Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Barely watchable.
I mean, I know Adams did a lot of tinkering with the story in its various incarnations, but this thing was … um … words fail me. Ford (Mos Def) was barely there. Zaphod (Sam Rockwell) had far too big of a very annoying role. Trillian (Zooey Deschanel) phoned it in. Marginally better was Arthur (Martin Freeman), but he utterly failed to convey any of the bewilderment necessary for the role. (It would have been better if he’d played his The Office character.) Marvin, even with Alan Rickman’s voice, was just not morose. He looked morose, which itself is entirely wrong; he’s supposed to be a miserable thing in a happy suit.
This was less about plot than a series of punchline setups for the better known jokes. About the only thing that really worked was the intro with the dolphins. Beyond that, nada. There was even more of an identity crisis as the film couldn’t decide if it was American or British, right down to varying pronunciations of various words.
Even if I weren’t familiar with the book/radio play/tv series, I think this would be hard to follow.
Cameos by Simon Jones, the original Arthur, and the original Marvin.
