Hitchhiker's Guide Review
We went out to see Kung Fu Hustle tonight, but somehow we got the time wrong so we saw Hitchhiker's Guide instead. We were planning to see it anyway, so this was not a problem for us.
Now, a few weeks back, we read a really damning review of the movie and freaked out. (Oh, BTW, mrsmetallian and I are BIG fans of the books and the radio show, and I dimly recall liking the BBC TV series when I was a kid.) However, over the last week we'd heard a lot of positive comments from people we actually know, so we relaxed and prepared to enjoy it.
Well...I have to say, I think I agree more with the negative review. It wasn't totally unfunny or anything, but it wasn't that good, either. Not surprisingly, the best bits were taken directly from the books. My problem wasn't so much that they took out or changed great, big chunks of the book, but that they mostly made up the difference with crap. The two major, new subplots were kind of pointless, and the two characters behind them were completely uninteresting. Certain things were not explained (and not in a funny, Douglas Adams, "WTF?" kind of way), which implied that some important scenes were cut.
I did like the lead actors quite a bit. The casting is one thing we were both happy with. Marvin was funny, but it's hard to go wrong with Marvin. (Okay, one or two of his lines were real groaners, but I can't even remember what they were.) We really enjoyed the way they handled the Guide itself. The whole concept of the Guide translates really well to the post-internet world, so I had a feeling they'd get that right. As for new material, some of the jokes revolving around Vogons were pretty amusing, and Ford's name makes more sense in the movie.
Oh - I did almost piss my pants with glee when they played a certain piece of music. At first, I was like, "Why does this sound so damned familiar?" Then I recognized it and nearly jumped out of my seat. Very nice. One of two very moments in the movie.
(I wish I could be more specific, but I don't want to be all spoiler-y.)
Still, despite some bright spots, overall I thought it came together rather poorly, and too much good material was sacrificed for no real gain. Kind of a shame. I hope it doesn't scare people away from the books.
Now, a few weeks back, we read a really damning review of the movie and freaked out. (Oh, BTW, mrsmetallian and I are BIG fans of the books and the radio show, and I dimly recall liking the BBC TV series when I was a kid.) However, over the last week we'd heard a lot of positive comments from people we actually know, so we relaxed and prepared to enjoy it.
Well...I have to say, I think I agree more with the negative review. It wasn't totally unfunny or anything, but it wasn't that good, either. Not surprisingly, the best bits were taken directly from the books. My problem wasn't so much that they took out or changed great, big chunks of the book, but that they mostly made up the difference with crap. The two major, new subplots were kind of pointless, and the two characters behind them were completely uninteresting. Certain things were not explained (and not in a funny, Douglas Adams, "WTF?" kind of way), which implied that some important scenes were cut.
I did like the lead actors quite a bit. The casting is one thing we were both happy with. Marvin was funny, but it's hard to go wrong with Marvin. (Okay, one or two of his lines were real groaners, but I can't even remember what they were.) We really enjoyed the way they handled the Guide itself. The whole concept of the Guide translates really well to the post-internet world, so I had a feeling they'd get that right. As for new material, some of the jokes revolving around Vogons were pretty amusing, and Ford's name makes more sense in the movie.
Oh - I did almost piss my pants with glee when they played a certain piece of music. At first, I was like, "Why does this sound so damned familiar?" Then I recognized it and nearly jumped out of my seat. Very nice. One of two very moments in the movie.
(I wish I could be more specific, but I don't want to be all spoiler-y.)
Still, despite some bright spots, overall I thought it came together rather poorly, and too much good material was sacrificed for no real gain. Kind of a shame. I hope it doesn't scare people away from the books.