The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A crazy story built on individual jokes rather than constructive narrative pacing, but admittedly on jokes so ingenious and imaginative in places (Vogon poetry, a depressed robot, a planet that punishes over-thinking) that it is irresistible. Towards the end, the innovation runs out of breath and the tone is futile, but the good impression is again saved by the excellent voice over and, above all, by the actors, who have come together in really excellent form and, obviously, mood. There can hardly be a better way to kill a lazy afternoon after a big party. 65% (04/23/2016)

Quite decent considering the possibilities. I was fascinated by “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” (the book, the first part), but by “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe”, Adams’ style had saturated me already. I watched the film after reading the book and there’s a lot of the book in it, all the main jokes are there, but a lot of things are different… I think it could have been done better, but I don’t know how. I don’t know how I would mix fidelity to the source material and changes in order to produce a film that would be convincing on its own. One way or another, it would surely result in some absurd hybrid that everyone would perceive differently. (07/29/2011)

Much more enjoyable and especially funnier than the British series from the eighties. Marvin is effortlessly divine, Zooey or Rockwell a bit surprisingly annoying, and as a whole, it is a cautiously maturing and reliably absurd comedy that, unfortunately, was mostly unappreciated by viewers (including myself) at the time of its creation. (08/13/2006)

I didn't expect that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would be so well adapted. And yet! The screenplay sticks to the book as lovingly as it can, and when it adds something new to it that (perhaps) Douglas Adams wouldn't have thought of, it's completely Adamsian, funny and feels natural. In short, you can tell that the film was made by people who really wanted to make it. This is also true of the actors, the absolutely amazing set design, which combines Jim Henson's puppets (the Vogons as the living) with charmingly colorful computer effects that would surely suit, say, a full-length Red Dwarf in the future (I still haven't given up hope), and the playful music. The only flaw is the completely incomprehensible failure to explain the fundamental importance of the towel. I didn't mind, as a loyal reader I would have taken at least two towels and forty-two other backups to hitchhike through the universe, but the uninitiated viewer must surely have wondered "What the hell do they keep doing with that?" (02/29/2016)

I really enjoyed this humorous sci-fi and it reminded me that I would like to read the book version sometime. Excellent cast, as the meeting of Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy in one scene was absolutely electrifying thanks to their acting abilities. Otherwise, it is a clever and entertaining sci-fi with excellent actors, even in voice roles. (11/27/2014)