I see some honesty is beginning to surface on this movie, so I will just say at this point that I think the only explanation for this movie being so horrendous is that the director deliberately sabotaged it. Nobody could ruin such good material by accident.
He turned all of the characters on their heads, or at least on their faces. It's as though he got tired of people trying to explain the book to him, saying "don't you get it?" and decided he was the director, and he could do whatever he wanted. Nothing, absolutely nothing in this movie corresponds to the original concept and spirit.
It is a total travesty.
----
I've seen, heard, read them all. But I never thought a version of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" would put me to sleep.
The best part is Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, although there could have been more of Rickman's trademark sarcastic bite. It's as though the director was holding back the actors.
The worst part, by far, is playing Zaphod Beeblebrox as a redneck rock star. Beeblebrox, the delinquent but ultra-cool intergalactic president, with a Southern accent? Are you mad? I won't blame the actor for this, (Sam Rockwell clearly can act, given his completely different performance in Galaxy Quest) as I am not sure the director read the book. There seems to be no understanding of any of the character of characters by the director. None.
Each version of the HHGG trilogy has been slightly different, but each has contained the key verbiage essential to the message of political and social satire. Until this one.
This version appears to be a sort of adolescent Star Wars, with good guys and bad guys -- or good bad guys vs bad good guys -- chasing each other through space and hyperspace. Sorry, that's not what HHGG is about.
This seems to be one of those Hollywood conceits where somebody gets a contract, reads a few pages of the book, decides it is too much work, and writes the screenplay pretty much from scratch. It seems they didn't even make it far enough in to realize Trillian is an astrophysicist on the dole. Nope, all she is is a pretty girl at a party who got picked up by an alien. Talk about earth girls being easy!
Now I know Douglas Adams contributed some of the changes. But the ones who actually made this movie seem to know little about the book aside from a sort of Cliff's Notes of the plot. (Have they Cliff Noted HHGG for college classes yet?) I will have to finish this review, and the movie, after I take a nap.
In the meantime, I suggest you read the books; I promise you they will not put you to sleep, provided you aren't brain dead. Or see the BBC television production. Or listen to the radio series. Or listen to the book read aloud on books on tape, or whatever it is they did that time. Then you will understand what this masterpiece was about.
* I want to tear this movie to shreds, but so far have restrained myself. The directing was an abomination, an insult, a travesty of an insult of an abomination. Advice: Do Not Watch It!
He turned all of the characters on their heads, or at least on their faces. It's as though he got tired of people trying to explain the book to him, saying "don't you get it?" and decided he was the director, and he could do whatever he wanted. Nothing, absolutely nothing in this movie corresponds to the original concept and spirit.
It is a total travesty.
----
I've seen, heard, read them all. But I never thought a version of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" would put me to sleep.
The best part is Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, although there could have been more of Rickman's trademark sarcastic bite. It's as though the director was holding back the actors.
The worst part, by far, is playing Zaphod Beeblebrox as a redneck rock star. Beeblebrox, the delinquent but ultra-cool intergalactic president, with a Southern accent? Are you mad? I won't blame the actor for this, (Sam Rockwell clearly can act, given his completely different performance in Galaxy Quest) as I am not sure the director read the book. There seems to be no understanding of any of the character of characters by the director. None.
Each version of the HHGG trilogy has been slightly different, but each has contained the key verbiage essential to the message of political and social satire. Until this one.
This version appears to be a sort of adolescent Star Wars, with good guys and bad guys -- or good bad guys vs bad good guys -- chasing each other through space and hyperspace. Sorry, that's not what HHGG is about.
This seems to be one of those Hollywood conceits where somebody gets a contract, reads a few pages of the book, decides it is too much work, and writes the screenplay pretty much from scratch. It seems they didn't even make it far enough in to realize Trillian is an astrophysicist on the dole. Nope, all she is is a pretty girl at a party who got picked up by an alien. Talk about earth girls being easy!
Now I know Douglas Adams contributed some of the changes. But the ones who actually made this movie seem to know little about the book aside from a sort of Cliff's Notes of the plot. (Have they Cliff Noted HHGG for college classes yet?) I will have to finish this review, and the movie, after I take a nap.
In the meantime, I suggest you read the books; I promise you they will not put you to sleep, provided you aren't brain dead. Or see the BBC television production. Or listen to the radio series. Or listen to the book read aloud on books on tape, or whatever it is they did that time. Then you will understand what this masterpiece was about.
* I want to tear this movie to shreds, but so far have restrained myself. The directing was an abomination, an insult, a travesty of an insult of an abomination. Advice: Do Not Watch It!