dragonfire88's Full Review: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a very popular humorous science fiction book written by Douglas Adams. The story has been told in several different forms including a radio show, records, the book, and a series on television in England. Adams wrote four more books and a short story that continued the stories of the characters from the original book. The book has many fans all around the world. After many years of the project being postponed, the movie version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was released.
Arthur Dent woke up one morning to find a crew waiting outside to demolish his home so a by pass could be built. Ford Prefect, one of Arthur’s friends, arrived saying he needed to talk to Arthur about something important. Ford was actually an alien and he claimed that the Earth was going to be destroyed in a manner of minutes. Since Arthur had saved Ford’s life before, Ford was going to return the favor. Seconds before the planet was destroyed, Ford managed to hitch a ride on one of the Vogon destroyer ships. Unfortunately Vogons were very unpleasant and didn’t like hitchhikers. Ford and Arthur were thrown out into space where they somehow managed to be picked up by another ship, the Heart of Gold.
The Heart of Gold was a new ship that had been stolen by Zaphod Beeblebrox, the president of the galaxy. Trillian, a woman that Zaphod had picked up at a party on Earth, was with Zaphod. Marvin, a very depressed robot was also on the ship. Zaphod and Ford knew each other. Arthur had met Trillian and Zaphod at the party. Zaphod had decided to steal the ship for a specific reason. They all traveled across the galaxy, ending up in dangerous situations, trying to find what Zaphod was looking for.
Since I had read the book before seeing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I did know most of what would happen. There were some things that happened that were different from the book that I didn’t expect, including a subplot that was added. Some events happened in a different order in the movie version than they did in the book. The movie did jump around some, but I was still able to keep up with what was going on. Someone who isn’t familiar with the general story might find it harder to keep up with everything. A lot went on in the movie, but it really didn’t have a complex plot. It was a bit silly at times, which I did expect. It might be too silly for some people. This isn’t a serious science fiction movie, and people in the mood for one should pick a different movie.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy did make me laugh, though I didn’t think it was as funny as the book. Douglas Adams was from England, so the book did have British humor, which some people don’t get. I did think the book was funny. Some of the bits that made me laugh more, like exactly where Arthur discovered the plans for his house being demolished, didn’t make it into the movie. The humor was a bit different and some people may not like it. Some things that were done for laughs were a bit silly, like how Arthur, Ford, and Zaphod were repeatedly hit in the face with some sort of flyswatter looking things that popped up from the ground on one planet. The first time or two it happened did make me laugh, but it got old in a hurry. The silliness of some things really didn’t bother me. Some people might consider the humor to be somewhat twisted. That didn’t bother me either. The characters said things at times that were funny. Ford didn’t seem to be as funny to me in the movie as he was in the book. People looking for a really funny movie might end up disappointed with this one. The ways that Zaphod acted and dressed made me laugh more than once. There was a little bit of action in a few scenes. Special effects were used throughout the movie, especially once the journey through space began. I thought they were well done.
Ford ended up on Earth to begin with because he was a writer for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a book that contained information about different worlds throughout the galaxy. It looked like some kind of electronic book. Ford showed the guide to Arthur after they got on the Vogon ship. None of the characters were seen with it again. Throughout the movie a narrator, Stephen Fry, provided a voice over reading some entries from the guide. His voice sounded very familiar to me when I first heard. It wasn’t until I checked later that I realized he was the narrator for two of the Harry Potter movies. During those parts, graphics were done on the screen like the menus of the guide along with some simple animations to go along with the explanations. The entries that were shared were connected to what was going on in the movie at that point. Some of the entries that were shared in the book were left out of the movie. I think the way the entries from the guide were handled worked well.
Martin Freeman did well as Arthur. I haven’t seen him in any other movies. I thought he was believable in the part. Arthur was a normal guy that ended up on an adventure. He was shocked and confused by some of what he experienced, and panicked a few times. Ford and Arthur had been friends for years after Arthur saved Ford. A short flashback showed what happened. Ford was glad to be traveling through space again. Mos Def did well with the part. Ford was different from the part he played in The Italian Job. Trillian seemed different from how she was in the book to me. I’m not sure exactly what it was about her that makes me think that. It might be because another flashback was used to show how she and Arthur met and connected before she then took off with Zaphod once he turned up. She wanted Arthur to run off to Madagascar with her and she seemed to change her mind about him when he didn’t want to do that. I thought that made her seem a bit flighty. Trillian had more to do in the movie, but I liked her better in the book. Zooey Deschanel was fine in the part.
Zaphod was a very unique character. He dressed in some strange outfits and tended to act wacky. He had two heads and three arms. In the book, both heads were always visible. In the movie, the second head remained hidden most of the time. The fact that he even had a second head was a secret. Zaphod had somehow gotten the second head before he decided to run for president of the galaxy. He kept his third arm hidden most of the time as well. I’m guessing it was decided to handle his extra head and arm that way because it would have been too difficult and expensive to have them show up more. Sam Rockwell did a very good job with the part. The only other movie I’ve seen him in is Matchstick Men. Zaphod was very different from the part he had in that movie.
Marvin the robot looked different from how I imagined him when I first read the book. Alan Rickman did the voice for the character and it was perfect for Marvin. Warwick Davis was actually in a suit as Marvin. Bill Nighy had a small part as Slartibartfast. John Malkovich showed up briefly as Humma Kavula, a religious leader on one of the planets the group ended up on. The character was interesting, but Malkovich was very under used since the part was so small. Richard Griffiths provided the voice for Jeltz, one of the Vogons. He, Warwick Davis, and Alan Rickman have all been in the Harry Potter movies.
CAST
Warwick Davis - Marvin
Mos Def - Ford Perfect
Zooey Deschanel - Trillian
Martin Freeman - Arthur Dent
Stephen Fry - Narrator
Richard Griffiths - Jeltz
John Malkovich - Humma Kavula
Bill Nighy - Slartibartfast
Alan Rickman - Voice of Marvin
Sam Rockwell - Zaphod Beeblebrox
Garth Jennings - Director
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was released in theaters on April 29, 2005. The movie was rated PG and 110 minutes long. It should be fine for children to see if they are interested in the movie. The movie is based on the book of the same name that was written by Douglas Adams. He tried for many years to get a movie version of his story made. He did write the screenplay. I read that Adams is the one that added the new characters and ideas to the story.
I did enjoy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy even though I thought the book was better. The movie was entertaining. People that like the book may also enjoy the movie, though they shouldn’t expect it to remain identical to it. Anyone that goes into the movie expecting it to be just like the book will end up disappointed.
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