After rather brilliant opening credits, the film was choppy in the beginning. Babelfish translation: They really f-ed it up. Until Arthur and Ford actually get picked up by the Starship Heart of Gold, the story is disconnected in places and they use ploys that don't work to shorten setup sequences that ought to have been left alone. (These are the same setup sequences that Douglas Adams never changed himself, regardless of the medium in which he told the story, and there's a reason for that.) So, if you're not intimately familiar with the setup, you could easily get a bit lost. And if you are familiar with it, you'll get annoyed and easily see how some things just don't make sense.
(For example, Ford racing to Arthur's house with a shopping cart of beer and peanuts when he's apparently not aware of the demolition crew. Clearly the shopping cart was an ill-fitting plot ploy to "bypass" the classic exchange between Ford and the construction crew foreman.)
Zaphod, however, makes up for many ills. Even as the movie continues to stumble along like Frankenstein, flexing its new parts stiffly and clumsily (a fan can pretty easily distinguish which parts were Adams' new ones and which were not), the brilliance of Sam Rockwell as Zaphod goes a very long way to keep things entertaining. I loved this Zaphod dearly, almost as much as the original. Also, as they built up the chase to capture Zaphod and the stolen ship (a plot line that Adams should have developed way back when), they employed the Vogons as bad guys, expounding on their bureaucratic foibles in many very funny ways.
The part they handled most deftly was the first half of the visit to Magrathea. Arthur's visit with Slartibartfast to where they manufacture the planets was breathtaking. I felt the heart of the movie here, and found a connection with Arthur that I hadn't had through the entire film. That's not to say that Martin Freeman wasn't really good throughout, but this sequence was his best acted by far. However, I must add that they -- again -- screwed up part of a classic sequence by trying to abbreviate it. As a result, the reason that the mice want Arthur's brain is fuzzily expressed at best.
I can't overlook Stephen Fry and The Book. Not only was his narration flawless, but the animated sequences that went with it were especially funny. And Marvin -- oh, god. Alan Rickman was completely brilliant, as usual.
Still. It was, as I mentioned, clumsy in parts. Really clumsy. The new sequences in the story were so forced at times I wanted to punch someone. I liked the romance between Arthur and Trillian a lot, although Trillian was flat as a character. But I don't especially like how they juggled the detours (except one, which involves Marvin and a lot of Vogons; that was extremely funny and, I suspect, originally from Adams). The movie was only 1 hr and 50 min. They could have left in five or six extra minutes to clarify some points. But, alas. The rating of 7 is because of the humor only.
(For example, Ford racing to Arthur's house with a shopping cart of beer and peanuts when he's apparently not aware of the demolition crew. Clearly the shopping cart was an ill-fitting plot ploy to "bypass" the classic exchange between Ford and the construction crew foreman.)
Zaphod, however, makes up for many ills. Even as the movie continues to stumble along like Frankenstein, flexing its new parts stiffly and clumsily (a fan can pretty easily distinguish which parts were Adams' new ones and which were not), the brilliance of Sam Rockwell as Zaphod goes a very long way to keep things entertaining. I loved this Zaphod dearly, almost as much as the original. Also, as they built up the chase to capture Zaphod and the stolen ship (a plot line that Adams should have developed way back when), they employed the Vogons as bad guys, expounding on their bureaucratic foibles in many very funny ways.
The part they handled most deftly was the first half of the visit to Magrathea. Arthur's visit with Slartibartfast to where they manufacture the planets was breathtaking. I felt the heart of the movie here, and found a connection with Arthur that I hadn't had through the entire film. That's not to say that Martin Freeman wasn't really good throughout, but this sequence was his best acted by far. However, I must add that they -- again -- screwed up part of a classic sequence by trying to abbreviate it. As a result, the reason that the mice want Arthur's brain is fuzzily expressed at best.
I can't overlook Stephen Fry and The Book. Not only was his narration flawless, but the animated sequences that went with it were especially funny. And Marvin -- oh, god. Alan Rickman was completely brilliant, as usual.
Still. It was, as I mentioned, clumsy in parts. Really clumsy. The new sequences in the story were so forced at times I wanted to punch someone. I liked the romance between Arthur and Trillian a lot, although Trillian was flat as a character. But I don't especially like how they juggled the detours (except one, which involves Marvin and a lot of Vogons; that was extremely funny and, I suspect, originally from Adams). The movie was only 1 hr and 50 min. They could have left in five or six extra minutes to clarify some points. But, alas. The rating of 7 is because of the humor only.