Interesting Stuff

Last night I saw the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Like the other reviews of the film out there, I have mixed feelings about it. There are a bunch of parts that you can tell are definitely Adam’s work, and they are pure genious. However, there are also parts that are lacklustre at best. The opening sequence is solid gold. So is the part about having ideas on Vogsphere. Sadly, Sam Rockwell (Zaphod) was the only convincing actor. Some of the costumes were great (Zaphod, Trillian, Arthur, Ford, Slartibartfast), while others looked really stupid (Vogon warriors, Marvin). The movie seems to unfortunately centre around Arthur and Trillian falling in love, which I don’t think should have happened. In the radio series, the BBC series, the books, and the computer game, Trill isn’t interested in him at all.

Presumably to cut down on the length of the film, there are a bunch of Adams’ ideas that are mentioned but glossed over, and they would be horribly confusing if you haven’t been introduced to the Hitchhiker multiverse already. For instance, it is well established that a hitchhiker’s most indispensible tool is his towel, though there are only three times that towels are used. Of these, one is to dry off after a shower and one made no sense at all.

There were also some neat inside jokes and tributes to Adams in the film. The first time we see the guide, we hear a new and improved version of the radio show’s theme song. The Marvin from the BBC series has a quick cameo. There is a part towards the end that is a tribute to Adams’ love of animals, and the last thing we see is Adams’ face fading away into the stars.

If you go to see it, stay for the credits; there’s a quick little thing partway through them.