Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - The Movie!

This movie was a major disappointment for me when I first saw it and still is upon a more recent viewing. Most likely it's because I have already seen the television series and that is imprinted on my mind as the "correct" visual interpretation of the story. But it's not just limited to that. Frankly the biggest problem this movie has is there just not enough of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the movie which wears that title. The movie seems to be afraid to interrupt its apparent momentum to offer up the satirical asides the Guide provides. But that's just what the original play was like, and that's just what the television show was like. The plot was not the point, but in this movie it is. 

Also, they felt the need to add a full-blown romance to the storyline, and a fulfilled one at that. Nothing could be further from the essence of the original source material than the idea of "true love". Arthur (Martin Freeman) and Trillian (Zooey Deschanel) are not meant to be lovers in this story. Arthur is too dense, and Trillian is a woman who makes her own decisions about love and sex, and it hurts to see the characters shoehorned into the trite Hollywood romance duo. Both the actors are great, but their material was misguided. Marvin is not well developed as well. 

While I rather like the style of the animation used to represent the Guide, I must say there was much less of it than expected. Again, they creators were stranded on their classic expectations of a story and so eschewed the interruptions which are very essence of what makes the original gleam so brightly. Mos Def as Ford Prefect is a fail, not because he's black but because he's rather dull. Making the character black was an improvement, as it points out his "alien" nature before he's actually revealed to be one. (Shades of Brother from Another Planet) But the moviemakers seem not to be aware of his or seem to not want to take advantage of it. Sam Rockwell is quite good as Zaphod, though the two head problem still exists. Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast was delightful, ideal casting. 

All in all, this is the least presentation of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when we all hoped it might be the finest. 

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