H2G2 : Le Guide du voyageur galactique

This movie isn't so much bad but rather pointless. Just before the credits roll in an ominous white 'for Douglas' fades in out of the black. I seriously hope that the director doesn't refer to the late Douglas Adams, author of the highly successful Hitchhikers 'Triology' cause frankly Douglas will be turning in his grave, seeing what has become of his utterly enjoyable books. Let me tell you about the high points, few that there are. The most funny bits are actually when Stephen Fry reads from the original book and the pictures are merely illustrations. Which just makes you wanna go back to the books and read them all again rather than watch another minute of this half baked adaptation. The marketing strategy is only to obvious. The Hitchhikers guide has sold more than 16 million copies, so we try to cash in on that popularity by making a film with the same name regardless of the fact that it is rather tricky to adapt for the screen. I am a big fan of the books and I thought the trailer to this movie was quite funny, but unfortunately the movie isn't. Naturally, you are bound to be disappointed when you finally go to see a movie version of books that you love so dearly but was that charmless white robot really the best they could do for the highly likable character of Marvin the depressed. To name just one of the major let downs. One of the books outstanding features is Adams' sheer inventiveness and shameless exaggeration. Condensed into a 100 minute movie the many ideas suddenly appear utterly random and arbitrary. I think it would be rather tricky to follow the plot of the film without having read the books and nearly impossible to understand what is so extraordinary about the books on the evidence of this film. I won't even bemoan the fact that so many of my favourite bits never made it into the film script, but the parts that actually now make up the story don't seem particularly funny, nor imaginative, nor clever. And a bit predictable at that. Halfway through you just don't care anymore and all you want is for this mediocre movie to be over and done with.