5) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

(3 👽's out of 5)

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so." 

Director 

Garth Jennings

Cast 

Martin Freeman - Arthur Dent

Mos Def - Ford Prefect

Sam Rockwell - Zaphod Beeblebrox

Zooey Deschanel - Trillian

Warwick Davos- Marvin

Alan Rickman - Voice of Marvin

Stephen Fry - Narrator 

Helen Mirren - Deep Thought
John Malkovich - Humma Kavula
Bill Nighy - Slartibartfast

The last thing I expected after watching the 2005 movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was the hint of depression it would leave with me. I anticipated a comedic satire, and that's actually what I got. Still, if I'm to take the movie's advice and that of the author of the book it's based on, Douglas Adams, seriously, well... what's the point of anything in life? 

I wasn't familiar with Adams's book of the same until after I saw this movie several years ago. 

I had heard of title before then, but that's about it. After seeing this, then I read the book. However, I haven't read any of sequel books.  

I've seen this movie several times before now because I thought maybe there was more to it than I initially caught. Or, I was reading too much into it. 

I had no idea what to expect going into this movie for the first time. 

Though sci-fi spoofs are nothing new ("SpaceBalls" and "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" for instance) this movie has an original feel to it. I did get a subtle taste of old fashioned anti-organized religion sentiment in the movie. At least, it's satirized. 

In this movie the world has been inconveniently demolished by a bunch of unemotional and unreliable bureaucratic aliens called Vogons who need the earth’s occupied space for a hyperspace express route. In the plus column, two people actually survive the end of the world. What are the odds, huh? Maybe they're similar to the odds of being rescued should you ever find yourself floating aimlessly in the infinite vacuum of space?

The film starts as Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up as usual, on a Thursday morning, feeling a little down because he totally blew it with a girl named Trisha 'Trillian' McMillan (Zooey Deschanel) at a costume party the night before.

All that is pushed aside when he finds a demolition crew outside his home getting ready to tear his house down to make way for a bypass. 

Dent lies down in front of a bulldozer in an attempt to stop them. Meanwhile, his friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) somehow manages to convince Dent to join him at a nearby pub despite his home moments from being demolished. 

At the pub, Ford reveals that he's actually an alien from the vicinity of Betelgeuse. He's also writing a new book called, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." And what's worse, he warns Dent about the impending doom about the befall Earth in a few minutes. So, they need to drink up!

During their chat, Dent mentions how he blew it with Trisha when were interrupted by a guy who claimed to be from another planet and invited Trisha to see his spaceship.

As they leave the pub, a large Vogon destructor fleet surrounds the entire planet. 

Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel,
and Mos Def in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Before the Vogons carry out the plans to destroy the planet, Ford sneaks Dent and himself onto one the Vogon ships. 

Of course, the Vogons quickly discover their presence and take them into custody. 

They attempt to torture Ford and Dent by reading them Vogon poetry, which the film's narrator (Stephen Fry) says is the worst poetry in the universe. 

While Ford suffers under the unbearable pain, the poetry has no effect on Arthur. 

They're then placed in a cell, only to be kicked off the ship through an airlock and left in the vacuum of space to die. 

As improbability would have it, they're picked up by a starship called "Heart of Gold." 

Onboard, they find Ford's semi-cousin, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), who's also the newly elected president of the entire galaxy, and Trisha McMillan. Their also joined by Marvin, a depressed robot programed with GPP (Genuine People Personality) played by Warwick Davis and voiced by Alan Rickman. 

It turns out Zaphod happens to be the guy from the costume party who invited Trisha to see his spaceship. 

Zaphod, by the way, is being chased by the Galactic Vice-president Questular Rontok (Anna Chancellor) and the Vogons for kidnapping himself, the president of the galaxy. He's on a mission to find out the answer to the "ultimate question" of life, the universe, and everything. 

A supercomputer known as "Deep Thought" attempted an answer to that question centuries ago only to come up with the underwhelming answer, "42." As Deep Thought puts it, it needs to know what the actual question is before the answer makes sense. 

Zaphod thinks the answer can be found on the planet Magrathea. The only way he can get to Magrathea is by using the Heart of Gold's "improbability drive" which will take the ship to any random part of the universe without having to bother going through hyperspace. Zaphod keeps using this feature to hopefully get to Magrathea someday.

At one point, the improbability drive takes everyone on board to the planet Viltvodle VI. Magrathea will have to wait a moment now. His presidential opponent, Humma Kavula (John Malkovich) resides there. And Zaphod has a bone to pick with Humma, who had the audacity to call him "stupid" during their presidential campaigns. 

Also, Humma possesses coordinates to Magrathea that Zaphod wants to get his hands on. 

Humma offers to give him those coordinates if Zaphod finds the "point of view" gun, created by Deep Thought, and brings it back to him. Anyone shot by this gun temporarily sees things from the shooter's point of view. 

As they're about to leave Viltvodle VI, the Vogons show up to rescue the president and shoot his kidnapper (again, himself). They take Trisha as prisoner instead for aiding the president in kidnapping himself. So, Dent, Ford, and Zaphod have to go rescue her. 

While in Vogon custody, Trisha learns that the destruction of Earth is Zaphod's fault as he signed the paperwork to have it destroyed thinking the form was an autograph request. 

Zaphod goes to the Vogon offices to sign a presidential prisoner release form to rescue Trisha and then escapes before the Vogons realize the president's kidnapper is within their grasp. 

As they escape, the improbability drive finally takes them to Magrathea. However, while approaching Magrathea, they're met with a couple of automatic defense missiles launched from the planet. 

In an attempt to escape, Dent hits the improbability drive again which takes them, despite the odds, right back to Magrathea. Thankfully, this makes the missiles turn into a bowl of petunias and a very confused whale. 

After they land, the crew come across some interdimensional transports which Trish, Ford, and Zaphod jump through. Dent is too scared and misses his opportunity. 

The transports take Zaphod and the rest of them to Deep Thought who tells them after coming up with the answer "42," it designed a supercomputer that could come up with a better answer. Unfortunately, the Vogons blew up this supercomputer in order to make room for a hyperspace express route. This supercomputer, which is obviously Earth, was commissioned by interdimensional beings that appear as mice. 

Zaphod recovers the point-of-view gun just before he, Trish, and Ford are captured by unknown entities. 

Still on Magrathea, Dent runs into a guy named Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy) who designs and builds entire planets in a factory. 

He takes Dent to the planet showroom where they have a second backup Earth just about ready to go for habitation. 

His house is also recreated on this backup Earth where Dent meets his pals, Trisha, Ford, and Zaphod. 

The mice who commissioned Earth's construction are also there. The mice prepare an exquisite feast for everyone which puts all but Dent to sleep. Then the mice reveal their true plan - to take Dent's brain. This, they think, is the last piece they'll need to get the answer to life's ultimate question. 

But Dent gets the upper-hand and kills them. 

Then the Vogons show up, and this is the last chance for Dent, Ford, Trish, and Zaphod to take them down once and for all. 

Spoiler - they conquer the Vogons. And after they do, Dent agrees to explore the universe with Trisha, Ford, and Zaphod. But first they plan to stop for a quick bite at a restaurant at the end of the universe. 

"Hitchhiker's Guide" is a movie unique in style and atmosphere as far as sci-fi films go. It's also a movie solely for fans of Douglas Adams's works. I think anyone else will find this movie too bizarre, convoluted, confusing and, maybe, a bit full of itself while not taking itself seriously, to be enjoyable. 

I can't think of another movie similar to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Part of it feels like a parody of science fiction while trying to make a satirical statement about the shortness of time, the meaning(less) of life, creation, human behavior, and the insignificance of it all according to Adams. It's comedic just as it is depressing and sad. It's as though all the tidbits of life and the universe are neat and nice to look at like shiny little trinkets, but in the end, it's all meaningless. And when it all

goes away, what will it matter to anybody? While everyone in the story hitchhikes around the galaxy, what's meaningful to some is pointless and useless to others. Still, as the movie suggests, it would be fun to galivant around the galaxy and see all the pretty things.  

A lot of the effects are done through practical effects and puppetry, created by the Jim Henson Workshop, which I truly value and appreciate. Their work is impressive and beautifully constructed. 

However, the acting is off at times, such as the moment Trillian is told Earth has been destroyed. She's annoyed, but it's the kind of irritation someone would have after being told they have to come in to work Saturday and Sunday. 

I found the movie entertaining and visually fun enough; however, there's a variety of themes that don't sit well with me. 

For instance, the more the characters try to comprehend the purpose of life and all of creation, the more unhappy and disappointed they seem to be. This ties into the idea that creation, time, improbability, impossibility, plausibility...is all absurd. 

All the "sciency" jargon, like the improbability drive, demand the audience understand these concepts. Of course, audiences likely aren't experts on these things, just like the characters aren't either. Concepts like these are confusing, and the movie (and Adams) know that. And they know that the audience knows they're confusing. So, audiences are just as surprised as the characters are when situations and circumstances go a certain and unexpected way. It's an ingenious method of storytelling that works for this movie. 

As for creation, and the human desire for exploration, the movie acknowledges that it's exciting to explore until something is discovered. Discovery is reduced to the fizzling out of the thrill of exploration. 

The mice are anxious to know what the answer is to the "ultimate question... of life, the universe, and everything." Of course, they don't actually ask a question. Still, this non-question leads to an underwhelming non-answer. And all the characters end up in an endless pursuit. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss, they pursue, and THEY PURSUE, and they pursue, pursue, pursue, pursue. 

But how often, the movie asks, does discovery meet expectations? 

It's a downer of a satirical comedy. 

The joys of life are really meaningless in the end, or so the movie indirectly claims.

"Time is an illusion," Ford Prefect tells Dent. "Lunchtime, doubly so." Well, that stinks!