Just Hitchhikin' Around

[David Meek]

Heehee! :banana:

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy starts tomorrow! I may regret it (crowds, etc.), but I'm getting a bunch together to hit the Friday night feature. Anyone else going too?

[George Bellefontaine]

I understand some fans of the book are unhappy with the film version. It won't matter to me because I didn't read the book, but I suspect the unhappiness has something to do with the fact that the author of the book ( Douglas Adams) died before finishing a screenplay so perhaps things were changed from the book. On a sad note, seems Adams was only 49 when he died of a heart attack.

[Shane Martin]

I'll catch it next week for sure.

[Chris D]

I'm sure I'll see it sooner or later. I enjoyed the books many years ago, but not sure how they'll play out on screen.

FWIW, Ebert and Roeper just gave it two thumbs down.

[Shane Martin]

I saw it Sunday and I will say I have not read the book.

It's good but not great. I can't recommend it to anyone because of the subject matter. There wasn't anything objectionable to the kids in the audience so the PG rating is good.

The movie had some issues though. The whole romance aspect was shoe horned in and wasn't fully fleshed out. The SFX were good, The story seemed short almost like you are thrust into the movie w/o any background. Some of the acting is overdone. None of it is anything poor.

Nothing great, nothing bad. 7 out of 10.

[ThomasW]

Saw it yesterday. It was entertaining but doesn't have the panache' or humor of either the book, the radio series (best IMO), or the BBC TV series. Although it was funny to see the original 'Marvin' robot from the TV series in the background of a couple of scenes.

It's jazzed up to appeal to the MTV generation's exceedingly short attention span. That doesn't serve well the subtle humor in Douglas Adam's wonderful dialogue...

There's really too much material to adequately cover in 103 minutes of film. IMO a better approach would have been a mini-series like Sci-Fi Channel did with "Dune".

The computer generated graphics are state-of-the art, as are the creatures from Jim Henson's production company.

So, a bit disappointing for us hardcore fans, but quite a bit better than the formula generated drivel continuously spewed forth from the major studios.....

They left the possibility open for a sequel. In the final scene, the dialog had everyone heading off to....."The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe" another classic from the deceased Mr Adams.

PS, I know this may sound trite, but the book is really funny, and a great read for the whole family. The recordings of the radio series are a wonderful listen when on a trip..... :T

[Nick M]

Doled out my $4.50 'fer it.
Not a hardcore fan, but I definetly enjoy Sci-Fi and dry humor.

As Shane mentioned, emotions, characters, and their relationships lacked definition. Little time was spent on anything as the movie moved really quick. I thought some scenes were hilarious, but as Thomas mentioned this film is geared towards people who watch Reality TV and have a shallow capacity for thought. A real shame, as I'm sure the material deserves much more justice than this.

:25: out of :5:
Worth a rent when it comes out on DVD.

[Cowanrg]

I went and saw it at a private screening that texas instruments and samsung put on. so, the price was definately right!

it was entertaining, but it was expecting a bit more. and of course, the romance aspect was just tossed in and didnt need to be (although she was damn cute).

ive heard some of the radio broadcast and am somewhat familiar with the story, and i would have liked it to be a little longer and more involved.

[brendon]

I would love to have seen what Peter LOTR Jackson could have done with this radioshow/TV series/book as he already has a track record of turning unfilmable books into gold and made a few cult scifi/splatter films when he started out (Bad Taste ,Brain Dead) in New Zealand and being a Kiwi he would have a much better grasp of English humour and low tech classic Tv shows than his North American peers might have (As an example apparently Fautly Towers was going to be remade for the US market without the Basil Faulty character!!!??).
Will probably have to wait to see this on DVD.All the local reviews seem to agree its about 2.5 to 3 out of 5 rating.
Brendon