Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

MPA Rating: PG-Rating (MPA) for thematic elements, action and mild language.

Reviewed by: Michael Karounos
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 50 min.
Year of Release: 2005
USA Release:
Copyright, Touchstone Pictures Copyright, Touchstone Pictures Copyright, Touchstone Pictures Copyright, Touchstone Pictures Copyright, Touchstone Pictures Copyright, Touchstone Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Touchstone Pictures

Materialism—What if the cosmos is all that there is? Answer

Extraterrestrials—Are we alone, or is there lots of life elsewhere in the universe? Answer

Bible and ETs—What does the Bible say about intelligent life on other planets? Answer

Does Scripture refer to life in space? Answer

About agnosticism and atheism

Does God really exist? How can we know? If God made everything, who made God? Answer

Where did life come from? Is evolution really the best scientific answer? Answer

Creation SuperLibrary.com

Featuring Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy
Director Garth Jennings
Producer Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Nick Goldsmith, Jay Roach, Jonathan Glickman, Todd Arnow
Distributor
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures (a division of Disney). Trademark logo.
Touchstone Pictures
, a division of Walt Disney Studios

“Don’t Panic”

The best part of seeing “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” occurs in what appears to be the opening sequence. We see a beautiful cloud-and-water-covered Earth swirling on its white and blue axis in outer space. We drift with it to the sublime voice of Louis Armstrong singing “It’s a Wonderful World.” When the Earth violently blows up into a zillion pieces, a sign reading “DON’T PANIC” reassuringly displays on the screen, and we calmly think: “This is good.”

The dissonance between cultured music and outrageous juvenile destruction on a cosmic scale strikes the sick funny bone in the same way as the image of Robert Duvall in “Apocalypse Now” surfing a wave of explosions in his helicopter and blaring Wagner from over-sized speakers: it’s just right.

Only later do you begin to panic, when you recall that the sequence was actually the trailer to “Chicken Little” and that “Chicken Little” looked like a better movie. Belatedly, you realize that you’re stuck with stupid acting, stupid writing, and stupid directing—praying for Robbie and Mr. Smith to find the humor that has been lost in space.

The fact that far worse movies have been made than “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is no consolation—if it’s the worst movie one can remember seeing recently.

I read the first volume in the series and admit that the characters, the incidents, and the fantastic details are accurate. What’s missing is the soul of the book. The book’s humor is a complex blend of imagination and tone. Adams writes cleverly, but it’s his droll authorial voice that makes him so funny. He writes satire by diminishment, a mannerism which doesn’t work on the screen, because movies work in reverse: they have to make everything larger than life.

Adams’ genius is belittlement. In the movie, diminishing the characters makes them out to be idiots who are neither funny nor interesting.

“Hitchhiker” uses voice-over narration, but this may be one of those rare movies that would have benefited from more voice-over, a lot more, so the audience could at least hear something funny and intelligent. Stupid characters cannot communicate funny ideas because they sound like people talking about what they don’t understand. That’s sad.

Additionally, the movie relies on too many close-ups of puzzled facial expressions. In those cases, it would have been better to say what was left unsaid. Intelligence is even more difficult to communicate without words than it is with words.

For those who haven’t read the book, the plot is as follows. Arthur Dent’s home is scheduled for demolition to make room for a highway bypass. Arthur hadn’t been notified of this fact personally, but the paperwork had been available in the town archives, had he only chosen to look. Similarly, Earth is scheduled for demolition and, like Arthur’s house, the paperwork had been on file, open to appeal for a long time, though no one on Earth knew this or could travel to a distant solar system to file the appeal, even if they had known it.

Both Arthur’s house and the Earth are destroyed by mindless bureaucrats, but, luckily, Arthur hitches a ride with an alien, and they set off on their galactic adventures. The faux violence that ensues is on the level of “Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles”: improbable, unconvincing, and unfunny. The actors overact in these parts, which shows that they know the movie’s in trouble, and that they have to work harder to get laughs where they can.

The dual demolitions are a funny conception because they articulate the perversity of an unseen fate which decides, in the interest of mindless improvement, to destroy a house and a planet full of life. There are at least three obvious references to Darwin and evolution in the movie. Likewise, there are at least three references to religion—representing its spokesperson, adherents, and practices as hopelessly ignorant.

The President of the Galaxy and the religious leader are similar in their rock persona excesses; while the scientist is coolly practical in her oversize glasses and starchy logic. We see three little animated books with a voice-over saying in succession: “Where God Went Wrong”; “More of God’s Errors”; and, “Who Is This God Person Anyway?

There are also poorly written sops to gays and feminists which fill out the film’s politically correct liturgy. Clearly, Jenkins interprets Adams’s books polemically, and he works hard to insert these lame, ideological winks and nudges into the screenplay for the benefit of a certain kind of audience who he hopes will say good things about the movie. Unfortunately, the film is so convincingly stupid that everything exists on the same low level. In terms of communicating the soundness of its ideas, the movie comes across like a box of rocks, shaken, not stirred.

Adams’ book suggests a tension between the totalitarianism of the Vogon’s mindless bureaucracy, and the capitalistic greed of Zaphod’s materialism. In this, the book has intriguing similarities to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World in which the drug soma represents a central metaphor of a different kind of escapism. Had Jenkins strengthened the intellectual underpinning of the movie to suggest that life offers two unacceptable choices—totalitarianism and materialism—and the only alternative is to escape, it could have been thought-provoking.

The Vogons, like the creatures in Orwell’s Animal Farm, appear to be a cross between pigs and humans. Additionally, Zaphod’s theft of the spaceship The Heart of Gold has allegorical dimensions, as does the ship’s Infinite Probability Drive. But lacking ideas, what’s a hapless Earthling like Arthur Dent to do?

For the answer to that question and other painful thoughts, by all means, see this movie. However, if you wish to preserve your IQ at its present level, DON’T PANIC. Take a walk in the park instead. It’s a wonderful world.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: None / Sex/nudity: Minor

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Negative—The famed comic piece of nihilism (basically, “life is meaningless, so have fun”) made its big screen debut with a big budget, but poor comic acting and directing. The BBC version at least knew how to play English humor, and I found myself laughing at it even though I didn’t always want to. In this version, that was not the case. Good special effects and set designs did not make up for poor directing and poor comic acting. Even Marvin the Depressed Robot was funnier in the BBC version.

On a Christian level, the message of the movie is that there is no point to “life, the universe, and eveything.” Definitely the worst adaptation of the famed book.
My Ratings: Offensive/2
D Criswell, age 38
NegativeThe Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy books are without doubt my favorites. I read them years ago and still remember laughing my head off in my bedroom, occasionally receiving strange looks from passers-by. These books were brilliantly written. Amazing storyline, simultaneously hilarious and deep, with characters so bizarre it’s amazing that Adams figured out how to make them 3 dimensional.

I didn’t think it was possible to make such a mess of such a great story with what appeared to be a perfect cast. Still, that’s what they did. Here’s what they did wrong:

They tried to cram two books into one movie, so they fused many events from the book together very clumsily, and tacked on a happy ending that was never there before and just makes you sick to your stomach. All the bits from the book that made me cry with laughter were either skipped through and thrown away, or just entirely omitted.

I found myself laughing only because I was remembering bits from the books. All of the original theological philosophy is gone, replaced with weak attempts at making 3 year olds laugh. (e.g: cute little crabs that make cute little squeaking noises and more often than not come to not so cute little endings.)

Don’t watch this. It will put you off the books. The 70’s film versions are better. The costumes and special effects are horrendous, but they keep to the text and capture the comedy very well. See them instead. (Excuse my Australian spelling. I am, in fact, Australian.
My Ratings: Better than Average/1½
Kyle, age 19
Neutral—First of all, I’m a fan of the books. With that said, it’s a quick hop and a jump to the conclusion that I am obviously not too serious about any of the below topics: religion, faith, God, evolution, Darwinism, creation, the destruction of the Earth, the superiority of the human race, or… well, anything at all. The books do not take any of these topics seriously either. They become the fodder for nearly all of the author’s jokes.

In this film version, there are many slapstick additions to help maintain the nonsensical PG rating (children do not generally read these books, why are they the film’s target demographic?!), but much of the humor originally derived from the above listed topics is now found in pure, unfunny silliness.

Unfortunately, while the filmmakers trimmed down the religious and evolutionary satire, they retained enough of it (as well as adding more in the form of John Malkovich) to make the film unsuitable for a Christian audience and unpleasing to fans of the book.

Great performances (especially Sam Rockwell as Zaphod), and visually stunning, but a sad letdown for all parties involved.
My Ratings: Offensive/3
Kehli Kytlica, age 19
Positive—After a hilarious Broadway-style opening segment with dancing dolphins, this movie becomes an odd mixture of Monty Python humor and Star Wars effects, leaning heavily on British humor and somewhat true to the essence of the book by the same name. By the way, I haven’t read the book, nor have I read any of the works of Douglas Adams (except for some wacky chapters about dogs that my wife has shared with me), but my wife, who’s read pretty much the entire Library of Congress, has read all of his stuff, and she felt that the movie stayed pretty true to the essence of the book. She said it’s not as gross in it’s portrayal of the weird creatures that are in the book, and the movie makes no reference to any of the sexual situations that are in the book. Yes, there’s a love connection, but everything’s above board, so to speak.

The movie is surprising clean, with little to push it beyond a G, much less a PG, rating. There’s very little off-color language and no inappropriate sexual situations that I can think of.

From a Christian perspective, the lack of truthful answers regarding the meaning of life, why we’re here, and any sense of eternal ramifications, is disappointing… but I expected that going into the theater. You have to remember that the book doesn’t just come out of left field with it’s quirky humor, it comes out of the bleachers! The book doesn’t offer truthful and Godly answers to any eternal truths… hey, the true meaning of life is 42! So don’t look for any Biblical perspectives regarding those issues.

For teens and adults, it’s a fun movie that I’d rate a 4 out of 5. However, if you take younger kids to see it, make sure you discuss those “eternal” questions with them afterward, and give them the true Biblical perspective regarding those “questions of life.” Actually, it presents a great opportunity to share God’s eternal truths with any non-believer who sees the movie.

And don’t be surprised if folks show up with towels at the theater. Like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, this movie lends itself to that type of wacky interaction with the audience. And according the The Hitchhiker’s Guide, a towel is the most important possession in the universe. Uhhhhhh… don’t ask.
My Ratings: Better than Average/4
Stel Pontikes, age 53
Negative—I do not go to the movies often and when I do I usually check this sight for other Christians’ opinions first. I wish I had checked. This movie was so horribly offensive that I took my kids and left the theater. My 12 year old daughter was also offended. The handkerchief reference was more then I could take. My advice… DO NOT watch this movie and if you do do not take your children.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive/1
Jean Volpe, age 30
Negative—I would describe myself as a “fairly tolerant” Christian. I’m an avid movie fan, and watch movies of all genres and ratings (G through R). Being “in the world,” I’m accustomed to having to “sift” out worldly garbage that is in almost every form of entertainment these days. I can sift out a little language, some violence and “some” sexual situations. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” offended me to the point that I refused to watch it and walked out of the movie theatre within roughly thirty minutes of the movies’ beginning. (We were given tickets to another movie by a nice and understanding theatre manager.)

Before going to the theatre, I knew it was a sci-fi movie and satirical, but that’s about ALL I knew about it. I’m usually pretty informed on a movie’s contents before seeing it, but this was a very spur-of-the-moment event with a friend, and I didn’t have time to learn anything about it. Seeing this movie was the idea of my son and one of his friends because in their words “the previews look funny.” (Exactly what the producers wanted, I’m sure, but… Christian parents beware!)

It was rated PG, so me and a friend took our kids in to see it, feeling fairly “safe.” At the beginning of the movie, the narrator makes several references to the main character being an “ape-descendant.” Shortly afterward, the main character is shown at a costume party and meets his love interest, who is dressed up as Darwin. It’s very evident that Darwinism and evolution are being presented which is not uncommon and not real “shock” material. However, I was appalled when the narrator begins explaining to the viewer WHAT “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” is. To paraphrase: It’s a “hugely popular book.” More popular than the three best selling books ever: 1) “Mistakes God made,” 2) “Bigger Mistakes God Made” and 3) “Who is this God Person Anyway?”

That did it for me. I was appalled and shocked by the BLATANT blasphemy. I think I expected a lot of tongue-in-cheek, sci-fi silliness but certainly nothing like this. That’s about all I can tell you. I just felt I needed to do what I can to warn other Christians what to expect so you can decide if it’s something you want to see or subject your children to and not be as caught off guard as I was.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive/3
Melanie, age 42
Positive—First off—if you are not a fan of the books (a self-proclaimed 5-book trilogy) then you might be a little lost. Second, if you ARE a fan of the books, then you will know that Douglas Adams himself said that no two incarnations of the story are exactly the same (whether it be the BBC radio show, the BBC miniseries, or the new feature film).

As a Christian, there are a FEW offensive moments in the movie: one being the mention of Oolon Coloophid’s trilogy on God which has already been talked about here.

I was pleasantly surprised by this telling of the tale and glad they stuck by the late Douglas Adams’s screenplay, written over 20 years ago (originally he had wanted to cast Bill Murray for the role of Slartibartfast, but Murray was too busy making “Ghost Busters”!)

And before anybody complains that the ending was changed to make it a happy one, remember that this was only the first part of the tale. The original book ended right where the movie did—with our heroes on their way to Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen it yet, keep your eyes peeled for the original Marvin suit from the BBC miniseries! If you HAVE already seen the movie and missed this, go buy a new ticket or wait for the DVD.
My Ratings: Average/3½
Pete from Long Island, age 26
Positive—…maybe [the reviewer just doesn’t get] British humor ala Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, etc. I enjoyed this movie tremendously, so did my teenage children. The thoughts on God and the meaning of life were so outrageous and bizarre that they didn’t offend, who could possibly take them seriously? We had a romping good time traveling through space, This is a great parody of everything we take seriously, you know something is important if someone parodies it. I never read the book, wasn’t lost in this movie at all. It did a great job of giving you just enough information to figure things out for yourself.

I think one of the main thrusts of this movie is our own perspective and how that colors the way we interact with others around us and the choices we make. This is found in the demolition on two different scales, the whale falling, the mice and the gun. Possibly more. My message to my kids is that we need to try to see things from God’s perspective and not our own, because our own is so colored by our sin nature.
My Ratings: Average/4
Lee Swetnika, age 42
Negative—…I found this movie very offensive not just because of the evolution and Darwinism being promoted (which is very common) but the 3 books that are listed as “best sellers.” “Where God Went Wrong,” “More Mistakes God Made,” and “Who is this God Person anyway?” Do we REALLY want our children absorbing this type of thinking and leading them to believe it’s okay to like or support a film that so blatantly makes fun of our God??!!
My Ratings: Very Offensive/3
Melanie, age 42
Positive—…I loved this movie. Of course, I’m a fan. I’ve read the books, own the BBC TV series on DVD and the original radio series on CD. That said, I can’t imagine watching this film without knowing all the minute details and getting all the in-jokes. The point of all of it is to be silly. Which it is. The movie is also funny. Douglas Adams’ writing is extremely clever. It makes me smile and sometimes chuckle and think, “oh that’s a good one,” but never really outright laugh. This movie made me laugh.

It even answered a few questions that all the other incarnations never do—like why does Ford Prefect save Arthur Dent in the first place?

The movie does make fun of an imaginary religion, but most of the time real religions deserve to be made fun of. Given that Douglas Adams by the end of his life was a strong evolutionist and self-proclaimed “convinced” atheist—the mention of evolution was much more subtle than I expected. And the joke about “God” trilogy of books is just as much making fun of best-selling novels (if not more so) than poking fun at God.

This is a fun movie—that’s great for a laugh and great for getting a discussion going. FYI the joke that the answer to life the universe and everything is 42—what other kind of answer would a computer give?
My Ratings: Better than Average/4
William G. Hobbs, age 31
Negative—It’s just bad bad bad. Don’t waste your money, this was the worst movie I have ever seen. Not intended for kids, dogs or humans. I sat there amazed that I paid money for this movie, but maybe I can save you money by rating it.
My Ratings: Offensive/1
Hiedi, age 52
Negative—This was the worst movie I have ever seen. So many references to where god went wrong and to evolution. The storyline was terrible. There was no plot, except for trying to answer the ultimate question (which turned out to be “is she the one”). No plot. Crude humor. Waste of money.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive/1
Cameron G, age 35
Negative—In my short life so far (21 years old) I cannot remember a movie I have had to walk out of. I went into this movie expecting something “PG” and there were so many disrespectful remarks to God I left the theater, and went out in the lobby and complained to the person at the counter. Never in my life have I been so upset at a supposed “PG” movie. I like “stupid” or slap-stick movies, but this movie is just plain stupid, a waste of time, and most importantly, disrespectful to God!
My Ratings: Very Offensive/1½
Jonathan Ferguson, age 21
Positive—There appears to be much distress caused by the references to where God went wrong etc. Unfortunately, this is a bit like hearing a long and involved joke then missing the punch line and completely getting the wrong end of the stick. I have to admit that if you are not a fan of the books, it wouldn’t have made much sense but the joke was really based around the babel fish and how the existence of such an improbable creature must prove that God exists (Creative design).

However, since God does not require proof, as it undermines faith, the very existence of the fish then proves God does not exist. (To paraphrase greatly). The actual point of the joke was not to denigrate God but to show that we humans can be too clever for our own good. Unfortunately, the film slimmed down the joke to the point where it became meaningless. I hope this helps.
My Ratings: Good/4
Steven Harker, age 45
Negative—The movie was fair. At first, I thought it would be funny, and it was sort of cute but very long and boring, and you are waiting for something to happen. I wondered if the movie was made by Britains, for the monsters had British accents, and it was funny—watching that one monster read poetry as punishment. The characters were cute but their acting was terrible. The monsters weren’t scary in any way, although it may have been scary for some kids because the hitchhikers were locked up in some dungeon like room.

What I saw “spiritually” was although the 2 hitchhikers escaped the destruction of planet Earth—they were still alive and they used their “guide” to keep them safe in their endless journey. Their “guide” was sort of like the Bible—that helped them in their journey—their roadmap—in their endless adventurous journey. And in the end Mr Dent gets his house back, locks up all the monsters in a trailer and everything was honky dorey. Good scenery and some special effects of space etc. The movie is geared for little kids rather than adults. Kinda cute.
My Ratings: Average / 1½
Desert Rose, age 40
Comments from young people
Positive—Boy, I am very glad I saw this before I read the reviews. I felt that this was a very good movie. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a classic, but it was a fantastic ride. The acting was spot-on, and the dialog supported the movie well. The Vogons were exactly as I imagined them-perfect dim-witted bureaucrats.

The movie, wasn’t as funny as the book (they never are), but it was hilarious in it’s own right. I laughed out loud along with my friends, and otherwise shared some insider’s chuckles. The film is not only funny, it’s good science fiction. While it struggles to grasp the enormity and epic scale so prevalent in the book, it captures the whimsy to a T.

The movie looks fantastic! There is a seamless blend of live action puppetry enhanced by the CG effects so often abused in today’s summer lineups. The Vogons are not CG, and the consequential limitations on physical movement contribute to their ridiculousness. Whoever designed the character Marvin The Paranoid Android deserves an Oscar for something. His chronic attitude problem is perfectly manifested in his inanimate expression. No matter what Marvin does, his physicality makes him both funny and cute. You just want to run up and hug him.

I’m not entirely sure that Douglas Adams’ masterpiece is anti-God. Adams obviously wasn’t a Christian, but his stories seem to go back and forth between universal chaos and the possibility of a higher deity (albeit a far away one, with an unfortunate sense of humor). He’s not for it, or against it. In one scene however, that was not in the book, there is an extended period of church mocking. Some Christians may find it amusing, some may see it as offensive.

Content-wise, it wasn’t terrible. It had one scene meant to be mock-horror which struck me as macabre, and some sexual undertones, but that was it. The makers of the film obviously loved the book (it is my understanding that Douglas Adams himself worked on the screenplay before his death in 2001), and it shows-from the fantastic opening sequence, to the thrilling (if not anti-) climax. You can imagine them jumping around behind the camera being positively giddy saying “I can’t believe we’re getting paid to do this!!!”
My Ratings: Average/4
Cade Loven, age 18
Positive—If you are looking for this movie to adhere to the storyline of the famed “Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy” book series, you will be sorely disappointed. The film plot is quite confusing to those who have read the book. If your moral convictions are stronger than others I would suggest not seeing the film as it may offend. There are numerous suggestions that God simply does not exist and strong implications of evolution. However, the movie was certainly entertaining and was mostly language and sexuality free. I would say overall that for those of you who haven’t read the books it may be a little confusing, but entertaining and hilarious nonetheless.
My Ratings: Better than Average/4
Brian, age 20
Positive—I walked into the cinema on opening night, to find it chock-a-block full of people just like myself, geeks and nerd in their late teens, most of us clutching out towels tightly. As a self-confessed Nerd, I quite enjoyed the movie. As a self-confessed Christian, I found that I had to roll my eyes at the silly handkerchief part of the movie, but in a strange way found it relieving, like someone had finally admitted that most ways of dismissing God are rather ludicrous.

For a movie of it’s genre, and from a book written by a very anti-God author, I was rather pleased by the lack of nudity, sex and swearing (though I think there was a little) in the movie. I found it an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, and highly recommend it to all Nerds and Geeks alike. However, if you do go, do not forget your towel!
My Ratings: Better than Average/3½
Lilla, age 19
Negative—I …was expecting a fun, witty sci-fi film. What I got was an outrage. This movie was so bad it’s hard to start this review. The acting was terrible with everybody except for the tolerable main character. The story had potential, which is one of the saddest parts of this movie, it could have been great! However, we were stuck with this. It is blaspheomous at every turn, the production quality was really bad, and the message was that of anti-christian values. Avoid this at all costs.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 1½
Jared, age 15
Negative—This is by far the worst movie movie I’ve ever seen. I think I’m dumber for having watched it. The movie starts off with dolphin singing about their leaving and how they enjoyed the fish, I was hoping that the movie itself would redeem itself over time, which it did not. The movie is a complete waste of time, undeveloped charactures, people we don’t know who they are, sub-stories left un-finished etc. If you go to the movies just to see a movie then you have a nice nap with this one. The movie is fine for kids who wouldn’t get the story anyway. The only objectionable material I saw in the film was the lead female characture in the shower (you see nothing). Out of 5 stars I give it a big fat 0.
My Ratings: Better than Average/0
Alex Hood, age 17
Negative—I was really disgusted by this film. It made fun of God and Jesus, really disgusting humor was used, gay suggestions were made, and there was no point to the film whatsoever. I walked out of this film near the end, but I should’ve had the courage to walk out on the movie earlier. I was with my friends at the time who did not thoroughly enjoy it, but they had no objections. I felt that this movie was a complete waste of time and money. There is nothing funny about it, and there is nothing good about it. Be ware.
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive/2
Jessica Albert, age 16
Neutral—…I thought it was good. The only thing that bothered me was that in the movie it metioned where God went wrong. The audience laughed at this comment, which I felt was wrong because GOD did not go wrong. He is all knowing, and when he created everything he said it was good.
My Ratings: Average/2½
Crystal, age 12
Positive—I must say this movie is HILARIOUS. I loved it. Me and my dad went together and had a nice fun night at the movies. As long as you like mindless entertaiment you’ll love this movie. See it.
My Ratings: Good/5
Adam, age 14
Neutral—Don’t Panic! If you’re not sure what “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is all about, I can “guide” you on what to expect.
Tip #1: Before going to see this bizarre, far-out movie of manic depressant robots and planet building home bodies,I suggest that you read the first of Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” five-setter series. I say the first one cause it’s the foundation for what you can look forward to when you see the film.
Tip #2: I warn you that if you have strong opinions against evolution, then I would suggest saving your money and rent yourself a movie from your local Blockbuster’s or Hollywood Videos store. Throughout the movie,there are lots of references to it. So if you hate evolution with a passion, then save your money for a rainy day.
Tip #3: Humor thrives abundantly from beginning to end,though some of it just plain ridiculous. You never know what words are going to fly from the tongue of each character. So you are relatively kept wondering what the heck anyone is going to say or even do.
Tip #4: Neither worry nor anxiety need be held if you’re curious about the usage of profanity or adultery-related scenes. As far as I remember, there wasn’t much cussing nor any sexual scenes. Hats off to that!
Tip #5: Lastly, I must be honest and tell you how extremely chaotic this movie was. It switched from scene to scene without any true connection. I had a slight headache by the end of the movie.
Overall, I feel neutrally about this movie. I can’t really say I felt positive about the spending of my bucks on this movie. But I can’t really say it sucked. Remember this is just my opinion. Save your money or spend it. It’s your choice.
My Ratings: Average/4
C.M.W., age 16
Positive—I thought this film was funny and wierd. It doesn’t fail to entertain, and even though it’s not very believable, it was refreshing to watch something different from your average movie. You will either hate or love this movie but I definitely enjoyed it.
My Ratings: Better than Average/3½
Heather Walsh, age 16
Negative—This is movie was okay, definitely different, but okay. I didn’t like the whole premise of the movie, that there’s no meaning to life…
My Ratings: Better than Average / 2½
Pierce, age 12
Positive—This movie was AWESOME! …The movie was not hard to follow at all, and I haven’t even read the book. It is very enjoyable and has humor that can be appreciated by all ages. The plot is very coherent and well consructed and the movie never has a boring scene. The special effects are pretty good, especially when the movie shows the different planets. There is hardly anything offensive in this whatsoever. You can’t say evolution is a huge deal either—actually it appears in any refernces to it that the movie is making fun of evolution. This is a great family movie or just for a bunch of teenage guys who want to have some good laughs. There are some minor corny aspects of the movie, but they make it that much more enjoyable to watch. I would definitely recommend this film (just in case out planet blows up HAHA).
My Ratings: Good/4
Silas Finnegan, age 17
Neutral—I thought this movie was very good (I am a big fan of British humor and Star Wars) except for commenting where God whent wrong and where they questioned if God was real. My mom rented the DVD (I saw it in theatres with my friend Kevin without my parents, but with his parents) and I love looking at bonus features. I clicked “Additional Guide Entry” where a man jumped into God’s window and said “I have no faith, so to me you are not real.” Then God disappeared. I now do not want to have anything to do with this movie.
My Ratings: Offensive/3½
Zack Terwilliger, age 11
Positive—…an absolutely hilarious movie! First of all, the humor is very British, so if you didn’t get Monty Python, you probably won’t get this. The movie did a great job of translating Douglas Adam’s sly, yet over-the-top humor to the big screen. Martin Freeman and Mos Def (about whom I originally had my doubts) were great as Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect. And, as always, Alan Rickman was extremely funny as Marvin the Paranoid Android! There is very little objectionable content, certainly nothing a ten-year-old couldn’t handle, but I think the only people who would appreciate it would be teenagers. Most of the adults I know who saw it were like “Well, that was strange,” and all the young kids were like “Er… yes, can we watch the Muppets now?” Overall, it was a great summer flick.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4½
Rosie J., age 15
Positive—…very good story line, Earth gets destroyed, guy gets rescued by alien, searches for meaning of life and ends up happily ever after. There are a few negative aspects in this movie though. It is clear that the makers of the movie tried and succeded in making it look like God was a foolish man. There is some gross humor, profanity and mild action violence… Overall, this movie is a great popcorn muncher, though familyies who want to avoid a few minor glitches should wait.
My Ratings: Average / 4
Joshua Sullivan, age 11
Movie Critics
…You [may] find the movie tiresomely twee, and notice that it obviously thinks it is being funny at times when you do not have the slightest clue why that should be…
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
…Not so fantastic voyage… should be more of a flight of fancy… it is little more than pan-galactic silly putty.
Duane Dudek, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
…Non-readers of ’70s sci-fi parody will lose way in gorgeous “Galaxy”… The movie, while achieving a dynamite look and feel, doesn’t really take you anywhere.
Bill Muller, The Arizona Republic
…It’s mostly for geeks… Oddball detour: Maybe you shouldn’t pick up “Hitchhiker’s Guide”…
James Verniere, Boston Herald
…there’s a lot to love about Garth Jennings’ high-spirited, unhinged adaptation…
Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune
…It’s as dreadfully off-key as David Lynch’s “Dune” or Brian De Palma’s “Bonfire of the Vanities”…
Phil Kloer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution