The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy now occupies a classic and cult status among science fiction novels. I suppose it was only a matter of time before such a popular series was made into a movie. I read the book years ago, and I liked the whimsical and irreverent humor. It wasn't the sort of thing that translated easily to the silver screen, however. One attempt at bringing the series to life on the BBC during the 1980's is now legendary for its spectacularly bad special effects and acting. This second attempt did a better job, but it still couldn't quite capture the magic of the books. At least the special effects were better, and there were some okay scenes, but for the most part it was fairly ho-hum. I've seen a few bits of the old BBC series, and I was amused to see that several scenes in the movie paid homage to that version. I was also fairly impressed with Mos Def as Ford Prefect; I didn't think he would work in the part, but he was okay. I didn't particularly like the portrayal of Zaphod Beeblebrox, however, They sort of made him a cross between a vapid celebrity and George W. Bush, which ruined the vibe of the original character. I hate it when movie makers sacrifice character and plot for cheap political jabs.

Fans of the books probably won't like this movie a ton because of its departures and differences from the novels. Newcomers to the series might like it, but they also might be confused because a lot of it doesn't make much sense. Maybe that works better in a book than a movie. It wasn't too bad, though, which is more than I can say about most sci-fi book adaptations. Put this one in the Glad-I-Didn't-Pay-To-See-It-In-The-Theater category.
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