Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Martin Freeman stars as Arthur Dent in this big-screen adaptation of the Douglas Adams classic which invites audiences to be as confused as his character.

The movie is based on the first instalment of Adams’ five-part trilogy, telling the story of Earthman Arthur Dent, who narrowly escapes the planet before its imminent destruction courtesy of his friend Ford Prefect (oddly played by Mos Def). The story originated as a radio show before finding its way onto the page and small screen.

The beauty of the book, and what made it so popular, was the author’s ability to perfectly construct comic dialogue and weave in descriptions of his universe that had a lot to say about our own society. To translate this into movie form is very hard, and its makers certainly struggled.

Although Adams co-wrote the screenplay and added new scenes for the adaptation, the absurdist charm is more often than not lost as some of the most well-recognised lines from the book are either omitted completely or abridged to such an extent that fans will be expecting punchlines which never materialise. In other instances the movie’s scenes and jokes replace perfectly good ones from the book but simply aren’t as funny as their literary counterparts.

This is not to say that fans would be averse to tweaking of the plot and jokes here and there; it’s just a shame that the successful and well-loved version is substituted by an inferior one.

The plotline itself receives significant changes of focus. The love triangle between Arthur, Trillion (Zooey Deschanel) and Zaphod (Sam Rockwell) is blown out of all proportion (as compared to the book), turning Trillion into an unfamiliar and unnecessary love interest, while the movie’s ending differs notably from what fans will be expecting. Sub-plots, such as that involving Humma Kavula (John Malkovich), appear for no apparent reason and, in that particular case, never even reach a conclusion.

I was entertained almost all the way through the film, and it’s not a bad movie as such, it’s just disappointing knowing the potential of the source material and not seeing it come to fruition in the adaptation. In that respect, those who have had no previous experience with Hitchhiker’s Guide may have a better time. On the other hand, the movie does seem to assume some knowledge of the book, which could make it tricky to follow the plotline.

In terms of acting, there is little to fault. Each performance brings with it a new interpretation to the character, with the excellent Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast) and Sam Rockwell particularly standing out. Similarly, the over-the-top special effects fit the movie perfectly.

In conclusion, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy is by no means a bad film. Based on its own merits, the acting, effects and witty dialogue make it well worth watching for those acquainted with Adams as well as the uninitiated, but fans may be left with the nagging feeling that it could have been so much better.