The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Garth Jennings

Writers (WGA):

Douglas Adams (book)
Douglas Adams (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Don't Panic

Plot:

Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Plot Keywords:

Spaceship | Alien | Meaning Of Life | Everyman | Planet

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Bill Bailey	...	The Whale (voice)
Anna Chancellor	...	Questular Rontok
Warwick Davis	...	Marvin
Mos Def	...	Ford Prefect
Zooey Deschanel	...	Trillian
Su Elliot	...	Pub Customer (as Su Eliott)
Martin Freeman	...	Arthur Dent
Stephen Fry	...	Narrator / The Guide (voice)
Richard Griffiths	...	Jeltz (voice)
Dominique Jackson	...	Fook
Simon Jones	...	Ghostly Image
Thomas Lennon	...	Eddie the Computer (voice)
Mark Longhurst	...	Bulldozer Driver
Kelly Macdonald	...	Reporter
John Malkovich	...	Humma Kavula

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, action and mild language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Spain:7 | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:Atp | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:MG6 (DVD rating) | Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Hungary:14 | USA:PG (certificate #41593) | Canada:PG | South Korea:All | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | New Zealand:PG | Norway:7 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Philippines:PG-13 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Beehive Pub, Hare Street, Nr Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The disembodied head delivering the Magrathean warning message was performed by Simon Jones, who played Arthur in the original radio/TV series.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Ford is running to rescue Arthur and the gang as they are being shot at outside Humma Kavula's temple, Ford starts running to the rescue and is supposedly screaming but his mouth is clearly closed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Book: It's an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, Man had always assumed that he was the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the *third* most intelligent. The second most intelligent creatures were of course dolphins who...

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Soundtrack:

Magic Moments

This movie is Mostly Harmless...

It's a known fact that the movie adaptation of Hitchhiker's has been up in the air for some years now. Passing from the hands of one director to the next (James Cameron, Spike Jonze and Jay Roach), it wasn't until the idea landed in front of Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith that things truly started to take shape.

Douglas Adams died from a heart attack in 2001, but after reading the books, watching the film and drawing a comparison, it's clear that Adams would've accepted this adaptation of the TV series of the computer game of the radio series wholeheartedly.

Martin Freeman is an inspired choice as the face of Arthur Dent. He's an everyman, his slightly vacant, permanently confused facial expression (which we've all come to recognise from his role in The Office), truly becoming from a man who's trying to make sense of what's Out There, which happens to be similar to, though on a slightly larger scale than what's Down Here. And stupider.

Admittedly, it would've been nice to see more English talent taking on the roles from Adams' well loved creation. Steven Fry is THE Guide, the quintessential voice of logic and good-humoured reasoning in the Universe. Bill Nighy makes a great Slartibartfast, coming across as the kindly, if a little absent minded, genius that I've always imagined. And Alan Rickman providing his nasal drones to Marvin the Paranoid Android worked to near perfection.

That's not to say that the American cast isn't great. Mos Def and Zooey Deschanel are excellent as Ford Prefect and Trillian, but it's obvious that it's Sam Rockwell who's having all the fun, relishing his role as the over-excitable, reminiscently hippie-rockstar Ex-President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox.

So all in all, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a great experience. Non-Adamites will love it, as will the die hard fans. It's such a shame that its creator had to bow out before his beloved creation came to life, but due to his input into the movie script (the character Humma Kavula, played by John Malkovich, was written by him especially for the movie), his enthusiasm still lives on.

Want to go to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe now, please.