posted
I'm one of the biggest fans of the books (mainly the first two), so the release of this movie was something I was really looking forward to... only to suffer intense disappointment.
The movie is not necessarily bad. In fact, I bet most people who are NOT fans of the book (or haven't read it) will enjoy the movie. Its got good acting, nice direction, and is pretty funny.
But the type of humor is the problem. The movie took a satirical and dialogue based novel and turned it into phyical comedy (with some vestiges of satirical humor left in, mainly the times where they took stuff word for word from the novel, ie all the actual guide entries).
I'm not the kind of person who cares if they remain true to the novel's details. I just wanted the overall theme to remain in place. Or atleast the overall story. Yes, they get the main story of the books messed up. Its hard to find a parallel example, but the goal of the main characters in the movie is NOT the main goal of the characters in the book. Its far from the main goal. In fact, they try to AVOID the main goal of the movie.
Like I said earlier, its not a problem of the cast or even the director. The cast, especially Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, and the Warwick Davis as the voice of Marvin, were great. I even liked how the guy playing Zaphod (Sam Rockwell) brought in a little bit of George W. Bush into his role. And the effects (especially when they get onto the Margarthea planet building shop floor) are great.
Its the script that sucked.
And what's even worse is, if they decide to do a sequel (which they probably will) there is no way they can do one based on the actual second book. Just won't work.
And truth be told, I'm not sure anyone prominently involved in the production of this movie has actually read the second book, because the very last line of the movie is factually wrong based on the the second novel (they talk about the end of the universe as a place, when it is in fact a time).
Overall, I guess I was disappointed. And I'm sure any fan of the books will be as well.
But for everyone else, I recommend going to see it.
Posts: 13 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I actually liked the movie, not because of the plot, but because it was just REALLY funny. The problem with Hitchhiker's guide is that it really is too much of a book to fit into a movie. Alot of it did seem very rushed, and as such, most of the humor got lost in the compressed time frame. The end was fairly anti-climactic, and certainly didn't fit with the actual book (though I have a hard time remembering, since it's been 10 years since I read it).
The treatment of the improbability drive was classic, probably my favorite joke of the movie, but got old about the 3rd time they used the joke.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Whoops. See, I could have sworn it was Alan Rickman (he DOES have a distinctive voice), but when I checked imdb.com to see how to spell Zoeey's name I saw Warwick Davis listed as Marvin. Now I realize that Davis was the midget/little person who played the Marvin character. Whoops.
quote:I actually liked the movie, not because of the plot, but because it was just REALLY funny. The problem with Hitchhiker's guide is that it really is too much of a book to fit into a movie. Alot of it did seem very rushed, and as such, most of the humor got lost in the compressed time frame. The end was fairly anti-climactic, and certainly didn't fit with the actual book (though I have a hard time remembering, since it's been 10 years since I read it).
Yeah, I realize the conversion from book to film would cause alot of loss. But I'm just surprised at what they left out compared to what they left in. I guess they were going for broad appeal, and I can't fault them for that (well, actually, I can and DO fault them from a personal standpoint, but I understand why they did so).
quote:The treatment of the improbability drive was classic, probably my favorite joke of the movie, but got old about the 3rd time they used the joke.
I definitely enjoyed that, although I wish they went even further with the absurdity (I would have killed to see the line about a thousand monkeys wanting to talk to them about a script for something they call "Hamlet"). But thats just nitpicking.
Posts: 13 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Hey, they managed to leave in the Sperm whale bit. I think if they'd left in the best lines from the book, it would have been 2 hours of straight laughter, and I'm sure they know that that is no way to treat an audience (After an hour or so, people would start developing major abdominal pain from laughing too hard) even though it would definately be worth the pain.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I had a huge fight with my boyfriend in which I insisted that Warwick Davis had played Marvin and he insisted it was Alan Rickman. And when I won I was very overbearing about it. And now I'm going to have to tell him I was wrong
I thought the movie was dull. There wasn't anything really wrong with it (except for Zaphod who just needed to not be there ever, which sucks, because he was a really interesting character in the books) it was just sort of boring. I found myself sitting in the theatre wondering how long it would be until it was finally over. I thought the pacing was off, and the director wasn't really sure what kind of movie he was making. The acting was very good, but the movie relied on that so little that it was dull anyway.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Yeah, I was also pretty disappointed with Zaphod, though I approved of Ford, Arthur, Marvin, and Trillian.
I pictured Slartibartfast as older, but it still worked for me. I REALLY liked the planet factory, though.
I was, however, PROFOUNDLY irritated by the apparent need to make Trillian Arthur's "true love." On behalf of all those who read the books, I just have to say: "Nuh-uh!!!!!!"
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I was disappointed my favorite joke was blown by the gentleman who played Slartibartfast (Nighy?)
He stuttered it far too much. It's supposed to go something like this.
S: Come come! Or you'll be late! A: Late? Late for what? S: Late as in... what's your name? A: Dent, Arthur Dent. S: Late as in "The Late Dent Arthur Dent" It's sort of a threat you see, I've never been very good at them.
Overall I enjoyed the movie but half the time my hubby and I were the only ones laughing. The little girls in front of us kept saying "Huh?" but then they would say "awwwww!" for marvin every time he opened his mouth.
Speaking of Marvin, I thought Alan Rickman would be the perfect voice for him, but I don't know.. I guess I watched the TV version too many times and, to me, that's the ONLY marvin voice.
I didn't mind the Trillian-Arthur romance so much, which I realize makes me a blasphemer.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Nah...it was always hinted at; it was just...you know...Fenchurch! But that's much later in the books, I guess.
Anyway, I've just realized that what REALLY bothers me about Zaphod is the fact that I cannot see Sam Rockwell without thinking about the character that he played in the movie version of The Green Mile. He plays criminally insane way too well to be Zaphod (who is crazy, and criminal, but not ...you know... murderous).
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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Except that he wrote an early draft, and it was "polished" by another screenwriter. You can tell what's Adam's and what's HOLLYWOOD
Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002
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I thought it was really weird that Sam Rockwell looked and acted so much much like Sammy Hagar. And the way they did the two head thing freaked me out.
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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The whole movie, I wanted Owen Wilson to be playing the part. To me, Sam Rockwell is the annoying guy in Galaxy Quest.
Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I had fun. It wasn't great or anything, but I did have a good time. I thought it captured the "what the heck is going on?" feel of the book, which was pretty much all I was looking for.
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Well the movie finished the with a gross of 21 million (not overseas of course.) That's great news as the movie only cost 45 million to make. With a much larger audience for the movie in the UK, I think we can look foward to two more movies. Sorry, this means no Fenchurch..As for the whole Trillian Auther love story, at not like they didn't have a history. They do have a child together. Of course they never had sex but still...
Posts: 796 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I'd like to note that every incarnation (including the two stage plays) except the comics contradicted all the other versions (it was supposed to, DNA said so himself), and the basic plot was supposed to contradict the radio shows, books, and TV shows, I would have been very upset if it didn't, so I am glad the movie contradicted the second book (and in fact most of the cast and executive crew have read all the books). However, it has lost a lot of DNA's wit. Beyond that, I loved it because it had so many inside jokes for those of us who've read, listened, and watched all the previous versions (such as Marvin from the TV shows). Satyagraha
While it wasn't bad, and it was certainly funny at parts, it was lacking in the grander scheme.
In the book, for all the absurdist british humor throughout, I still cared about the characters enough to turn the page. It wasn't because I was looking for the next gag, but I was interested in seeing what happened to Arthur, and empathized with Marvin, and wanted to be buddies with Ford.
This movie was thin, and the characterization wasn't there. I never got any attachment to anyone, really, except perhaps for Trillian when she zapped Zaphod with the gun. And that was fleeting.
I dunno. I don't know how they could have made me enjoy it more. It just seemed somewhat flat and empty, kinda like eating a rice cake. You're pretty sure you ate something, but it did nothing to take the edge off your hunger.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Ok good, I saw the movie this weekend with kwisni and Psychotriad and while we all enjoyed the movie as "cute" we definitely expected more "British" humor in it. I expected it to be more cynical and cutting and a little less fluffy in the humor.
(we all went, well lets see what Hatrack has to say about this before we really decide... but you guys agree!)
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I liked it quite a bit and thought Zaphod was hilARIOUS. Like Jack Jack in the incredibles, whenever he was onscreen I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
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FlyingCow - that pretty much sums up how I felt about the movie. I was entertained by disappointed.
Not because of the plot changes, I expected those. But the characters didn't ring true.
Arthur and Trillian I had no problem with. The bonding scenes seemed awkward, but perhaps they were supposed to.
Marvin was... OK. But then he had more to do later in the books, so I'm not too annoyed. And thank you for the original Marvin appearance!
Ford Prefect. I like Mos Def. But I don't know why he chose to mumble all of his lines, and have close to no emotion at all. Worse, to me, was the editing of his lines so that the slightly manic edge the character had in all his other incarnations isn't visible here. Tough to provide examples without spoilers, but in the beginning of the story Ford does some fast talking and spins some shaky logic around someone. It establishes his character as someone quick-witted, with the ability to confound. In the movie he uses a cheap trick. Faster, yes, but gives us no insight to the character. Ford in the books/radio/tv seemed to me to be like the music critic/magazine writer that's been everywhere and knows everyone. Not famous himself, but can handle himself in any situation. Here he was... a guy, and not a well-defined one.
Zaphod. Didn't work for me. I like Sam Rockwell, didn't mind the accent, but again the character moments just weren't there. Example (minor spoiler): when he gets the Heart of Gold, in the books he says something like "This ship is amazing. Really amazingly amazing. In fact it's so amazingly amazing I think I'd like to steal it." And while everyone's laughing, he does. Cool. In the movie, it was something like "And now I'm kidnapping myself." Ehh.
A lot of the key lines weren't there or were changed into just, you know, dialogue.
Were I not familiar (too familiar?) with the books, I'd probably enjoy this movie. Had a very Galaxy Quest feel, with better graphics.
Give you an idea of how I felt during most of this movie. Say in the Ender's Game movie, we get to the last Battle Room sequence and dialogue like:
Ender: "They've got me outnumbered, again. I'm so tired."
Bean: "Remember, the enemy's gate is below us."
Same intent as the book, same characters, roughly the same meaning, but just not... right.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Well, I never particularly thought the story and characters in the book were entirely brilliant, either . . .
Anyways, DNA's main strength was in dialogue. The best parts of Hitchhiker's is just talking. However, Americans don't go to see witty dialogue movies. Therefore--
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iirc, Warwick Davis was inside the Marvin suit. he was definitely credited in the opening reel, we didn't stick around for end credits.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Some people seem to be confused. (Or maybe I'm just reading this wrong.) Warwick Davis is the man in the Marvin suit. Alan Rickman is the voice of Marvin. They were both Marvin, OK? Good.
Posts: 486 | Registered: Feb 2005
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Wait, so there were two Marvins in the movie? I don't remember there being two Marvins in the book. Why does Hollywood have to destroy everything I love? Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Give you an idea of how I felt during most of this movie. Say in the Ender's Game movie, we get to the last Battle Room sequence and dialogue like:
Ender: "They've got me outnumbered, again. I'm so tired."
Bean: "Remember, the enemy's gate is below us."
Same intent as the book, same characters, roughly the same meaning, but just not... right.
Exactly! Thanks for wording it perfectly. I spent 20 minutes during the post trying to bring an Ender's Game example to truly express my thoughts about the movie, and that ones just it.
And truth be told, thats even relatively minor compared to some of the verbal snafus in the movie. And sometimes I don't even know WHY they changed the lines, did they think it was funnier (it wasn't)?
Posts: 13 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: *So Long..and Thanks for All The Fish....*
I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for WEEKS now!!!
FG
That was my favorite part of the movie.
We just saw it, and were disappointed. It wasn't anywhere near as good as the books. The jokes just... fell flat. Too bad.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I had a huge fight with my boyfriend in which I insisted that Warwick Davis had played Marvin and he insisted it was Alan Rickman. And when I won I was very overbearing about it. And now I'm going to have to tell him I was wrong ![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
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Why does Hollywood have to destroy everything I love? ![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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That was my favorite part of the movie. 
