Kat's Film Reviews: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Sunday, May 29, 2005

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This will be biased. I'm a big fan of Douglas Adams' books and consequently it's difficult to step away from them and see this film objectively. The filmmakers do take liberties, thankfully, so this isn't just the book on screen. Mos Def -- a rap star, mind you -- plays Ford Prefect and he does it pitch-perfectly (probably my favorite casting choice). There's a scene on a planet that was never in the book, with our fearless crew having to manuveur bureaucracy as only the British can film it (Brazil!). There's a kiss at the end so completely out of place it should have all Hitchhiker's Guide fans yelping, although it's not out of place for a producer set on developing a franchise while also creating a film with a definite ending. But the bulk of the film follows the book quite religiously, especially the first fifteen minutes in which Arthur Dent (who else to play him but the everyman from The Office?) escapes the destruction of Earth by hitching a ride on a Vogon spaceship, using Prefect's electronic Thumb. Did I mention that it is sci-fi? (Have you been hiding under a couch for 26 years?) It's so nice to see science- fiction making a comeback -- big-budget with expensive names attached. It used to be that no one in their right mind (i.e., no geeks) would go see a sci-fi flick. Too much silly fantasy with no bearing on real life. I'm not sure if The Lord of the Rings or the Matrix trilogies encouraged a revival, but I'm grateful. And to cap it all off, Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, even more over the top than the book makes him out to be! Sigh. This fan is satisfied.

year: 2005
length: 110 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371724/combined

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