Name: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
IMDb: Hitchhiker's Guide main IMDb page
Genres: Comedy, Adventure, SciFi, Romance
Cast: Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) as Ford Prefect, Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Anna Chancellor as Questular Rontok, John Malkovich as Humma Kavula, Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast, Helen Mirren as voice of Deep Thought, Stephen Fry as Narrator.
Written by: Douglas Adams (novel); Douglas Adams and Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay).
Directed by: Garth Jennings.
The Three Acts
1. The Initial Tableau: We start on Earth, where an ordinary fellow (Arthur Dent) soon discovers that his house is about to be demolished for the sake of a bypass. His friend Ford Prefect drops by to inform him that Earth is about to be blown up. While Arthur's house is completely demolished, Ford prepares him for leaving Earth. During this short stint, Arthur tells Ford about his feeling of loss over Tricia McMillan, whom he had recently met. However, she ran off with some fellow who claimed he had a spaceship. Ford and Arthur barely escape before Earth is destroyed.
2. Delineation of Conflicts: The Vogons do indeed blow up the Earth. Ford and Arthur are tortured by having to listen to Vogon poetry. They are about to be executed because Arthur insulted the poetry written by the torturer. By a massive coincidence (one of many), they are rescued by Zaphod Beeblebox, the president of the galaxy, and Trillian, who once called herself Tricia McMillan. So, all is well, and the film ends, right?
Well, no. Arthur learns that Ford and Zaphod are old friends and also aliens from worlds other than Earth. Ford is a writer who is doing research for a new edition of Hitchhiker's Guide. Zaphod had stolen the one vastly expensive ship Heart of Gold whose engine is the improbability drive. Rontok is after Zaphod for kidnapping the president (Zaphod; figure that one), and she sends the Vogons after him. Zaphod has some unfinished business with Humma Kavula (his previous political opponent), which causes him to search out Deep Thought and ask for a particular gun that Humma demands. While with Deep Thought, we get entangled with the quest for the question to life, the universe, and everything. Deep Thought knows the answer (42), but not the question. Zaphod, Arthur, and Trillian wrangle about why she left Earth (and Arthur) with Zaphod, and about who ordered Earth to be destroyed. The clinically depressed robot Marvin laments all the pieces.
3. Resolution: Some issues are resolved in this film. The book that spawned the film was only the first in a series, after all. When Arthur meets Slartibartfast (played brilliantly by Bill Nighy), the third act takes off. Slartibartfast works for a concern that builds planets. Perhaps all this could be put back together, but will it?
One line summary: Slow start, strong finish.
Statistics
a. Cinematography: 10/10 Taken as a whole, this is a beautiful film. Even the charts were a visual asset.
b. Sound: 8/10 The dialog is clear, and background sound added to the proceedings.
c. Acting: 8/10 Malkovich was brilliant in a small role, as were Rickman, Mirren, and Fry as voice actors. Bill Nighy gave a wonderful performance. I liked Ms Deschanel better than I usually do. Mr Freeman played the character he usually plays, an ill-equipped ordinary being who somehow perseveres to see tough goals achieved. So, he was a fine choice to play Arthur Dent.
d. Screenplay: 6/10 This is an odd duck. The beginning was so slow it almost demanded yawns. However, the building of context through the film led to a brilliant and dense comedic impact in the last 20 minutes. The start, though, was so bad that the wife and I nearly abandoned the film to watch, well, anything else. I am glad to have stuck with it, but would not watch it again.
Final Rating: 8/10
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