The film of the game of the TV show of the book of the radio series

At the weekend, Kevin and I went to see the Hitchhiker's movie (small spoilers abound).

In truth, I was a bit disappointed overall. I'm quite a purist when it comes to things like Hitchhiker's, and although it was okay I wanted it to be special. I don't care that the story's been altered (though if they'd mangled the beginning — the only part that's really consistent between versions of Hitchhiker's — I'd have been put out), since Hitchhiker's was never really about the story anyway. For me, the delight always lay in the verbal exchanges, the carefully-chosen wording, the absurdity of the micro-episodes that occurred. As it is, an awful lot of the verbal humour seems to have been excised.

I realise that film is a far more visual medium than, say, books or radio, and the time constraints of the format meant they couldn't fit everything in, but it's a shame that so much of the iconic stuff (eg. "Beware of the leopard"), and also the funny stuff, was cut. They managed to retain "Zaphod's just zis guy, you know?", but included the Guide entry on Vogons without the punchline?

I think the main problem was that what humour remained mostly wasn't as intelligent as typical Hitchhiker's fare, and so much of the film didn't feel like Hitchhiker's to me. They also completely defied the whole point and motivation of Arthur's character with their ending, which rankled a bit. Oh, and if Trillian really is "the One" for Arthur, that seems to preclude the possibility of Fenchurch in future films, which seems a shame.

Okay, I'll stop moaning. On to the good stuff.

I really liked the very opening, even though there was no reference to digital watches or green bits of paper. The visuals throughout the whole film, as befitted the medium, were superb, and Magrathea's "factory floor" was awe-inspiring. Martin Freeman is wonderful as Arthur Dent, and Mos Def is shockingly good as Ford Prefect. I'd never have visualised him like that, but he really worked in the role. And Bill Bailey's whale was the best thing in the whole film :-)

Bill Nighy fitted the role of Slartibartfast brilliantly, though his "Late, as in the late Dentarthurdent" seemed to fall a bit flat. And, of course, Alan Rickman was nearly perfect for Marvin, though I still maintain I'd like to have seen Rowan Atkinson have a go at that.

As an overall judgement, I'd tell you to go and see it (if you haven't already), but if you're too much of a Hitchhiker's fan already you possibly shouldn't get your hopes up. One final thought — if there is a "Restaurant At The End Of The Universe" movie, and it doesn't contain the line "I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis", I'm going to be irked.