Good movie, but not up to potential. Mainly because they tried to cram so much of the story into such a short space of time, not to mention all the new additions to the story. Either a longer movie or a series like LoTR would have been much more appropriate.
A lot of the good jokes from the books were gone, and the plot was rather rushed. Anyone who's heard the shows and read the books many times (like me) will often be waiting for a funny bit they remember, and find it's not there. And most (I say most, there are a few notable exceptions) of the new jokes aren't up to par. Except Marvin, he's really good, as is Stephen Fry as the book/narrator.
Graphically it's very pretty, the CG sequences are rather well done, but I'm one of those weird people who think this doesn't make up for a rushed plot and fewer jokes.
Luckily, while it has obviously been Americanised a bit (addition of a token Big Bad Evil Guy and a romantic subplot) the Hollywood "style" hasn't infected it too badly.
For someone new to the H2G2 universe it'll be a good movie, and will probably introduce a lot of people to the books. For me, I'll stick to the radio shows as the superior form of the story.
A lot of the good jokes from the books were gone, and the plot was rather rushed. Anyone who's heard the shows and read the books many times (like me) will often be waiting for a funny bit they remember, and find it's not there. And most (I say most, there are a few notable exceptions) of the new jokes aren't up to par. Except Marvin, he's really good, as is Stephen Fry as the book/narrator.
Graphically it's very pretty, the CG sequences are rather well done, but I'm one of those weird people who think this doesn't make up for a rushed plot and fewer jokes.
Luckily, while it has obviously been Americanised a bit (addition of a token Big Bad Evil Guy and a romantic subplot) the Hollywood "style" hasn't infected it too badly.
For someone new to the H2G2 universe it'll be a good movie, and will probably introduce a lot of people to the books. For me, I'll stick to the radio shows as the superior form of the story.