Douglas Adams, Todd Arnow, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Derek Evans,
Jonathan Glickman, Nick Goldsmith, Caroline Hewitt, Jay Roach & Robbie Stamp
Screenplay:
Douglas Adams & Karey Kirkpatrick
Cinematographer:
Igor Jadue-Lillo
Music:
Joby Talbot
Cast:
Arthur Dent: Martin Freeman
Ford Prefect: Mos Def
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Sam Rockwell
Tricia "Trillian" MacMillan: Zooey Deschanel
Marvin: Warwick Davis
Marvin (voice): Alan Rickman
The Guide (voice): Stephen Fry
Humma Kavula: John Malkovich
Slartibartfast: Bill Nighy
Deep Thought (voice): Helen Mirren
The Whale (voice): Bill Bailey
For some, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is a property to be
worshipped and showered with plaudits. For most, The Hitchhiker's Guide To
The Galaxy is just an elaborate and intriguing title.,
The success of this film really depends on where you fall on the spectrum.
For the uninitiated, Hitchhiker's was a BBC radio series written by Douglas
Adams, which became a series of books and a memorable BBC television series
in the '80s. A big-budget movie version of Douglas Adams' oh-so-British
science-fiction comedy has been on the cards since the early-90's, only
reaching cinema screens in 2005 - sadly, four years afters its creator died
of a heart-attack.
Without Adams at the helm, already die-hard fans can proclaim any
shortcomings due to the absence of Hitchhiker's "father", although Adams
movie screenplay has remained largely unchanged, and all additional
characters (such as Malkovich's religious leader) were added at the behest
of its creator. So, even in death, Adams can shoulder some of the blame if
the movie fails to translate.
Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is an everyday Englishman facing the imminent
demolition of his home, who soon learns - from the alien best-friend Ford
Prefect - that Earth itself is about to be destroyed (in 12 minutes) by
bureaucratic aliens called Vogons. Therefore, Arthur and Ford "hitch" a lift
aboard the spaceship Heart Of Gold - piloted by Marvin, a paranoid android,
under the leadership of two-headed President Of The Galaxy Zaphod
Beeblebrox, and the guidance of fellow earthling Tricia "Trillian"
MacMillan.
It's a deliciously spaced-out premise, beautifully played-out after the
opening musical number, "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish" - performed by
dolphins about to leave our doomed planet. Unfortunately, Hitchhiker's has
never really been about plot... so once the characters are introduced and
the silly humour established... things stagnate for much of the second act.
Thankfully, the latter third of the movie picks up the pace - once the
crew's raison d'etre comes in the form of a mission to pose "The Ultimate
Question" to supercomputer "Deep Thought", and retrieve a powerful weapon
for religious leader Humma Kavula (John Malkovich), who believes the Universe was
created by a sneeze.
Hitchhiker's is essentially Monty Python in Space, but overloaded with an
abundance of sci-fi nonsense - some of it amusing, most of it inane. If
you're a fan of the great British comedy traditions of crackpot reasoning,
silly names, slapstick and farcical situations (all with a science-fiction
tinge) then this may just be the funniest movie of the year. If, however,
you find just comedy amusing, yet ultimately quite tedious after awhile...
Hitchhiker's is merely a pleasant way to while away a few hours. Nothing
more.
Martin Freeman (surfing a particularly large wave post-The Office success)
tries admirably as Arthur Dent, but while he has the bewildered everyman
persona down to a fine art, he's never a particularly likeable hero to
shoulder an entire movie.
Mos Def is surprisingly good as Ford Prefect, the alien from a planet near
Betelgeuse. His casting was a surprise (being a black American rapper, it
would be!) but he performs well under the circumstances. Sadly, his
best-friend relationship with Dent is wholly unbelievable - with any
best-buddy chemistry absent - and, after the initial "hitchhiking" sequence
early on, his role is pretty superfluous.
Meanwhile, Sam Rockwell seems to be having a blast playing intergalactic
playboy Zaphod Beeblebrox (a mix of "Bill Clinton and Elvis Presley" as the
actor himself puts it), but while his performance is energetic and
charismatic - it's also quite badly written, and relies on Rockwell mugging
to camera all too often.
Zooey Deschanel is a strange oddity as Trillian - both likeable and
strangely unappealing at the same time. Her romantic subplot with Arthur (a
new facet to the Hitchhiker's storyline) is somewhat forced, but actually
quite good for the overall emotional arc of both characters. A shame it's
pushed into the background most of the time, clouded by non-stop silliness.
Warwick Davis is the man in the suit of Marvin (the paranoid android) and
cult figure of the Hitchhiker's universe. The movie-suit gives Marvin a cute
Japanese styling that sits at odds with his downbeat personality, meaning he
doesn't quite gel on-screen.
Alan Rickman's dulcet tones provides the real "heart" to Marvin's character,
and while Rickman does a fine job... it doesn't alter the fact that Marvin
is actually (whisper it) a pretty boring and unfunny character. Marv's
essentially a "one gag" addition to the crew; he never says anything
particularly funny in a downbeat way, just whinges throughout the adventure.
A wasted opportunity for comedy gold.
Stephen Fry is the voice of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy itself - an
electronic book containing all the information of the Universe. Fry's voice
interrupts throughout the movie, narrating computer graphics to explain
various situations and aliens to the audience. The Guide's animations
(inspired, seemingly, from Flash-enabled websites!) aren't particularly
funny, however, and while some of Fry's dialogue raises a smile, it's not
laugh-out-loud funny and actually slows the pace of the movie most of the
time.
The direction - by British music video creator Garth Jennings of "Hammer &
Tongs" - is solid enough, bringing many of Douglas Adams' creations to life
brilliantly. Of particular note are the fabulous Vogons and the
awe-inspiring "factory floor" where planets are created. The effects
throughout are of a high-standard for a modestly budgeted sci-fi movie.
However, a bone of contention with Hitchhiker's purists will be the
cost-cutting decision to have Beeblebrox's second head hidden under his
first head's chin (and then, in a shameless plot device, removed
altogether!) but actually it works quite well.
Incidentally, for fans there are also some quite wonderful in-jokes peppered
throughout the movie - including the appearance of Marvin's TV-series
alter-ego.
Overall, Hitchhiker's is a good-natured romp that just isn't particularly
memorable. Fans should get a kick out of seeing their heroes on-screen with
a budget the BBC could only dream of, but will also find much to hate (key
ingredients and gags are absent, folks). For the vast majority of people new
to Douglas Adams' world, this can be viewed as a vibrant and sporadically
entertaining comedy that just never really delivers on its premise.
As already said, Hitchhiker's started life as a radio series, and while the
space-based subject matter would seem to lend itself to the silver screen,
the characters and dialogue-based comedy is perhaps better suited to radio
and on the pages of Adams' best-selling novels.
DIRECTION PERFORMANCES PLOT SOUND/MUSIC SPECIAL FX
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
CD & Books:
