The theatre was dead silent all the way through. Anyway, I'd appreciate if you guys can just respect my opinion.
Υou just did a review with nothing to back up *why* it was humourless, boring and stupid. Just because the audience at your cinema is humourless, doesn't mean your review gets any more support.
Oh, and I'd never walk out of a movie just because my friends wanted to.

[neo5595]

Because I admit that I suck at reviewing movies. And I meant that my friends wanted to walk out of the movie earlier, but I said no, and eventually agreed with them. Torwards the end we all wanted to leave.

[Moridin]

Because I admit that I suck at reviewing movies. And I meant that my friends wanted to walk out of the movie earlier, but I said no, and eventually agreed with them. Torwards the end we all wanted to leave.
Then, if you admit that you suck at making reviews, and then you go ahead and put zero on a film that many, many fans of the books adore, you deserve all the flaming you'll get.

[neo5595]

Then, if you admit that you suck at making reviews, and then you go ahead and put zero on a film that many, many fans of the books adore, you deserve all the flaming you'll get.
Fine. Bash me all you want, but you wont get anything acomplished. Im probably not even gonna come back to this thread anyway.

[Moridin]

I didn't bash you, nor I'm planning to do so. I'm talking about other people who might be offended by your review.

[halo7]

I was thinking the only thing you could give a 0 out of 10 would be nothing at all.

[neo5595]

I didn't bash you, nor I'm planning to do so. I'm talking about other people who might be offended by your review.
well you said I deserve all the flaming I'll get. You may not bash me, but others will. Therefore, I'll just stay away from this thread for a while.

[Frizzo the Clown]

Is it even fair to really rate a movie that you didn't watch all of?

[neo5595]

I walked out when there was 10 minutes left. I dont think I missed much.

[FilmJerk]

so you really didnt walk out of the movie if you pretty much watched it all

[neo5595]

Does it really matter? The fact is, is that I didnt enjoy the movie at all.

[WuTical]

I shall be seeing this tomorrow...hopefully it isnt as bad as some people are making it out to be

[darthspielberg]

neo is entitled to walk out, and give a 0/10 review whenever the hell he feels like it. I admit, i don't agree with walking out, something I have never really done, but flaming him is wrong, and should be frowned apon by thine moderators.

neo, you can hate the movie, that is what is cool about the internet, freedom of speech.

[neo5595]

thank you very much darthspielberg for respecting my opinion. And let me also say, that my review shouldnt mean much to anyone. I didnt read the book and I usually dont enjoy movies with this type of humor.

[CapricornDevil]

I've been a huge fan of the series ever since seeing the old version of the film. Since then, I have purchased the book and read it about 5 times. However, I was severely disappointed in the film.

I thought that the acting was decent, but not stellar. In my opinion, Mos Def was all wrong for the part of Ford. However, I did enjoy Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin.

My biggest complaint is that there were so many things that were briefly touched upon, but not explained in enough detail. If you hadn't read the series, as the person I was with hadn't, there was so much to confuse you.

All in all, i think it could have been done so much better.

4/10.

[CapricornDevil]

I didn't bash you, nor I'm planning to do so. I'm talking about other people who might be offended by your review.
If people get offended by a movie review, they have a sad, pathetic life.

[moviechild]

Th e effects in this film were amazing - George Lucas should be taking notes but I guess its too late - the animatronic Vogons are so mucvh better than CGI monsters - they felel so much more realistic, plus the CG work is outstanding.

8/10

Are you kidding? As I watched the film,I was thinking that the producers should have hired ILM. But I realized that is one of the films strengths-the cheesy effects are part of the charm and it worked for the film.

[FaceOff]

Then, if you admit that you suck at making reviews, and then you go ahead and put zero on a film that many, many fans of the books adore, you deserve all the flaming you'll get.


Just because he sucks at reviewing doesn't mean he can't give it that score. I can't write good reviews. So I will give movies I watch just a score. But in person I can tell you all about it. So because so MANY people adore it he's not going to give it a bad grade?

[CapricornDevil]

*edit*

Never mind.

[Moridin]

Eh, don't bother questioning him. Moridin rarely makes any sense.
I'm sorry, when did I give you the right to comment on me or when I make sense or not, especially when I'm not present?
FaceOff, I didn't say he didn't have a right to give that score. I'm just saying that a bad review needs to be justified even more than a good review does. If you're going to say a movie deserved a zero, which, is in my opinion, nonsense, because no film deserves a zero, you might as well attempt to justify it. If he just says it sucked, all those people who loved it are going to attack him.

[iv3rdawG]

because no film deserves a zero,
.... Have you seen Superbabies baby geniuses 2?

[Moridin]

No, can't say I have.

[droidguy1119]

I'm sorry, when did I give you the right to comment on me or when I make sense or not, especially when I'm not present?
FaceOff, I didn't say he didn't have a right to give that score. I'm just saying that a bad review needs to be justified even more than a good review does. If you're going to say a movie deserved a zero, which, is in my opinion, nonsense, because no film deserves a zero, you might as well attempt to justify it. If he just says it sucked, all those people who loved it are going to attack him.

"Manos," the Hands of Fate has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It in fact has no neutral qualities either. The entire movie is just a seemingly endless string of the worst filmmaking you've ever seen, even worse than the worst home movie. So "Manos" deserves, in reality, far worse than a zero.

That aside, neo, even if you don't think you're a good reviewer, you can't just say "it sucked, I didn't laugh" and then repeat yourself in various ways (i.e. "it was lame, I found it unfunny") to make a paragraph, give the movie a zero, and expect us to respect your opinion because there isn't one there. Even just a bulleted list of things you especially didn't like would be a massive improvement. The real point is that you can't expect to not explain your score AT ALL and not have people get mad. It doesn't matter if it's eloquent or formal or even well-worded, completely accurate, or whatever. You just have to at least TRY to explain WHY you didn't like the movie as opposed to whether or not you didn't like it.

[Moridin]

All right, allow me to rephrase. Any movie that came to cinemas and was not mocked by MST3K doesn't deserve a zero. OF COURSE, there are exceptions. Happy now? :P

[neo5595]

"Manos," the Hands of Fate has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It in fact has no neutral qualities either. The entire movie is just a seemingly endless string of the worst filmmaking you've ever seen, even worse than the worst home movie. So "Manos" deserves, in reality, far worse than a zero.

That aside, neo, even if you don't think you're a good reviewer, you can't just say "it sucked, I didn't laugh" and then repeat yourself in various ways (i.e. "it was lame, I found it unfunny") to make a paragraph, give the movie a zero, and expect us to respect your opinion because there isn't one there. Even just a bulleted list of things you especially didn't like would be a massive improvement. The real point is that you can't expect to not explain your score AT ALL and not have people get mad. It doesn't matter if it's eloquent or formal or even well-worded, completely accurate, or whatever. You just have to at least TRY to explain WHY you didn't like the movie as opposed to whether or not you didn't like it.Theres nothing to explain! There wasnt one part of the movie I liked. What do you expect me to do? List everything I dont like? Then I'd have to list every scene from the movie.

[eclipsedman]

Great movie, if you don't laugh at parts of this film then you gotta be a sad person. 9/10

Neo did your gf dump you, a familymember die or anothjer terrible thing happen to you because I can't see how you did not enjoy any part of Hitchhikers.

[neo5595]

Great movie, if you don't laugh at parts of this film then you gotta be a sad person. 9/10
I dont feel sad.

[eclipsedman]

I edited my review for you Neo

[neo5595]

nope, nothin terrible has happened :).

[eclipsedman]

Thats a good thing, oh well I guess everyone can't enjoy every film they see.

[poashaggy69]

I don't like the fact that you came on here, said 0/10, say "my review shouldnt mean much to anyone", therefore pretty much saying that no one should care about your review. Then, why post your review online? And then continue to defend it? If you really want people to care about what you think, don't automatically assume that we don't care about your opinion, because people get mad over 10/10s, and people get mad over 0/10s...it happens! But your opinion does matter! And if you are having self doubt whether other respect your opinion, either don't post it, or do post it, but don't say that it shouldn't mean anything man! We just want to know WHY!

Hey man I liked the film, but I'm not gonna hate you because YOU didn't like it! :)

[Inferno]

Disappointing. 5/10 (at best 6/10)

I've seperated my review into 2 parts - From a film critic perspective and from a adptation perspective

Film critic perspective

This is Gareth Jennings first outing as a film director....and it shows. The scenes just fail to get you excited in the plot or interested in the characters. This is a major pitty, as the effects are wonderful. The visuals you feel are great, but somehow you're left not really caring if we're seeing an Earth 2 being made - it feels dull. The casting you also feel is spot on, but none of them really get a chance to shine in their roles. The camera keeps its distance from all of them and you never really get drawn into Arthurs amazing new world. You should be rooting for him or feeling sorry for him, or something, but you just don't. You're at best only vaguely interested.

The story gets confusing. Why are they after Zaphod? Because he's been kidnapped, but then he isn't, but he is? It feels they've struggled to find a reason to have some "bad guys", but then after coming up with an idea, they've abandoned it half way through. Didn't understand the suggestive love interest with Zaphod either.

The movie does have some funny moments, but just not enough. And perhaps more of a drawback is that even if it lacks the ha-ha moments it also lacks even capturing your sense of fun and adventure.

Adaptation perspective

As an adaptation of Adam's work the movie fails on a different level. I was looking froward to see the changes they've made as I thought these would help give the plot more of a direction, making it have more of a beginning and end (which the source material could have done with). But it doesn't. If anything it makes it more directionless than the original series. The biggest departures from the source material really add nothing and seem like a pointless diversion.

The Guide is sorely underused in the second half of the film. Considering the insights the book gives are perhaps the most enjoyable parts of the source material, this was a major mistake.

A bigger mistake however is the editing down substantially of your favourite lines. For example, in the scene where Arhtur is lying in front of the bulldozer to stop his house being knocked down, the original material gave his description of the location of the plans as follows:

"But the plans were on display..."
"On display? I had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a torch."
"Ah, well the lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard."

However, in the movie we're simple given "I had to go down to the basement." The entire joke is missing.

Other amusing lines are distracted by flashy action of the screen, or drowned out by other sounds. You feel major let down after let down as you realise another one of your favourite gags is missed entirely or changed into something that rips out the irony of the comments. Or when they are there often the timing on the jokes is totally messed up.

Many of the lines are quickly spoken through as though there only there to keep the vague connection to the source material - A sort of, "oh yeah, we better put in another quote from the book, otherwise we won't be able to keep the name Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".

The flashbacks to Deep Thought are pitiful. They fail to capture the significance of the event.
Marvin is ok, but you barely feel he's there. Having a literal big head was a mistake.
Zaphod's second head is also annoying.

Overall

A major let down from both a fan and non-fans perspective. It has some good moments (you will be humming the dolphin song for days to come), but is overshadowed by rushed or messed up lines and a confusing plot.

[iv3rdawG]

way to go poa!

[neo5595]

I don't like the fact that you came on here, said 0/10, say "my review shouldnt mean much to anyone", therefore pretty much saying that no one should care about your review. Then, why post your review online? And then continue to defend it? If you really want people to care about what you think, don't automatically assume that we don't care about your opinion, because people get mad over 10/10s, and people get mad over 0/10s...it happens! But your opinion does matter! And if you are having self doubt whether other respect your opinion, either don't post it, or do post it, but don't say that it shouldn't mean anything man! We just want to know WHY!

Hey man I liked the film, but I'm not gonna hate you because YOU didn't like it! :)
fair enought. I give up. Your right. :)

[Glordreen]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A Review by Joekool
for theearnestparker.tripod.com

Director- Garth Jennings
Cast- Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy
Rated PG: for theamatic elements, action and mild language
Running time- 110 min.


I had no idea what this was when I first saw the trailer a few months ago. And after doing some reasearch I came to find it was based on a book by Douglas Adams, whom I had never heard of. I read a press review saying that there were some jokes that only people who have read the book would get, and I was fraid of that going in, having of course not read the book. Now, I would like to say to those press people..."You are idiots!"

I got all the jokes, I got all the fun, I got all the action, I got everything. Hithhikers Guide to the Galaxy is the most fun I have had at a movie this year. It is funny, full of adventure, and comes along with a very intersting story.

Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up one morning and finds ot that his best friend ? (Mos Def) is actually from another planet, and now he unkowingly is going to leave with him, beacuse Earth is being destroyed to make way for an space express way. After the two successfully Hitchhike aboard another ship, the earth is destroyed and the two are sent on an adventure packed journey through the universe, encountering many abstract characters such as Zapfold (Sam Rockwell) and the Vogons, a big fat race of aliens who are challenged by a lack of emotion.

The acting is great, not the best, but enough to note as a good point. Martin Freeman gives the standout performance as Aurthur dent, and the rest of the cast supports his charcter with great...well, character.

The depressed android Marvin, voiced by Alan Rickman, was funny at first, but then after a while his one liners became increasingly annoying. At the end I just wished he woul not talk anymore, and shut his metal mouth (he didnt have a mouth actually)

Despite that character and some other very minor flaws, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a gigantically fun movie for all ages. It has the qualities of a very good popcorn flick, with an extra pinch of superbness. You do not have to read the book to enjoy it, thats for sure. The best movie of the year so far (April 29th).

Good Points
-A great and interesting and story
-Great cast
-Cool characters
-A fun Adventure

Bad Points
-Android Marvin's annoying oneliners

Rating- 9/10

[gamepro]

Ebert & Roeper gave this movie thumbs down

[JBond]

I love Monty Python. I love the books. Personally, I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

So do I, why did you quote my post when saying that? ;)

[Drizzt240]

I bet I will hate this movie.

[Fanible]

I bet I will hate this movie.

Yeah... got that the first time you said it.

[Moridin]

Bad Points
-Android Marvin's annoying oneliners
You have to read the books to truly appreciate Marvin. :P

[iv3rdawG]

I guess me, and a couple of other people only liked Marvins voice and his one liners, or was it just me?? :confused:

[NitWit]

I liked marvins voice and one liners, but i liked a lot of other things as well.

[Frizzo the Clown]

So do I, why did you quote my post when saying that? ;)
I honestly have no idea. ;)

[Frizzo the Clown]

Ebert & Roeper gave this movie thumbs down
I saw that. They did however, also point out that they weren't at all familiar with any of the source material. I've noticed that there is a near perfect division of good and bad reviews among people who have read the book, and those that haven't. Seems that most people that have read the books loved it, and those that haven't read them have hated it. I haven't seen it yet though, so I can't say. Its just an observation though.

[darthspielberg]

You have to read the books to truly appreciate Marvin. :P
or watch the movie with someone who is exactly like marvin (not kidding), but reading the book helps as well.

[Moridin]

or watch the movie with someone who is exactly like marvin (not kidding), but reading the book helps as well.
You're not serious. That must be a horrible friend. :P

[fantasticfour40]

Ebert & Roeper gave this movie thumbs down

No kidding, I can see where there coming from but I still like the movie.

[smokingelf]

It was an alright movie nothing really special. I would give it 6 out of 10. A little above average of a movie. Had it's moments.

[RonStopablefan3]

Ok I never read the books but after seeing the movie I might just be picking up a volume today. I loved the movie it was brilliant share brilliant. The little robot dude made me laugh so had threw the movie; I didn't mind the voice I thought it was perfect matching. Arthur was a great character one of my favorite characters in fact out of the whole movie and the President guy cracked me up, sorry I don't know all of the names of each character so it did confuse me some what. I didn't really like the Dolphins singing in the beginning I thought we could have done without that part. The mice in the end that made me laugh out loud so hard. Well when I went to see the movie there wasn't anyone in the entire theater I was shocked, so I was afraid that I wasn't going to like it since there wasn't anyone in the theater. Oddly enough everyone went to go see XXX which was weird; well that's what I thought anyways. I didn't like how they introduced his alien buddy, almost getting hit by car from wanting to make friends with it was funny, but I thought it was a little strange. The girl don't remember her name either sorry Arthur's girlfriend lol I guess well she was a good character but I thought it was odd that she just said yes to the President guy after he said he had a space ship??? I would have thought that guy was wacko if I were her and said no. Over all I loved the movie, and would watch it again if I didn't want to see Star Wars Three but I do and am not a millionaire so I can't spend all of my money lol. Oh I hope there is a sequel too, any one know whether or not there will be one thanks.

[Moridin]

A piece of advice when you're watching anything that has to do with the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Search for every bit of logic in your brain.
Delete it.

[phantomstranger]

Great movie, great movie, great movie!

[JBond]

A piece of advice when you're watching anything that has to do with the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Search for every bit of logic in your brain.
Delete it.

Well...maybe in a sense.

But to say anything to do with HGTG doesn't need your brain woudl be a terrible thing to say. I love the series of books cause of the wonderful, creative scientific ideas he uses. The machine that kills you by showing you how small you really are in the universe by showing you everything comes to mind.

[Fanible]

Well...maybe in a sense.

But to say anything to do with HGTG doesn't need your brain woudl be a terrible thing to say. I love the series of books cause of the wonderful, creative scientific ideas he uses. The machine that kills you by showing you how small you really are in the universe by showing you everything comes to mind.

Exactly. I think you actually need a brain to actually read and enjoy the series.

[DieselPower]

^Yeah. There's alotta things in the movie that can make you think...like the whale and the plant pot falling from the sky...and they show what they were thinkin. That brings us to reincarnation...isnt that the main story/plot?

[droidguy1119]

Here is a passage from the book I was using to really nail down what Hitchhiker's Guide is like. It's shortened in the movie, so you can also get a feel for how the book will be better than it...

The Infinite Improbability Drive is a wonderful new method of crossing vast interstellar distances in a mere nothingth of a second, without all that tedious mucking about in hyperspace.

It was discovered by a lucky chance, and then developed into a governable form of propulsion by the Galactic Government's research team on Damogran.

This, briefly, is the story of its discovery.

The principle of generating small amounts of finite improbability by simply hooking the logic circuits of a Bambleweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain to an atomic vector plotter suspended in a strong Brownian Motion producer (say a nice hot cup of tea) were of course well understood -- and such generators were often used to break the ice at parties by making all the molecules in the hostess's undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance with the Theory of Indeterminacy.

Many respectable physicists said that they weren't going to stand for this, partly because it was a debasement of science, but mostly because they didn't get invited to those sorts of parties.

Another thing they couldn't stand was the perpetual failure they encountered in trying to construct a machine which could generate the infinite improbability field needed to flip a spaceship across the mind-paralyzing-distances between the farthest stars, and in the end they grumpily announced that such a machine was virtually impossible.

Then, one day, a student who had been left to sweep up the lab after a particularly unsucessful party found himself reasoning this way:

If, he thought to himself, such a machine was a virtual impossibility, then it must logically be a finite improbability. So all I have to do in order to make one is to work out exactly how improbable it is, feed that figure into the finite improbability generator, give it a fresh cup of hot tea...and turn it on!

He did this, and was rather startled to discover that he had managed to create the long-sought-after golden Infinite Improbability generator out of thin air.

It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable scientists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn't stand was a smart-ass.

[Moridin]

Well...maybe in a sense.

But to say anything to do with HGTG doesn't need your brain woudl be a terrible thing to say. I love the series of books cause of the wonderful, creative scientific ideas he uses. The machine that kills you by showing you how small you really are in the universe by showing you everything comes to mind.
I did not say delete your mental capabilities. I said delete 'logic' in the sense of the word that *we* know it.

[JBond]

OK, I wasn't sure.

Another thing that comes to mind as very inteliigent was in "Mostly Harmless" I think. The Guide 2.0 that first does a callibration on the reader to find out how many dimensions a person is in, which way through time they are going, etc. Anyone who's read that should know what I'm talking about.

[Moridin]

A question I've posted before: Based on the end of this film, the earth is back. How on earth are they gonna make The Restaurant at the end of the Universe?

[JBond]

The Earth comes back? What??

[Moridin]

The Earth comes back? What??
That's what...was it droidguy, can't remember...says in his review. Haven't seen the film yet, myself. (Shame on me)

EDITED: It was Cloud Buster, on page 3.

[DieselPower]

A question I've posted before: Based on the end of this film, the earth is back. How on earth are they gonna make The Restaurant at the end of the Universe?
Isn't it on a different planet...and even galaxy?

edit- you're prolly reffering to The Restaurant from the book...I haven't read it. :redface:

[Moridin]

Isn't it on a different planet...and even galaxy?
Which one?

[DieselPower]

Which one?
I just based my answer from what I know of the movie. Which is that it's not on Earth Mark II.

[Moridin]

Ah well, I won't know 'til I watch it, I guess.

[droidguy1119]

The way it works in the books, from what I remember, is this: Earth Mark II is in the books, even the first one, but it doesn't get completed because the mice don't get Arthur's brain and therefore can't complete the program. The tea bit in the movie happens in the middle of nowhere, probably somewhere within the planet factory on Magrathea, but I haven't read that part of the book in awhile and I also lent out both copies of the book so I don't have it to look at. In any case, however, I can't remember anything in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe that requires the Earth to not exist during that time.

[Moridin]

The way it works in the books, from what I remember, is this: Earth Mark II is in the books, even the first one, but it doesn't get completed because the mice don't get Arthur's brain and therefore can't complete the program. The tea bit in the movie happens in the middle of nowhere, probably somewhere within the planet factory on Magrathea, but I haven't read that part of the book in awhile and I also lent out both copies of the book so I don't have it to look at. In any case, however, I can't remember anything in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe that requires the Earth to not exist during that time.
Well, the futility of the Earth's existence is what drives Ford and Arthur a bit mad towards the end of the second book, when Ford yells at the Golganfrinchans (sp?) that they only have two million years, and Arthur tries to teach the primitives but finds it futile etc etc

[DieselPower]

The way it works in the books, from what I remember, is this: Earth Mark II is in the books, even the first one, but it doesn't get completed because the mice don't get Arthur's brain and therefore can't complete the program. The tea bit in the movie happens in the middle of nowhere, probably somewhere within the planet factory on Magrathea, but I haven't read that part of the book in awhile and I also lent out both copies of the book so I don't have it to look at. In any case, however, I can't remember anything in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe that requires the Earth to not exist during that time.
I'm gonna correct my previous post and say that's it wasn't on Earth Mark II, and it's definately not on Earth since it was destroyed.

[Fanible]

It's not on either Earth. Earth being there or gone won't make any difference for them going to the Resturaunt at the End of the Universe.

The resturaunt itself I thought was literally at the end of the universe, like it was a play on words. It's way out on the side of the universe and also is the resturaunt that 'watches' the end of the universe. Everyone goes to this far out resturaunt to watch the Universe's destruction, but right before it destroys the resturaunt itself everyone disperses back to their own period of time.

I'm confused why there being the Earth 2, that they suddenly can't go to it.

[Moridin]

It's not on either Earth. Earth being there or gone won't make any difference for them going to the Resturaunt at the End of the Universe.

The resturaunt itself I thought was literally at the end of the universe, like it was a play on words. It's way out on the side of the universe and also is the resturaunt that 'watches' the end of the universe. Everyone goes to this far out resturaunt to watch the Universe's destruction, but right before it destroys the resturaunt itself everyone disperses back to their own period of time.

I'm confused why there being the Earth 2, that they suddenly can't go to it.
I wasn't talking about where the Restaurant was. I was just saying that there would be trouble storyline-wise.

[Fanible]

I wasn't talking about where the Restaurant was. I was just saying that there would be trouble storyline-wise.

Like I just said, I'm confused why there being an Earth 2, that they suddenly can't go.

[RonStopablefan3]

Yah well I didn't even know there was a book series called The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy till the movie came out. Now that I know the movie is really good I want to read the entire book series and hope there's a sequel so anyone know if there will be one?

[Inferno]

I saw that. They did however, also point out that they weren't at all familiar with any of the source material. I've noticed that there is a near perfect division of good and bad reviews among people who have read the book, and those that haven't. Seems that most people that have read the books loved it, and those that haven't read them have hated it. I haven't seen it yet though, so I can't say. Its just an observation though.

I don't agree to that. In fact I'd say it's more likely if you had read the books you will NOT like the movie, but if you're unfamilar with the source material you may just like the movie.

[Fanible]

I don't agree to that. In fact I'd say it's more likely if you had read the books you will NOT like the movie, but if you're unfamilar with the source material you may just like the movie.

He's going by the majority of the opinions, with his opinion. More people that have read the books (or have enjoyed some form of the source material) have liked the movie than those who havn't.

[WuTical]

saw the movie today...pretty good...(3.5 out of 5)

[bbf2]

I didn't really understand what was going on with Zaphod's head thing. At first, he had to hide it underneath his other head because they wanted a president with only one head, so what did he do to his brain, then?

And then later Humma Kavula removes his lower head and thus half of his brain?

I didn't really understand what was going on.

[droidguy1119]

I didn't really understand what was going on with Zaphod's head thing. At first, he had to hide it underneath his other head because they wanted a president with only one head, so what did he do to his brain, then?

And then later Humma Kavula removes his lower head and thus half of his brain?

I didn't really understand what was going on.

It's probably the biggest element in terms of how much of it is in the movie that the movie used the worst. Read the book, if you haven't. If you have, then it's just the movie not making sense.

[darthspielberg]

yeah. Reading the book helps alot.

[bbf2]

It's probably the biggest element in terms of how much of it is in the movie that the movie used the worst. Read the book, if you haven't. If you have, then it's just the movie not making sense.

No, I've read the books. It just seemed like they changed it a bit in the movie and I couldn't tell what was going on.

[Tony99905]

I honestly think this is one of the best movies i have ever seen. there is action, comedy, science fiction. all of the characters are cool and everything. i like the idea of the people who build the planets. whoever wrote this book and directed the movie, they were great.

But damn that ultimate question is bugging me, i want to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i give this movie a 9.5 out of 10

[John Hartigan]

Movie- B+; 7/10; ***/**** (Pick whichever rating system you like ;))

I'm not going to review it, and I'm not going to ***** about it. There are plenty of reviews here already, and everything I thought was good or bad has been brought up previously.

Question- Was there a scene during/after the credits? If there was, could someone be so kind as to tell me what it was? Thanks :)

"Arthur, I'm sorry about your Spaceship." :D

[Cloud Buster]

Question- Was there a scene during/after the credits? If there was, could someone be so kind as to tell me what it was?

Yes, about halfway through the credits there is a bonus Hitchhiker's Guide entry titled "Careless Talk". Here is the quote from the BOOK from which this entry was based, only a bit trimmed down in the movie (and referred to one of Arthur's last lines, "I wouldn't want to go anywhere without my precious towel"):

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated.

For instance, at the very moment that Arthur said, 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle,' a freak wormhole opened up in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried his words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of a frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time.

A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvuntt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green sweet-smelling steam, and, with a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, challenged the vile creature to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in his sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words, 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle' drifted across the conference table.

Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries.

Eventually, of course, after their galaxy had been decimated over a few thousand years, it was realised that the whole thing had been a ghastly mistake, and so the two opposing battle fleets settled their few remaining differences in order to launch a joint attack on our own galaxy---now positively identified as the source of the offending remark.

For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across---which happened to be Earth---where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.

Those who study the complex interplay of cause and effect in the history of the universe say that this sort of thing is going on all the time, but that we are powerless to prevent it.

'It's just life,' they say.

[Cloud Buster]

But damn that ultimate question is bugging me, i want to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you really, REALLY want to know....here:

The Ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything to which the answer is "42", is: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?". As you are probably aware, 6x9 does not equal 42, indicating that there is something seriously and fundamentally wrong with the universe.

[JBond]

No, no, no. The real answer is that you can not know the question and the answer at the same time. If you already know the answer, than it's too late ;)

[Inferno]

Fortunately I've seen God's final message to his creations and therefore everything now makes sense.

[JBond]

Ah yes, God's final message to the people...was that in "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish"?

Went something like: Sorry for any inconvience

[Frizzo the Clown]

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/images/getfuzzy21464860050502.gif

[CapricornDevil]

http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/images/getfuzzy21464860050502.gif
I love that his shirt says "6x9=42." :lol:

[John Hartigan]

Yes, about halfway through the credits there is a bonus Hitchhiker's Guide entry titled "Careless Talk". Here is the quote from the BOOK from which this entry was based, only a bit trimmed down in the movie (and referred to one of Arthur's last lines, "I wouldn't want to go anywhere without my precious towel"):

It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated.

For instance, at the very moment that Arthur said, 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle,' a freak wormhole opened up in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried his words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of a frightful interstellar battle.

The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time.

A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl'hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G'Gugvuntt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green sweet-smelling steam, and, with a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, challenged the vile creature to take back what it had said about his mother.

The creature stirred in his sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words, 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle' drifted across the conference table.

Unfortunately, in the Vl'hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries.

Eventually, of course, after their galaxy had been decimated over a few thousand years, it was realised that the whole thing had been a ghastly mistake, and so the two opposing battle fleets settled their few remaining differences in order to launch a joint attack on our own galaxy---now positively identified as the source of the offending remark.

For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across---which happened to be Earth---where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.

Those who study the complex interplay of cause and effect in the history of the universe say that this sort of thing is going on all the time, but that we are powerless to prevent it.

'It's just life,' they say.
Cheers :D

[Chiakier]

Who's the babe in this movie , the one who wears the blue catsuit?

[Tony99905]

dude neo5595,
i dunno wut ur problem is but this movie has got to be one of the best movies i hav ever seen, i just cant believe how someone cant like it

i give it a 10/10

awesome effects, many characters, a lot of personalities, and many other things, u should be ashamed of yourself

[JBond]

Well I finally saw it and boy am I relieved, I loved it. I give it a 9/10. I'm not sure how people coudl say it wasn't funny but I guess it may not be their kind of comedy. I loved the sound of the bowl of petunias crashing on the right side of the theater, I loved that the rocks in the west had to be painted red, and I loved that Ford cursed "Belgium". I pray they make "Resturant at the End of the Universe"

[JBond]

Who's the babe in this movie , the one who wears the blue catsuit?

You mean Trillian? Zooey Deschanel?

[Inferno]

I loved that the rocks in the west had to be painted red,

That's Uluru (aka Ayres Rock). It's in the middle of Australia. It's a giant rock that appears to change colour in the sunset. It's day time colour is red.

[obsessedwithsnl]

I just had the best movie experience ever! I was the only one in the theater, so it really felt like I just got toatlly lost in the movie because there weren't any distractions. I had an absolute blast watching this movie. When that "So long and thanks for all the fish" song started, I knew that it was gonna be an awesome movie.

[poeman]

eh
i cant wait till this friday.. this movie is def gonna slip quick.. i personally cant wait to rewatch crash and see kingdom of heaven and house of wax.. first great weekend of movies coming up

[Aleera_Tristan]

I liked it, i loved that song at the start " so long and thanks for all the fish" I've been singing it all day! :) I thought it was really crazy, i liked it when they was rebuilding earth that was good, the actors were great aswell :):)

[Cloud Buster]

Ah yes, God's final message to the people...was that in "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish"?

Went something like: Sorry for any inconvience

Something like that. It was: We apologise for the invonvienence, written in fire on a mountainside.

[Cloud Buster]

It's not on either Earth. Earth being there or gone won't make any difference for them going to the Resturaunt at the End of the Universe.

The resturaunt itself I thought was literally at the end of the universe, like it was a play on words. It's way out on the side of the universe and also is the resturaunt that 'watches' the end of the universe. Everyone goes to this far out resturaunt to watch the Universe's destruction, but right before it destroys the resturaunt itself everyone disperses back to their own period of time.

I'm confused why there being the Earth 2, that they suddenly can't go to it.

Actually, Milliways (The name of the Restaurant at the End of the Universe) is on Magrathea. Remember, Marvin gets left behind when they all meet Slartibartfast and the mice, and millions upon millions of years later when they're at Milliways, they find out that Marvin is still waiting for them -- only now he's a valet at the Milliways car park. This is explained by the fact that Milliways is actually built on the ruins of Magrathea, and Marvin just never left.

[Sparta*]

I give this movie a 5.5/10

I really didn't enjoy it to much, and found myself looking at my watch one to many times.

[Fanible]

Actually, Milliways (The name of the Restaurant at the End of the Universe) is on Magrathea. Remember, Marvin gets left behind when they all meet Slartibartfast and the mice, and millions upon millions of years later when they're at Milliways, they find out that Marvin is still waiting for them -- only now he's a valet at the Milliways car park. This is explained by the fact that Milliways is actually built on the ruins of Magrathea, and Marvin just never left.

Hm, yeah, that would be a sad conclusion that won't happen atleast I suppose.

[Moridin]

Actually, Milliways (The name of the Restaurant at the End of the Universe) is on Magrathea. Remember, Marvin gets left behind when they all meet Slartibartfast and the mice, and millions upon millions of years later when they're at Milliways, they find out that Marvin is still waiting for them -- only now he's a valet at the Milliways car park. This is explained by the fact that Milliways is actually built on the ruins of Magrathea, and Marvin just never left.
No, that is wrong. I'm guessing you haven't read Book two in a while. Milliways is not on Magrathea. Milliways is on Frogstar II, the planet where Zaphod is taken in Zarniwoop's universe in order to be supposedly put in the Total Perspective Vortex, but is actually meant to lead Zarniwoop to where the man who rules the universe is. He escapes Zarniwoop and goes into the Heart of Gold, asking Eddie the Computer to take him to the nearest place to eat. Eddie does precisely so, moving them nowhere *in space* but millions of years in the future, where Frogstar II is now the rock where Milliways is caught in a continuous time vortex in which guests can witness the End of the Universe. *That's* where Marvin is left.

[JBond]

So...it could still be used if they make a second movie?

[Moridin]

Technically... Yes, yes it could. :)

[Cloud Buster]

No, that is wrong. I'm guessing you haven't read Book two in a while. Milliways is not on Magrathea. Milliways is on Frogstar II, the planet where Zaphod is taken in Zarniwoop's universe in order to be supposedly put in the Total Perspective Vortex, but is actually meant to lead Zarniwoop to where the man who rules the universe is. He escapes Zarniwoop and goes into the Heart of Gold, asking Eddie the Computer to take him to the nearest place to eat. Eddie does precisely so, moving them nowhere *in space* but millions of years in the future, where Frogstar II is now the rock where Milliways is caught in a continuous time vortex in which guests can witness the End of the Universe. *That's* where Marvin is left.

Ah, well I guess that's how it happens in the book, which I have not read. It happens the way I said in the TV series and the radio play.

[neo5595]

I give this movie a 5.5/10

I really didn't enjoy it to much, and found myself looking at my watch one to many times.
lol. same. half the time i was there, i was watchin the movie. and the other half, I was staring at my watch.

[Moridin]

Ah, well I guess that's how it happens in the book, which I have not read. It happens the way I said in the TV series and the radio play.
Well, I find the book's explanation to be much more practical, don't you think?

[Cloud Buster]

Well, I find the book's explanation to be much more practical, don't you think?

Well...I don't understand how Eddie manages to make the Heart of Gold travel through time.

[Moridin]

Well...I don't understand how Eddie manages to make the Heart of Gold travel through time.
Well, through the Improbability Drive, obviously. It's so improbable that the spaceship could travel through time, that it does.

[spide-ed]

Just seen the movie, was alot of fun.
Nice to see they kept the British sense of humour intact.
Sam Rockwells performance was fantastic, it reminded me slightly of Captain Jack Sparrow in POTC. He didnt even need to say much to make me laugh, fantastic.
I loved Fords obsession with the towell too.
7.5/10

[EnderDeschain]

I never read the books, never knew jack squat about 'em either, and had no idea what I was in for. The movie was pretty good. It was so frickin' far-out and just weird a lot of the time, I loved that. The yarn scene was hilarious. The whole thing was pretty damn funny, but it did get a little slow in spots and kind of draggy. I agree with spide-ed in that Sam Rockwell was hilarious, sometimes without even really doing anything. All in all it was good. 7/10.

[droidguy1119]

Yeah, I kinda doubt Rockwell drunkenly screaming "Humma Kavula" was meant to be as funny as it was when it was written...

[JBond]

I loved how wherever they went, there was a picture of Zaphod somewhere, winking and pointing.

[Moridin]

Ah, one thing that annoyed me, was Zaphod's annoying insistence that everywhere they went it was Magrathea.

[spide-ed]

I loved how wherever they went, there was a picture of Zaphod somewhere, winking and pointing.

he he, yeh

Id vote for him.

[DangerMouse]

Gotta love english humor.

It's either incredibly subtle and dry or just out and out cartoonish and over the top.

I'm not surprised there are people that didn't like it. You either get English humor or you don't. There's no in between.

Personally, I loved this film from beginning til the end. I just wish it was doing better at the box office so they would make "Restaurant". Personally, I thought that was funnier than "Hitchhiker's".

[Chiakier]

Someone post a picture of the girl

[Moridin]

http://fan-sites.org/zooey/4images/data/media/54/gq3.gif

[Chiakier]

http://ffmedia.ign.com/filmforce/image/elf-10-4-sm.jpg

mmm mmm

[JBond]

She didn't do too well in the "Hot or Not" thread...fools ;)

[droidguy1119]

She generally seems to look better in her movies than in photographs.

[CFEaglette]

I'm not surprised there are people that didn't like it. You either get English humor or you don't. There's no in between.


My mother didn't like it, but I don't think she likes British humor.

I really liked it, but I havn't read the book yet(it's on my list of things to read) so I wasn't looking to make sure every specific detail was the same.

[vision_afar]

I finally saw the film yesterday and I enjoyed it a lot. It's a shame they left out some things and changed the others but it's still a fun movie to watch. I absolutely loved Rockwell's Zaphod. I've always imagined him to be like some rock star. Marvin was adorable, and Dent spot on. People complain how Ford's deadpan, but he always seemed like that to me in the books. Trillian was ok.

What I didn't like at all was the way they delt with Zaphod's second head. Humma Kavula is a completely unnecessary character imo. But the most important, why the hell did Arthur and Trillian hook up in the end?! Argh. That's Hollywood.

I hope the movie does good worldwide because I'd still love to see other books made into movies too.

8/10

[Moridin]

Actually, after watching it for the second time, I take everything back about Zaphod. He was brilliant! :D
So, let's start talking Restaurant. What are you guys looking forward to? Personally, I wanna see the Total Perspective Vortex, the Restaurant itself, the Golgafrinchans, and the Guide's home planet!

[droidguy1119]

Hotblack Desiato and the band that crashes into the sun...

[Cloud Buster]

Hotblack Desiato and the band that crashes into the sun...

Ah yes, "Disaster Area" I believe it's called.

[Cloud Buster]

I loved how wherever they went, there was a picture of Zaphod somewhere, winking and pointing.

There's a great picture of Zaphod doing this in the Heart of Gold. If you get a chance the next time you see it, watch carefully in the scene where the Improbability drive turns them to yarn. Look in the spot where the picture is hanging (it's in the background on the right of the screen). It's still there, with the same pose, but it's a picture of Yarn Zaphod!

[Moridin]

There's also a picture of Douglas Adams on the Heart of Gold. And the door handles on Vitvodle 6 are designed to resemble Douglas' nose. :P

[quiksilver022]

I caught 20 minutes of this movie... Was pretty lame. That girl's really unattracive, too.

[JBond]

Take that back!!

Tell me it's not true, droid. Tell me :(

[vision_afar]

So, let's start talking Restaurant. What are you guys looking forward to? Personally, I wanna see the Total Perspective Vortex, the Restaurant itself, the Golgafrinchans, and the Guide's home planet!

Ditto. And the sun dive. Another thing I didn't like about the movie is they went streight to Earth 2 as it was before Earth 1 got destroyed. So on what planet are Ford and Arthur going to crash with those stupid people?

[JBond]

Wasn't that in the past though? Like millions of years ago?

[Moridin]

Yes. Actually, after I've given it some thought, it doesn't affect the storyline at all. The Golgafrinchans will land on a prehistoric Earth, designed by Deep Thought, destroyed by Vogons.

[droidguy1119]

Take that back!!

Tell me it's not true, droid. Tell me :(

Um. It's not true!

[WebMonkey]

I caught 20 minutes of this movie... Was pretty lame. That girl's really unattracive, too.

Thats the stupidest comment i've seen all day... If that your point of view great.. but its wasn't even constructive..

You saw 20mins of a movie and thought it was crap.. well how could you possiably have any opinion having seen less than a quarter of the whole film.

Its like walking into Saving private ryan 20 mins after the beginning and saying that the rest of it was "Lame"...
:confused: :confused: :confused:

And to say that the actress who played Trill is unattracive... HAVE YOU NO EYES TO SEE THE PIC POSTED ABOVE YOU!

[vision_afar]

Wasn't that in the past though? Like millions of years ago?

True, my bad. I've just re-read that part in a book after they steal the ship.

[Boiiinng]

Ditto. And the sun dive. Another thing I didn't like about the movie is they went streight to Earth 2 as it was before Earth 1 got destroyed. So on what planet are Ford and Arthur going to crash with those stupid people?

What I didn't like is how they returned all the life forms to Earth. Even though this is fiction just about everything makes sense except for that. That's not the way it happens in the book is it? I skimmed through the ending one day at the bookstore but didn't find anything that described Earth 2 as being repopulated. It seems they did that for the hollywood happy ending, but it didn't feel right. They should have left the ending with Arthur and Trillian being the only survivors. It would have made a good scene about him being happy the world is back, but still sad that everyone is gone...IMHO.

[vision_afar]

As far as I remember Earth 2 was only half finished when Arthur got there.

[Moridin]

What I didn't like is how they returned all the life forms to Earth. Even though this is fiction just about everything makes sense except for that. That's not the way it happens in the book is it? I skimmed through the ending one day at the bookstore but didn't find anything that described Earth 2 as being repopulated. It seems they did that for the hollywood happy ending, but it didn't feel right. They should have left the ending with Arthur and Trillian being the only survivors. It would have made a good scene about him being happy the world is back, but still sad that everyone is gone...IMHO.
Check out So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish. Everyone's back in Earth Mark II.

[D*A*N]

I saw it this weekend. I did not read the book but I knew it would be a "different" movie going into it. Some of it was a little confusing and seemed pointless, but all film adaptations have to divert from the books I guess. Overall I thought it was worth the price of admission and a good way to spend a saturday night.

[Alexander JL]

Question. Is the movie an adaptation of all five novels? The first two novels? Or just the first novel?

[JBond]

Just the first book, they even mention the second book at the end of the movie.

[DangerMouse]

Anyone heard how its doing at the box office?

They "kind of" left it open for a sequel, but I wonder if its made enough money to warrent one.

Its gotta be cleaning up in the UK. I'm not so sure about the US though.

[DangerMouse]

I love answering my own questions. :D

According to Yahoo, in 3 weeks of release, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has made $43,516,918 after opening at #1 the week of it's release.

Its currently ranked #7.

In the UK it's currently ranked #2 after taking in a total of 8,682,307 pounds in its 3rd week of release. It opened at #1 as well.

I'll bet they make "Restaurant".

[vision_afar]

It costed $50 millions. But I don't know if that includes marketing expenses.

[DangerMouse]

In its first 3 weeks of release, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has made $59,476,060 in US dollars.

(8,682,307 in UK pounds = $15,959,142 in US dollars)

$15,959,142 (UK gross) + $43,516,918 (US gross) = $59,476,060

If the budget was $50mil, they've already made it back with profit in the first 3 weeks of release.

And those are only the UK, US and Canada numbers. There's no telling how much it will make worldwide along with DVD sales.

I smell sequel.

[vision_afar]

I sure would like to see one.

[Inferno]

If they do another one, I just hope they change director.

[Moridin]

Jennings was perfectly fine and really into the books' spirit. I hope he stays.

[fineus fog]

http://fan-sites.org/zooey/4images/data/media/54/gq3.gif


dont mean to brag boys but she looks a hell of a lot like my wife - I even said that too her watching the film (Ive never seen this girl in any othere film so I just thought it was coincidence)

[spide-ed]

In its first 3 weeks of release, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has made $59,476,060 in US dollars.

(8,682,307 in UK pounds = $15,959,142 in US dollars)

$15,959,142 (UK gross) + $43,516,918 (US gross) = $59,476,060

If the budget was $50mil, they've already made it back with profit in the first 3 weeks of release.

And those are only the UK, US and Canada numbers. There's no telling how much it will make worldwide along with DVD sales.

I smell sequel.

Yeh, i agree im glad the US took to it, as i was worried about how well it would do on that side of the pond.

[Damovieguy]

i'd only give it 4/10, sorry I liked the tv series better

[Moridin]

In the TV series Trillian was a stupid bimbo, Zaphod was boring, and the Vogons were pitiful.

[spide-ed]

In the TV series Trillian was a stupid bimbo, Zaphod was boring, and the Vogons were pitiful.

I agree, i think the movie casting was better.
Freeman is a better everyman with more appeal than the TV Dent.
Rockwell was a million times more charismatic and funny than the TV Zaphod.
Danashell was a better rounded character, the TV Trillian looked and acted like an extra from a Cyndi Lauper video.
The black/US Ford seemed to fit better with the character for me and Bill Nighys Slartibartfast seemed to match the character better too. The TV version of Slartibartfast seemed like a bog-standard impression of a mad old man, Nighys version was a bit more offbeat.
I did think the TV Marvin was better though.

[Moridin]

Precisely. Although I prefer the TV Ford's eccentricity and I love Marvin's look and voice in the movie.