Hitchhiker's Movie is Bad, says Adams Biographer

Rollerbob writes "MJ Simpson, who has 'been studying and documenting the life and career of Douglas Adams for more than 20 years', has written a very in-depth review and plot analysis of the Hitchhiker's movie. As well as the full review that contains SPOILERS , he has also published a shortened spoiler-free version, as well as a list of things from the radio plays, records, books and TV series that have not been included in the movie. Hitchhiker's fans, prepare to be like Marvin ... very depressed."

Comments

Re:Here we go again....

[ArbitraryConstant]

Except this guy gives specifics, and the specifics are terrible.

Also dialogue, which was (as the reviewer points out) always the best part.

An example he gives:

"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the Display Department."
"With a torch."
"The lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But you found the plans, didn't you?"
"Oh yes, they were 'on display' in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the leopard.'"

Or, as the movie version has it:

"I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"But you found the plans, didn't you?"

He gives other examples but I think you get the point. The things that made the story so much fun have been ruthelessly truncated.

Worse than Vogon Poetry

[wasted]

If the reviewer is accurate, (and I have no reason to doubt it,) this movie is nothing like Mr. Adams would have wanted.

I believe Douglas Adams once made a comment about how good humor was a gift to the intelligent - those that weren't intelligent really didn't understand it. Judging from the long review, this movie isn't aimed at an intelligent audience.

I guess I'll wait for it to hit video (maybe late May,) and rent it on a day when I want to punish myself and feel bad.

Re:Worse than Vogon Poetry

[Hast]

Reminds me of an interview I read with Terry Pratchett. He said that his book "Mort" was up for a movie with an American movie studio. They had made a script out of it and presented it to the descision makers, their comment was "Really good! But lose the Death character, it's too depressing."

For those that don't know that book is about how Death takes on an apprentice (Mort). He's pretty crusial to the plot.

Want a good review instead?

[Mark Hood]

Try Empire, a British film magazine that has been panicking over the Hitchhiker's movie since it was first announced, and has now released their full review.

4 stars (out of 5) and the quickie write up says:

Mostly harmless. A very British, very funny sci-fi misadventure that's guaranteed to win converts. Want to go to The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe now, please.

They admit it's not perfect, but their review's a damn sight more positive than the linked one.

As we said, those hardcore Hitchhikers out there have little to worry about. Although they should be warned that the movie's faithfulness means all its best jokes will be very familiar. For them, it's more a case of basking comfortably in the nostalgia than laughing out loud. But if you're new to all this, and have no idea about the significance of towels, or what a whale and a bowl of petunias have in common, then, boy, are you in for a treat...

Mark

Re:It'll all end in tears, I know it.

[pyr0r0ck3r]

I seem to remember hearing that the Cronicles started out as a parody of religeon before he changed his mind became a christian.

Nope. I did an annotated bibliography on Tolkien and Lewis, and was actually suprised to find out that by the time Lewis started writing the Chronicles, his good buddy Tolkien had already convinced Lewis that Christianity was the way to go. Interestingly enough, Tolkien, the one who was born, raised, and stayed catholic his entire life, did not let his religion seep through into his writing as much as Lewis did. Interesting point though, Lewis converted to Protestantism, instead of Catholicism. I believe it was shortly after this that Lewis and Tolkien stopped talking, because Lewis started being a prick about the whole thing.