K-Wise

^ Haha I'm pretty fond of Ice Cube too

Asta!!

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pan6467

I don't know about that Ice T, Ice Cube and Will Smith all got their start in rap and have made names for themselves as actors.

The movie looks very special effects laden, which can be good or can be bad.... considering the movie probably good, but still not as great as your imagination when you're in your teens and reading the books.

Plus, the books were about that dry English humor as much as about sci-fi. Have a feeling the Python guys should have been in this.... Cleese, Idle and all.

Does anyone know if this is just HHG or is it a combination of all the books?

If so, that's kind of stupid isn't it?

I mean each book has a movie in itself (not sure of the last one.. I just read the first 4... HHG, Restaurant, Life the Universe and Everything and So Long and Thanks for all the Fish). How could they have sequels if they do all the books in 1 movie?

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Nikilidstrom

Just saw a link on FARK that went to a press review of this movie. They really tore it apart, saying that it completely destroyed the story and stripped out all the humor and character development and replaced them with slapstick physical comedy and special effects. Anyone who is a fan of the book will be supremely disappointed, and anyone who wants to see a good movie that makes any kind of sense will be as well. Hopefully the reviewer is wrong, but he went into quite a bit of detail on what is and isn't in the movie. If you don't mind a few spoilers, check the review out here:

www.planetmagrathea.com/shortreview.html

d*d

We have more comedians in england than the monty python lot (who are all getting on a bit now) some of whom are perfectly capable of using our dry humour to great effect

grendel

maybe i won't feel this way after seeing the flick, but i think Freeman as Arthur is a fantastic bit of casting.

mcat1981

What I'm still trying to figure out is who they made this movie for, exactly. Who would be excited - and therefore support it - besides fans of the books? I can't understand the decision to cut so much out of the movie.

I'll see it, but I'm going in with a rather jaded attitude.

ChistledStone

I shall see it no matter what the critics say. Depending on your point of view and past experiences it could either be a good movie or a horrible one. I for one extremely enjoyed the movie Hell-Boy, but many others hated it.

Each to their own, I guess.

irateplatypus

the early reviews were, by-and-large, very positive... yet the more recent ones and the latest trailer give me reservations.

i really hope this does the source material justice.

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DownwardSpiral

Meh, I've seen a few trailers for this movie and I don't think I'll see it in a theater. Just dosen't really seem like my kind of show.

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pan6467

I am aware of that and did not mean to seem insulting, it's just from what I know of the cast (and I admit I know very little) they are not great comedic talents.

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killeena

I think that probably the best way to enjoy this movie is going to be to forget all the details from the books. I am sure that there are going to be many changes in the details, so it is probably best not to get too hung up on the fact that, "OMG! I never pictured Ford as being black!", or "OMG! they didn't do Zaphod's head correctly!" It is going to be different, because it has to be.

That being said, I hope they do keep certain important elements, such as some of the great lines from the guide.

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Nikilidstrom

Sorry about setting up the link wrong in my earlier post. Here it is again, but it actually goes somewhere this time :

www.planetmagrathea.com/shortreview.html

cellophanedeity

I liked the trailer enough that I have a feeling I'll enjoy the film, but I have enough experience with good books being bad movies that I have some reservations.

Either way, I'm looking forward to this.

liquidlight

That's nearly word for word what I said when I saw the trailers I adjusted to Ford rather quickly, once I realized that I was being very silly and quite racist to think that he should be white, but I'm still rather peeved that Zaphod is missing an ENTIRE HEAD!?

How are they supposed to do the dialog where he talks to himself?! :P I'm still going to see it opening weekend, and I'm sincerely hoping to be entertained. (i.e. there'd better one helluva horrible poetry reading!)

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mrklixx

I'm guessing that you haven't seen the full-on trailer then, because he's not really missing his other head.

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keyshawn

They've moved it up to April 29th
I hope I have time to read the books before I see it

/NEVER read any of the 'hitchhiker' series yet, I heard about the books before on /. plenty of times, but I assumed it was just fanboys' drivel and then didn't really get interested in at all until i saw the trailer @ work.

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Latch

I just got back from seeing this (came out today, the 28th, in Australia).. and I have to say, I'm semi-disappointed.. while I did enjoy it, it didn't seem to have the same feeling as the book/radio series (I haven't watched all the TV series yet, so I couldn't say...). They seem to work hard to incorporate some slapstick, and most the creatures (vogons especially) just reminded me of demented muppets. Quite a few "classic" lines weren't in there... and they seemed to glaze over a lot of the stuff to make it fit in a nice friendly movie.

That said.. I'm not sure what I was expecting. Am I just disappointed because it differed from my personal perception of the scenes/people/actions/etc? Probably.. but I think it's more than that. Some of the jokes seem very forced, making you expect a laugh-track right after them...

Semi-small spoilers:
Spoiler: They focus quite a bit on Arthur and Trillian and their love for each other. It get's annoying

So.. overall (IMHO).. it was OK, but not great by any extent.

jwoody

The original radio series is being repeated on BBC Radio 4 (also available on-line) from next Tuesday, 3rd May at 18:30 GMT. Most programs are available for a couple of days after the original airing but I can't guarantee this one will be.

Unfortunately for some you need RealPLayer to make it work.

Here's the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/netwo...udiolist.shtml

stevie667

Saw the movie finally last night.

It was varied in some parts, got annoying in others, but the bits where it was funny, i could barely breathe for laughter. The special effects on the whole were great, and it's definatly worth watching.

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Cynthetiq

I had screener passes for it last night but had to decline going due to other plans.

Looks like from the intial reviews that I'm not missing much...

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TexanAvenger

It's different from the book... but Adams himself acknowledged that it would have to change as the medium changed.

I liked the narration of guide entries, as it gave the same impression of wit as the actual book, but somethings were so different that it made me hope they don't move onto Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

As for the issue latch addressed in his spoiler tag, wholly and fully agreed on that point.

blahblah454

I have been a huge fan of the books ever since I read them when I was just a wee lad. Since then I have read them several times over and am going to see the movie tommarow.

teflonian

I actually was very impressed. I went in with pretty low expectations though. Of course it couldn't live up to the books, but taken as a separate thing the movie was great. There are some added plot twists that I am sure will be used to string together the next movies in a more cohesive way. The addition of the extra plot lines was somewhat annoying, but after reading a few interviews I get the idea that Adams himself probably had a lot to do with them, and I can see how they were needed to firm up the book's plot. I really got a good feeling from the movie though, as if Adams would have approved. Most people who have read the books loved the books and it is therefore obviously necessary to deflate your expectations a little bit before seeing it. That said though, some of the best parts of the book did make it into the movie more or less intact. I am actually now really looking forward to the next movies and hope they get made!

cellophanedeity

I agree with teflonian on this one. The movie was well done, considering expectations. Even my most devoted HHGTTG fan laughed a couple of times, which is rare for him at movies. (he's a movie snob *shrugs*)

But yah, it was good, Marvin was cuter than I imagined, but Allan Rickman is awesome, so it makes up for it.

Quite good, all in all!

degrawj

just saw this movie. i haven't read the book yet, so this was one of the most confusing movies i have ever seen. that doesn't mean it wasn't good, because it was good. just kind of confusing. and it also seemed a bit short too. now i just have to read the book.

hotzot

My kids enjoyed it. I gave it a 6 out of 10.

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Grasshopper Green

I saw this today. I've never read the book, so I'm sure it would have made more sense and been funnier if I had. It was one of the wackiest movies I've ever seen, but it was entertaining and worth seeing.

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blahblah454

Overall I was pretty unimpressed with the movie. They talked about the towel alot but didnt explain it at all for the rookie hitchhiker, they never even chewed on the towels in the movie.

Its also been a while since I've read the books, I have a huge list of books to read before I get down to re-reading the hitchhiker series, so I wasnt sure if this is a colaberation of several books or just the first. I know it missed tons but I'm not sure if thats just cause it was the first book and in my mind all 5 are kind of muddled together.

I also tried to add a spoiler but Im kind of an idiot and can't figure out how to highlight the words so that they dont apear, maybe someone could help me out with that.

stevie667

[QUOTE=blahblah454]Overall I was pretty unimpressed with the movie. They talked about the towel alot but didnt explain it at all for the rookie hitchhiker, they never even chewed on the towels in the movie.[QUOTE]

i picked up on that too, the whole thing about the towel in the books was in my opinion one of the funniest parts, and while the usage of the towel in some scenes was also very funny, it did miss parts for rookies.


Edit: Role on the extended DVD!

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billege

Man, I don't care if it was like the book, not like the book, any of that. It sucked. Hard.
Really. Sucked.

It's been a while since I saw a movie that utterly bad.

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killeena

I thought that the movie was great. I went in realizing that it is not supposed to be a direct interpretation of the book, and I think that helped a lot. My only complaints are that they didn't go too far into the plans to demolish Arthurs house being in a locked cellar with no lights and whatnot. They could have also done without the love story. I also agree with Blahblah that they should have explained the towels better for the newbies. All in all though, the movie was great. This is definately a movie that I am going to have to pick up the DVD for when it comes out.

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NoSoup

I saw this a couple of days ago - and decided I'd wait a few days to see if my feelings changed about this movie.

They didn't.

It was terrible. I am not sure what the point of this movie was - It was too far from the actual "trilogy" for the original fans to really enjoy it, and had absolutely no way to help someone who had never read the books to follow along.

I understand that some things had to change because the medium changed (Zaphod's head, ect) however - that doesn't mean that the entire story had to change. Basically - they took the names of charators/ships from books, a couple of scenes, and that's about it. Most of that movie doesn't even resemble the story from the books, much less do it justice.

I suppose, however, that I was fairly impressed with how they made the planet building factory look, other than that though, most of the special effects were rubbish. The Vogans? Give me a break... as someone previously said, "demented puppets" is a pretty accurate description of them.

I think a lot could have been done to explain to the newcomer what in the hell was going on - they don't really mention why the towel is so important - (which would have taken an entire 10 seconds) they don't really detail how the improbability drive works, so I can't even imagine what someone who had never seen the books is thinking when the ship turns into a flower... and many more staples in the Hitchhiker's Universe.

Unfortunate - but I suppose we can just chalk it up to yet another terrible book turned movie dud. I still have high hopes for Ender's Game though... *crosses fingers*

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teflonian

Oh, I must not be an original fan then, as I really enjoyed it. I guess I did only read the books 5-10 times each and haven't really yet immersed myself into them as some people have. Ok, I didn't need to get all snarky there, but I hate when purists demand that no one can enjoy a movie based on a book due to it being different.

The major changes that were in the movie are needed in my opinion. Reread all of the books and you will know that the series ends very very pointlessly and depressingly. The plot needed to be firmed up in some way to allow for a more solid story. I don't know for sure, but I am pretty certain they wouldn't have added the plot lines with the priest and what not if Adams hadn't done it himself or at least had started on something similar. The "trilogy” has been evolving ever since its first incarnation as a radio series (which I still really want to listen to but have yet not had the chance). I really hope the movie series doesn’t lead to the same end as the books, and from what I read from Adams, he really wanted to end the series in a different way as well due to the last book being written when he was in a depressive state of mind. So, I am looking forward to the surprises in store for us in the following movies… If they are ever made.

The minor changes such as the crew turning into, well, different things (to save this from being spoilertastic I won’t describe that in detail), were actually funny and more suited to a movie than the subtle things in the book. And despite what someone said earlier in this thread, they did explain the improbability drive, not quite as well as the book did… But sufficiently enough for something that obviously can’t be logically explained.

Coppertop

I have read and reread the books many times.

I enjoyed the movie. The first half was amazingly true to the books, I felt. The second half... not so much. The ending was Hollywoodized for sure. And the love interest was definitely overplayed.

So overall, I liked it. It wasn't as good as I would have hoped, but what can you do?

Wasn't the Heart of Gold supposed to be shaped like a shoe?

StormBerlin

I just saw this today, and for the most part I thought it was good. I didn't read any of the books, but I think I should now because I felt kinda lost about the towel thing. Maybe someone could explain it? During certain scenes, I was laughing so hard I was crying. One in particular was the one with the whale, "Hello ground." Classic

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FngKestrel

Your towel is the most important thing you can carry with you, so sayeth the Guide. It goes on at some length about the uses of the towel in regards to intergalactic travel.

lordkos

I think the movie is gonna kick ass
Probably wont be as great as expected but probably good
Im gonna go see it either way

lindseylatch

I really enjoyed it. I haven't read the books in a WHILE, so I only remember the general bits. Everyone was very well-cast, I thought. I was a little "eh?" about Mos Def, but I think he did a good job.
It is sad that they didn't at least go far enough to include the Ultimate Question, but that's a ways into the second book, isn't it?
It did make me want to read the first book again, and maybe the rest.
I really liked the way they did the little sidenotes, like the stuff from the Guide and the whale bit. The little animations were cute!
I can't understand going and seeing it without read the books...You would be TOTALLY lost. That's one of the big problems with the series in general (although I'm not sure problem is the right word), that it isn't easy to cram into just a couple hours and make sense (not that the books really make a WHOLE lot of sense).
But it was cool that Adams was in on it, so I'm sure any changes were at least run by him. Thank God we're getting into that trend in movie making:bringing the author in on the making of the film.

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grendel

i saw it sunday and my take on it is that it was OK - i didn't love it, i didn't hate it. it wasn't as good as i'd hoped, but wasn't as bad as i feared. i think there were bits of genius - the intro with the dolphins and the "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" song, the Magrathea factory floor, the guide animations and voice... Still, it just seemed to me that the movie was missing something. as others have said, i also thought the lack of explanation about ford's towel fetish was misguided, and i think that the whole Deep Thought bit was too rushed.

i enjoyed the flick, but not as much as i'd hoped. i think it may be the kind of movie that you might appreciate more with each viewing, so i'd like to see it again.

i'd probably give it a 6.5 out of 10.

ChistledStone

I saw it. I shan't say much. But I think the ending was original, yet still had that flare of Douglas Adams humour. I did think they skipped on some of the details including the details which was bad, and I think Zaphood (sic) wasn't done as I imagined it, but if that was in the book format, and the actual book was the movie, wouldn't you have been pissed anyway?

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