Cards on the table - I am a massive fan of the original BBC Radio 4 series, and this was going to have to do pretty well to live up to my expectations.
In the event, it was alright. There was nothing wrong with it - the essential elements of the story are there, the casting was about right and all seemed to fit the roles - I think Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent was an excellent choice - and I was quite impressed with how they dealt with the tricky problem of a lead character having two heads, but somehow it lacked the spark it needed to make it from being an ordinary adaptation to being a great comedy - which it could have been. Maybe the atmosphere of Magarathia wasn't quite right. Maybe Marvin was not paranoid enough. But I think the real reason was that they did not make enough of some of the really stupid jokes in the original series - The joke about why Ford called himself Ford just sort of passed me by, whereas I thought it was inspired in the radio series. The other people in the cinema seemed to enjoy it well enough.
I wouldn't particularly recommend, but I wouldn't tell you to steer clear either.
Overall, underwhelmed one way or another. 7/10.
In the event, it was alright. There was nothing wrong with it - the essential elements of the story are there, the casting was about right and all seemed to fit the roles - I think Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent was an excellent choice - and I was quite impressed with how they dealt with the tricky problem of a lead character having two heads, but somehow it lacked the spark it needed to make it from being an ordinary adaptation to being a great comedy - which it could have been. Maybe the atmosphere of Magarathia wasn't quite right. Maybe Marvin was not paranoid enough. But I think the real reason was that they did not make enough of some of the really stupid jokes in the original series - The joke about why Ford called himself Ford just sort of passed me by, whereas I thought it was inspired in the radio series. The other people in the cinema seemed to enjoy it well enough.
I wouldn't particularly recommend, but I wouldn't tell you to steer clear either.
Overall, underwhelmed one way or another. 7/10.
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