h2g2 hits the big screen

I saw The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy the day it opened. Best movie ever! Unfortunately, I’m too lazy to post a very long review, but I’ll see what I can do.

I shall begin with an imperative: Go watch it. Even if you haven’t read the book, or listened to the radio series, just bring a towel and watch. You might not get all the references, but you’ll enjoy it anyway.

It is definitely the best movie I have ever seen. They did a wonderful job at adapting the series for film. Now, loyal followers of the Guide, be warned: they have added in a lot of extra plot material that was not in the original book. Do what you’ve always done when reading the Guide—suspend your disbelief. The script was adapted from what Adams had already completed before his death.

For example, they travel to the Vogon homeworld, Vogsphere, in the movie. Also, the love story between Trillian and Arthur is emphasized, and an entire new “bad guy” plot is added. But they all fit perfectly into the story (although the “bad guy” plot leaves a few loose ends).

The song at the beginning of the movie, entitled “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” is a brilliant piece of work. One of the best things about this movie is the way it opens: with a planet being destroyed, and ending with a planet being created, rather than the other way around as one might expect.

The ending does lag a bit, which is okay, and there are some aspects to the plot that I dislike, but overall the movie is too stunningly wonderful to disagree with those. I had a minor spasm of fear when I was watching clips and heard Trillian pronounce z the American way, but recovered when during the film a number of other actors pronounced it the British way.

At this point I would like to end my post with something witty and profound, but unfortunately, I shall not.