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If ever a movie came equipped with a built-in "thumbs up," it's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It only takes about five minutes of screen time before our average joe hero, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), gets whisked away with from his disappointing life by an interstellar hitchhiker (Mos Def) and launched into close encounters of the ridiculous kind.

Director Garth Jennings' kaleidoscopic film is jam-packed with special effects, both of the cutting-edge digital variety and of the old-fashioned Jim Henson Creature Shop variety (wait until you meet the brilliantly grotesque bureaucrats called the Vogons), resulting in a sensational visual experience that is also populated with the liveliest, most comical sci-fi misfits since Galaxy Quest. There are laughs aplenty, many of them provoked by Stephen Fry, who plays the voice of the infamously handy pocket guide to space travel, and the smirking spontaneity of Sam Rockwell as the fashion-challenged President of the Galaxy.

But unlike Galaxy Quest, which became an audience favorite on the strength of its story as much as its stars and effects, Hitchhiker's feels more like a long, disjointed string of skits linked by awkward transitions. Things move so erratically and quickly that there's little chance to appreciate performances, identify themes, or care about the rather arbitrary plot.

But don't panic: As entertainment, the movie is "mostly harmless." It's never ponderous, and it never arrives at a "moral to the story." Occasional flashes of comic brilliance and high-spirited frivolity give us something of a sugar-rush. Ultimately, however, the emptiness at the film's core makes it a rather hollow moviegoing experience.

My full review is at Looking Closer.

Religious press critics disagree over three issues: Is the film funny? Is it faithful to Adams' style? Is it offensive?

Russ Breimeier (Christianity Today Movies) declares, "This is all intended to be a fun and playful romp through space laced with action, satire, and humor … smart and silly—visually impressive while still maintaining the wit of the book. Whether you prefer sight gags or satire, you're bound to laugh at something in this movie."

He points out that Christian audiences may take offense at "a sacrilegious church parody … as well as casual references to the Big Bang, evolution, and the question of whether or not God exists." But he sees these things as available to interpretation. "To get worked up over this film would be to miss the point. After all, how seriously can you take a story with singing dolphins, depressed robots, and multi-functional towels?"

Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) takes an entirely different tone with the film. "It's been a long time since I fell asleep in a movie. However, I sure had a good snooze during this one. And maybe I'm just not cool, but somehow, when the only people excited about seeing this film are all former potheads, it definitely makes you wonder. Having seen it, I'm now convinced that unless you are a super geek on an acid trip, it would be difficult to appreciate this film."

Steven Isaac (Plugged In) was concerned about how the film would represent the books. "When it comes to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, tone is everything. [The movie's] not perfect, and it's sure to leave Adams' many diehard fans split on how well it captures the author's simultaneously sly and over-the-top wit. But no one's going to get very far arguing that this movie fails to entertain, or that it's not good-natured. It's certainly adoring of its source material."

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May (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49