Say what you will, I had fun. I don't mean loads and loads of fun, like reading the books. Not bracing cinematic fun, like other movies I have rated similarly high might have been. But fun nonetheless. Which, if you're a fan of the series, tells you which camp I'm in: the Sacrosanct Adam's Cult (SAC), or the Highly Flexible Apologists Cult (HFAC).
Of course, writer Tom Robbins said something to the effect that there really are two kinds of people in this world: People that think that there are two kinds of people in this world, and those that know better. But, for the sake of fandom microscopy, let's assume this generalization holds.
Those in the SAC hated this movie, because somebody other than Douglas Adams worked on it. Worse, they blame every diversion and unsuccessful path explored to some sort of malicious manhandling by the studio system, who were obviously eager to turn H2G2 into the next Star Wars, and who cares if they pounded into puny plot submission, totally ignoring the fans who should have been consulted like a giant hive mind?
Those in the HFAC don't mind some new input--after all, Adams failed over and again bringing his vision to the big screen, and every version of H2G2 (sans books) involved a committee of sorts. Bring on the changes! They might be influenced by Adams, after all, in any small way, and his wisdom is such that it transcends translation. As a matter of fact, we think we see his influence in the latest Altman film....
(There is a third cult, which quietly has operatives in both previously mentioned cults, and that is the sub-cult of Apple who say that Adams must have been a kind, wise and generously genius man because he used an Apple Macintosh. Although I am a long time mac user and fan, I can ably disassemble this argument by pointing out that another very vocal mac supporter and user is Rush Limbaugh).
As for the movie--well, I think the Dust Brothers (oh wait--wasn't it the Chemical Brothers that directed it?) did a fine job, and made some very smart choices. One of the smart choices was the extensive use of models, that helped the movie feel like a poem to Terry Gilliam. Also good were the big puppets, like the Vogons (wise is the Sci-Fi director who chooses to include Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Unwise is the director who uses them to build Ewoks).
Mostly, though, it was fun for me to see a version of this story I've loved so much over the years. It may not have been perfect, and it may not have been true to Adams in the minutia, but I say big deal. Hopefully it made enough money for the sequels to be filmed. After all, this isn't the definitive version, but simply one version.
After all, Adams was really all about the writing. The BBC radio shows, the BBC Television shows--they're all tons of fun, but nowhere do they match the wit, impossibly intelligent humor, and devious ideas of the books themselves. In my mind, Adams will always be a writer best.
Where we saw it: Movie Theater | We deign to rate it: 85 outta 100