The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

As mentioned in a previous post, I saw The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy yesterday. I went with my wife and sister-in-law, neither one of whom have read the books, so I really wasn't sure what they'd think of it.

Altogether in the theatre, including the three of us, there were 8 people. I wasn't worried by that, as I wasn't expecting the movie to be too popular anyway, but I think it might have unnerved my companions a bit.

I can see why there are such mixed reactions to the movie. But personally, I liked it. I think it stayed very true to the books, even with the stuff they added in. (The whole visit to Vogsphere, which wasn't in the books, was a nice addition, I thought. It might have become boring if every scene in the movie was straight out of the book, or a tweaked version of a scene from the book.)

The one bit that I didn't like was the way they handled the love interest with Arthur and Trillian. I won't say specifically how they handled it (although this post might make it obvious), but this wasn't from the books, and it felt very tacked on. (Even to my wife, who, as I mentioned, hasn't read the books. So if it felt tacked on to her, then I know it's not just my purism.)

And they ended it very similar to how they ended the book, which means they've left themselves open for a sequel. Of course, I don't expect one to come - but on the other hand, I wouldn't have expected them to make this movie in the first place, so who knows?

All in all, the movie could have been better, but I can't say that I'm disappointed by it. It was good. But I honestly don't know whether someone who hasn't read the books would find it that good. I heard my wife and sister-in-law laughing a couple of times during the movie, but I don't know if that means they really enjoyed the movie or not - even the worst movie has its moments.