The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Kristy and I decided to use up some of our cheap movie tickets ($6 for entry + popcorn) and head off to the flicks tonight. There wasn’t too many things that we could agree on (as usual) – but we settled on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, based on Douglas Adams’ well-known book bearing the same name.

I had wanted to read the book for many years, and Kristy was thoughtful enough to get me a copy for my birthday last year. Though it was an entertaining read that often brought on a few chuckles, overall it suffered from being built up too highly, and generally falling short of the mark.

Unfortunately, the film is rather the same. It is faithful to the book, and stars many famous actors including Martin Freeman (“Tim” from The Office), Alan Rickman, and John Malkovich. The casting was commendable, as each actor is very believable in their role. There are certainly a lot of laughs to had, and more-so with some background knowledge from the book. I especially enjoyed the adaptation of the personalities of the Heart of Gold ship, and the robot Marvin. On the contrary, both Kristy and I found Sam Rockwell (Zephod Beebelbrox) unnecessarily annoying.

It’s hard to put a finger on what lets the film down; I guess it’s just one of those movies that asides from providing a few laughs, it doesn’t really do much else for you. It’s certainly not a movie that you’ll regret seeing, however you won’t miss anything by waiting for the DVD. gerrod.com rating: 6.5/10.