Printable View
Just saw it tonight..I have to say, it was a little below my expectations. The character buildup just wasn't there, the jokes miss their mark many times, Ford's character takes a large backseat role, and the movie just isn't the same without the book's power of description.
Still, not a bad movie, just one that could have been a little more polished.
I thought that it represented the book well. Of course there were many omissions from the book's fine details, but this is expected in a book to movie transition. It was neat seeing a lot of the little things I laughed at in my head while reading the book being materialized on screen. However, someone who hasn't read the books will probably be a little baffled by the strange humor.
When it stuck to the book, it was good. Not great, but good. Delivery was a little off here and there, and sometimes they missed the point of the joke (kind of like those people who quote the book incessantly and think they're funny just because of that), but for the most part, it worked.
When it went into the new plotlines, it sucked shit through a straw. I don't say this because it's OMG HERESY to change the plot, I say it because the new sections are absolutely unfunny. There are a few chuckles here and there, but for the most part the audience (including the people who'd clearly never been exposed to Hitchhiker's before) was dead silent during the new parts, and it was sold out.
I thought this movie was wonderful, and it's too bad Douglas Adams isn't alive to see it. I guess if you didn't read the book, you might not get all the jokes, but most of them were easy to catch. The British half of me probably helped somewhat. Dry humor doesn't catch on too well with American audiences. The special effects were great, and I thought Mos Def played a perfect Ford Prefect.
I enjoyed the whole film thoroughly.
Most especially, "Hello ground!" *THWUMP!*
The opening song was great, along with that other version during the credits. The only thing I'm wondering about is what they'll do about the Fenchurch situation, since they combined a little bit of her into Trillian. Did the Guide's illustrations remind anyone else of Chu Chu Rocket?
Yes, it's a shame that he did take a backseat role after escaping the Vogon ship. Good choice, because he really played a hoopy frood well.Quote:
Originally Posted by animegirl
I ended up going to a show tonight instead, which to an extent saddens me. Tomorrow I'm going to go catch this, come hell or high water.
Or my planet getting blown up.
This was actually a problem I had with the movie. It wasn't dry enough. It felt way too zany at times, when the humor is supposed to come from the fact that everyone (except Arthur) considers their behavior perfectly normal. Monty Python was brilliant at delivery zany humor in a dry fashion. This had too much mugging for the camera for my liking.Quote:
Originally Posted by animegirl
Saw it tonight as well. It was OK. Like others have said, the parts that fallowed the book spot on were really great. But the stuff they changed were not up to Adams snuff. They tried to peg his humor but just missed it basically. Mos Def did a great job as Ford, but yeah they really pushed him to the side in order to put the focus on Trillion and Arthur. I was not too fond of Zooey Deshanells acting, she is just not very good. The movie overall just did not flow that great, they kind of rushed things. But I mean they almost have to in order to get through everything, and it makes the movie suffer. Visually its awesome.
Overall I would give it a C+
I just got back, and that is exactly what i was trying to put my finger on about this movie. I liked it a lot, but what really holds it back is the acting. They needed to be more dry. Arthur and the Robot are spot on perfect, everyone else for the most part was not. I really did not like Mos Def as Ford Prefect. He was too clowninsh. I always pictured him as being really cool, but in the movie he was always running around in an exagerated cartoonish manner lifting his legs too high. In some scenes it seemed like Trillian wasn't even there, just a robot reading lines of a cue card. Beeblebrox was the worst though. I expect him to be rediculous, and i even think the actor was trying to do the right thing, he just couldn't do it very well. Once in a while he'd deliver a line perfectly but most of the time i didn't enjoy his Beetleguise/Bill Clinton impersonation.Quote:
Originally Posted by sethsez
The movie definatly isn't as bad as some of the reviews have been. It probably helped that it's been so long since i've read the books that i barely remember them. I'm hoping for a sequel.
Never read the books, and I enjoyed it.
Marvin is the best robot ever.
Trillian is hot.