Sunday 23 December 2007

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie

I avoided this movie when it came out as I was afraid it was going to be a big disappointment and so it was with some trepidation that I watched it on TV last night. And I was right to have been worried. If you're a fan of the radio show, the books or even the TV series I think this is going to be a disappointment for you. If you're not then it's a half decent, if a little bizarre, SF movie but might be a little bit inaccessible. Don't get me wrong the movie does have its moments, the special effects are up to scratch and some of the performances are pretty good but trying to cram the original story into this format means compromise. So if you had favourite scenes, lines or images from the previous incarnations some of them will be missing and coming from those it seems a little mainstream. If you haven't heard, seen or read the material before then I'm not sure what you'd think. There is some new material but it doesn't create a impact equivalent to the wonderful moments from the previous works unfortunately.

Overall not too bad an effort and I can think of worse ways to spend a couple of hours (listening to Vogon poetry for example) but if you want to get into Hitchhiker's I'd recommend the radio or the books and, if you need the visual input, the TV series didn't make too bad a stab at it either. Disappointing.

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