h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've seen the movie twice, now. The first time was a rough cut. Lots of scenes were clearly taken straight off the Avid, some effects weren't finished, it had temporary music, but there weren't any scenes missing and it played as a movie. I loved it. I laughed an awful lot, and was grinning from start to finish.

Yesterday I saw the finished film. And, if it's possible I enjoyed it even more.

I was very nervous when first seeing it - I'd had a small amount of 'inside' knowledge. I'd visited the set, spoken to some of the crew and had a rundown of the movie story along with storyboards. I'd even spent a day running around in panic outside Moorgate station (I'm actually in the trailer). So I knew a certain amount about it. I knew it would look great, I knew the actors were top notch and I knew every single person working on the movie was trying to do justice to Douglas. But it could still go wrong.

It didn't. Almost from the first frame, I was hooked. The opening sequence, with the Dolphins, was delightful, and the song is a hoot. And then we're into the story. It's at once familiar and new. Merely having Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent has an interesting effect on longtime fans. He's not Simon Jones but he is unmistakeably Arthur Dent.

In fact, the performances are uniformly excellent. Mos Def is a quirky, manic Ford. You believe that he and Arthur are good friends. Sam Rockwell is a Rock God as Zaphod and is a delight every second he is on screen. Zooey Deschanel, as Trillian, is intelligent, warm and funny. Her first scene with Arthur (which actually plays in flashback early in the movie) is beautifully played by both of them.

John Malkovich is suitably creepy as Humma Kavula, a new character created by Douglas for the mostly new middle section. His 'prayer' to the Great Green Arkleseizure is a wonderful combination of words and performance. Bill Nighy is totally wonderful as Slartibartfast. He's only in it for a short time but he's magnetic. The scene on the Magrathean factory floor is a triumph and it's made even better by the reactions of Freeman and Nighy. Arthur is obviously overwhelmed by everything he sees, and Slartibartfast is almost giggling with pride showing off his work. The whole sequence is genuinely moving, but to say too much more about it would spoil it.

The visual look of the film is outstanding. I'd seen designs, and had seen some of the vogon heads up close but until you see them in motion you can't grasp how good they are. This is some of the best animatronic work I've ever seen. The work that the Jim Henson company have done is astonishing. These are living, breathing beings and they thumb their flattened noses at the idea that animatronics and puppetry are on the way out.

The Heart of Gold is a contender for the most beautiful spaceship ever, contrasting the ugly concrete Vogon aesthetic with gorgeous porcelain curves. Even its escape pod is sleek and sexy. I suspect Zaphod might have stolen it even without the Infinite Improbability Drive.

Deep Thought is another wonderful design, quirky and asymmetrical. When I first saw the production paintings I couldn't quite see what I was looking at but all of a sudden it popped into focus like a magic-eye picture. It's nothing like I would have expected and it's totally right.

But all this would be mere window dressing if the story didn't work. If they had lost the sense of what Douglas wrote about. And this is, I think, where the filmmakers have made their boldest choice. What some people might be expecting is a version of the radio or TV series with better effects, and those people will be disappointed if that's all they want. What we do get is a film which still contains a large amount of Douglas' words but which, more importantly, recognises that film is a visual medium and not radio with pictures. It somehow manages to do the kinds of things with pictures that Douglas did with words in the Radio series and books. The plot isn't perfect, but frankly, hitchhiker's has never been about plot. It's always been about ideas and humour, and that's what this movie has. For example, rather than spending two minutes of screen time on a guide entry about towels (which wasn't even in the first radio series) they actually have Ford using his towel to solve problems. This shows that the filmmakers do 'get it' and on a much deeper level than we have any right to expect.

We've all been anticipating a movie of Hitchhiker's for years. Some of us for about as long as it's been around. And this movie is something that nobody could honestly have expected. It's a wonderful vision of Douglas' worlds and ideas, filtered through the brilliance of Garth Jennings and the whole crew. It's almost infinitely improbable that Hitchhiker's could have ended up with someone we'd never heard of, but who is clearly enormously talented. And that, I think, is what I most appreciate about the film - it's more than Douglas, it's Garth and his crew as well.

This is a beautiful, astonishing, hugely funny, sometimes moving and infinitely cherishable movie. I love it.

And not just because my name's in the credits

Great review, Jim. Thanks!

The more I read the more I want to see it - especially after reading this...

http://www.planetmagrathea.com/shortreview.html

I can't stand the man.

You wouldn't be alone. But frankly, it's his loss. We've got a fantastic movie to cherish. He's got his towel.

You lucky Jim.



That PlanetMagrathea review is typical of how i fear a lot Hitchhiker fans may react to the movie. They spend so long noting down whats been changed, that they are never actually able to sit back and enjoy the movie on its own terms.

I read his guestbook and someone called Rincewind hit it right on the head for me - he called him an 'anal obsessive'

He's also completely missed the point that every version of Hitchhikers is different from every other version. Besides, he's just bitter that he didn't have much (if anything) to do with it.

I haven't seen the film myself but I felt myself getting angrier and angrier. I've seen nothing but good reviews for it, but maybe he is a little sore that he had nowt to do with it?

Not seen it myself either, but I'm definately going to a nearby cinema on Friday to pick up a couple of free tickets for an advance screening on the 26th.

Seen MJ's guestbook and the rest of his "site". Yep his head's right up his own rear end.

The so and so's deleted my guestbook comment! Guess he didn't like it being pointed out to him that he's missed the point entirely.

His long list of "What's missing" consists mainly of Guide Entries which are missing- how does he expect the medium of cinema to repeatedly quote these entries?

I have one, ONE good thing to say about that fellow...

He pointed me to this journal entry / review.

(not that I wouldn't have found it sooner or later anyway.)

In general, Simo provides an incredible service to the fans of Douglas Adams. Yes, his savaging of the movie seems inappropriate to some and the mark of an ego bigger than Zaphod's to others. Personally, I don't like that he gave the film such a bad rap before the majority of the world gets to see it. However, the work he's put into maintaining Planet Magrathea, the interviews he conducts, and the exhaustive research he did for HITCHHIKER & THE POCKET ESSENTIALS GUIDE as well as the revised editions of DON'T PANIC!, more than overshadow the times when he acts like a witless prat.

Thanks Jim for the review. I had previously seen the other one so it was good to get another opinion.

I look forward to seeing the film with interest

Our plan is to arrive en masse at the first possible matinee, dressed in our pajamas and robe with our bedroom slippers on. Perhaps we'll smuggle a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster in as well...

I just wanted to say I agreed with the Gonz'.

From OJ's news section:

"As for the rather pathetic comments being posted below the review - well, we can't hold Jim responsible for them but some people really do need to get out more."

We're all pathetic and need to get out more do we? Sounds a bit rich considering who it's coming from.

*heads off to read*

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

I find some of the vitriol being heaped on MJ Simpson here rather surprising. Some people seem to have misunderstood his review- to claim that the reason he doesn't like it is that it's not "exactly the same" as the book, radio series, whatever, is misrepresenting his review. What he actually seems to be objecting to, from my reading of his review, is the film itself. he doesn't like it, and I think he explains in quite some detail why. Jim likes it, and explains his reasons in detail as well. (though not as much as Simo's 10,000 word dissertation ont he subject).

Seems that people here who haven't seen the film are too quick to condemn Simo's opinions. I have an open mind- i respect the opinions of both Jim and Simo and will still be down the UCI the day the film opens to see which, if either of them, is right.

Simo's a respected science fiction journalist, film review,a nd has written books about Douglas Adams and Hitchhikers, as well as cvontributing to others. he gives a lot of his time over to his websiter, which is full of information, news and upcoming events linked to hitchhikers. he's giving all the latest news on the film, even though he doesn't like it.

And the thanks he gets for this tireless work, keeping many hitchhikers fans up to date with what's going on, poting his considered opinion on the film- is to be criticised and insulted by people who haven't seen the film, and who don't seem to have paid a great deal of attention to his review or his website.

Quite frankly, I can understand why he's be a bit pissed off about the posts some of you have been posting here.

Fair enough, he didn't like the film. That's fine - not every fan is going to like it. But it's his attitude. Good on him for building what is probably the comprehensive guide to all things Hitchhiker, but does he have to be so bloody anal?