The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) review

(6/10)

It brings the book hardly any justice, but it has its moments.

PLOT:Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is just an average Earth citizen living like everyone else in the world. One day, when his house is about to be destroyed, his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) comes and tells him that the world is about to end. Most ironically, a Vogon fleet then comes and announces to Earth's inhabitants that the Earth's about to be destroyed in place of an Inter-Galactic Highway. Seconds before Earth is demolished, Arthur and Ford hitch a ride aboard a Vogon ship. It all gets crazier from here as our two characters get into many misadventures and meet two old friends. It is a very unique plot executed almost parallel to the book, though a little sillier.



ACTING:The acting was good, but nothing truly special. Everyone did the jobs they needed to do. The shiners are Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Mos Def as Ford Prefect, Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast.

SCORE:The score was mainly made up of mood-fitting, sci-fi adventure score and at least one silly song. It was simply there to do its job.



EFFECTS/ANIMATION:The effects here weren't utterly dazzling, but they were pretty cool and enhanced the humorous and adventurous feel of the movie. I personally loved the part where the Improbablity Drive turned them all into stop-motion yarn.



OTHER CONTENT:Though this had its funny moments and adventurous story, I felt that it did no justice, hardly, to the book. They tooke out some of the funniest, most clever moments and replaced them with something stupid by comparison, and they added unnecessary sublots that weren't in the book. Garth Jennings, though you did this for Adams, you drew him no respect. I also agree with others in saying that this movies is strictly for the readers, for they don't give you enough information to back up the story.

OVERALL,an ok sci-fi comedy with a unique but silly plot, good acting, mood-fitting adventure score, and neat effects and animation, but it differs too much from the source material and leaver its unfamiliar audience wondering.