Review of:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Director:Garth Jennings
Rating:PG for thematic elements, action and mild language.
Starring:Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy
I went into this film with low expectations. Come on, how many of us rate a film off of the title alone? I've always been warned not to pick up hitchhickers so couldn't it be true that the warning would extend to film? Luckily, I didn't listen to that portion of myself that seperated that fact, and was rewarded with a tremendous experience.
The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is based off of a book of the same name, and follows the premise that you can hitch a ride to anywhere in the universe if you have the right utensils. Luckily, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) has such a thing, mainly in the form of his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def). Ford just happens to be an alien that helps to map out the places, and information residing in the Hitchhikers guide, and it is his friendship with Arthur that saves the other man's life.
And won't they need it. Earth has been scheduled for demolition to make way for a space highway bypass (which just happens to be at the exact same time that Arthur's house is scheduled for demolition). Ford knows this, and wants to save his friends life, returning a favor that happened when he first came to earth. Earth's final moments are hilariously potrayed from the bar scene where everyone is bought a drink, to the actual happening. In the end there is nothing left.
With this happening it allows Arthur to go on an adventure that he would never partake of on other terms, and shows him that the universe is indeed filled with exciting, and strange creatures of every kind. It also begins another search that could save the universe from impending doom.
This film displays a kind of cookiness that I really enjoyed, and the thinking behind the film is really off-the-wall funny. The budding romance between Arthur, and Trillian (Zooey Deschanel) is a complete waste of time, but tht would be the only bad that I could really find in this film. Mos Def really impressed me in this film, and I could honestly see him doing any type of role that he wanted to in the future.
