Movie Review - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Don't Panic.

Good advice, especially if you're a movie studio making a movie about a book series that was a direct offshoot of a BBC radio program. A radio program that was written from week to week, and the writers themselves were as surprised as anyone when a new episode tied up a loose end from a previous episode. Especailly good advice when the creator of it all passes away only halfway through writing the screenplay, and it gets taken up by a writer who's done nothing but children's stories (most notably Chicken Run, and Honey We Shrunk Ourselves), and a director who's only done music videos for REM and Blur.

In spite of all that, apparently, this is a good movie.

The plot does a good job of hitting the essential points from the first book in the series by Douglas Adams, and a damn good thing, too, given how obsessive most science fiction fans are. I think it may also work against the movie (in much the same way as the Lord of the Rings series) in that if you haven't read the books, you'll have a hard time with some of the names, and wonder at times if the movie is in English. There are also a few twists that run contrary to the spirit of the book, but given the source material, I don't think Adams (who died of a heart attack in 2001) would have minded at all. Heck, who knows - he may have written those scenes to begin with.

There is an intersting blend of special effects in the movie. Some of the computer generated space scenes look fantastic, and the planet- building planet of Magrathea is inspired. Most of the non-human life forms, however, are straight out of the Star Wars Bar/Rubber Suit school of alien life creation. The grade-school pedigree of the screen-writer shines through in the implementation of the illustrations of The Guide itself, and the way the Improbabilty Drive operates. It works, because it's quirky. I'd say that about the movie as a whole.

The casting in this film is just flat inspired. Martin Freeman does a good job as overmatched every-man Arthur Dent. Mos Def does a surprisingly good job with Ford Prefect - a character that's just all over the map. Sam Rockwell is hilarious as the over-the-top President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox. John Malkovich has a top-notch part that's just a shade more than a cameo. Zooey Deschanel is perfectly cast as Trillian - she's incredibly cute, but in a girl-next-door kind of way, and just captures the quirky nature of the film in her character.

And oh yes, Alan Rickman. Alan Rickman is an SP favorite. The Sheriff of Nottingham, The Voice of God, Severus Snape, Hans Gruber... who couldn't love Alan Rickman? In H2G2, though, you have to know it's Alan Rickman, though, because it's just his voice. His voice emanating from what could easily be the cute robot in a kid's show. But in fact it's Marvin, the Paranoid Android. Alan Rickman is marvelous as Marvin, the Paranoid Android. He has a fantastic voice, and the way he throws himself into Marvin's self-depricating lines is perfect. I hope this movie makes enough money so they'll make more because I'm a fan of the series in general, but I'd also see the rest just for more Alan Rickman.

Let's see, what am I missing... oh yeah, the plot! Well, Ford (who's actually from somewhere near Beetleguise) and Arthur hitch their way off the Earth just before it's demolished to make way for an interstellar bypass, and after a series of unfortunate events end up getting picked up by Zaphod and Trillian (who's also from Earth). Misadventures occur from there, and I really can't sum this thing up. I'd say go check out the book and read it, and then you'll enjoy this movie.

Both wadE and I described this movie as "British", and I think that's definitely descriptive of the overall comedy. For me, this movie exceeds the sum of it's parts. While nothing particularly stands out (besides Rickman, obviously) as fantastic, I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie. I'd have to give it like a Trent-and-a-half.

(Please. You don't think I'd forget my own movie ranking system, do you?)

-- 05/06/05