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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I should begin by offering that Hitchiker's Guide is one of my favorite books, EVER. So I had high hopes for Garth Jennings' incarnation. And like a Christian girl on her wedding night, I was terribly disappointed.
Plot Outline: Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." - Imdb.com
Acting: B-
Martin Freeman was brilliant playing the confused and frightened Dent. His voice, his mannerisms, his stutter are all exactly what I had always imagined Arthur to be like. I am not sure if anyone anywhere else in the universe could have played Dent with such excruciating accuracy. Equally brilliant were Mos Def (as Arthur's alien best friend Ford Prefect ) and Alan Rickman (as manically depressed robot Marvin.)
With the good comes the bad. First, the not so bad: Sam Rockwell was mediocre in his portrayal of Zaphod. He played it a little over the top (and little here is a little bit of an understatement), yet at least maintained the smallest semblance of character consistency.
And then there was Zoey Deschanel. She played Trillian, my favorite character in the book. Trillian is meant to be spunky, sarcastic and witty. She was written that way, but all of that spunky and sarcastic dialogue was delivered with the eloquence of a yak in heat.
Directing: C
Visually, this movie was stunning. The scenes of Earth's construction were the some of the best I have seen in a long time. But many of the shots were completely meaningless. It was neat to see a room which creates planets, but it had no purpose other than to show said room. As a director of actors, Jenning's was only as competent as the actors he was working with. He should have controlled Rockwell--not allowing Zaphod to become so crazy. I also did not like some of his visual interpretations of thigns in the book, but that may come more from my fanaticism than his incompetence.
Writing: C+
Douglas Adams (the author of the book) contributed greatly to the script. Yet he was under so much studio pressure, the finished script lacked the subtle to not-so-subtle humor seen in his books. The jokes were dry and unfunny. The writing may have been the most disappointing thing.
Special Effects: A
Everything did look very good.
Overall: 4/10
I should begin by offering that Hitchiker's Guide is one of my favorite books, EVER. So I had high hopes for Garth Jennings' incarnation. And like a Christian girl on her wedding night, I was terribly disappointed.
Plot Outline: Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." - Imdb.com
Acting: B-
Martin Freeman was brilliant playing the confused and frightened Dent. His voice, his mannerisms, his stutter are all exactly what I had always imagined Arthur to be like. I am not sure if anyone anywhere else in the universe could have played Dent with such excruciating accuracy. Equally brilliant were Mos Def (as Arthur's alien best friend Ford Prefect ) and Alan Rickman (as manically depressed robot Marvin.)
With the good comes the bad. First, the not so bad: Sam Rockwell was mediocre in his portrayal of Zaphod. He played it a little over the top (and little here is a little bit of an understatement), yet at least maintained the smallest semblance of character consistency.
And then there was Zoey Deschanel. She played Trillian, my favorite character in the book. Trillian is meant to be spunky, sarcastic and witty. She was written that way, but all of that spunky and sarcastic dialogue was delivered with the eloquence of a yak in heat.
Directing: C
Visually, this movie was stunning. The scenes of Earth's construction were the some of the best I have seen in a long time. But many of the shots were completely meaningless. It was neat to see a room which creates planets, but it had no purpose other than to show said room. As a director of actors, Jenning's was only as competent as the actors he was working with. He should have controlled Rockwell--not allowing Zaphod to become so crazy. I also did not like some of his visual interpretations of thigns in the book, but that may come more from my fanaticism than his incompetence.
Writing: C+
Douglas Adams (the author of the book) contributed greatly to the script. Yet he was under so much studio pressure, the finished script lacked the subtle to not-so-subtle humor seen in his books. The jokes were dry and unfunny. The writing may have been the most disappointing thing.
Special Effects: A
Everything did look very good.
Overall: 4/10