Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up to find out that his house is to be bulldozed to make way for a new Expressway. This will not be the worst of his day; the planet earth is also scheduled for demolition. Ford Perfect (Mos Def) comes along and saves Arthur merely seconds before an alien race stops by and reduces the earth to space dust.

CRITIQUE

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is based on the book written by Douglas Adams. I didn’t read the book and had no knowledge of it until this movie. Right off the bat you quickly realize that this movie is “special”. Dolphins can be seen performing and joyfully singing (yes, singing) about the imminent destruction of our planet. I was thinking, “What did I get myself into”. Well, the movie happily pokes fun at Star Wars, itself, and everything else in between.

“Galaxy” reminded me of the “The Fifth Element” directed by Luc Besson, except that it actually has a story that makes sense. The problem with “Galaxy” is that the plot is all over the place. One person is looking for the ultimate gun, while another is searching for the ultimate question. I guess I should’ve read the book before watching this movie. Too bad the book wasn’t packaged with the DVD as an extra.

The actors at least look like they’re having fun and put forth a good effort. The visuals match the plot in terms of being all over the place; at least your eyes don’t get bored. Alan Rickman as the manic depressed robot named Marvin is the best thing about the movie. The combination of Alan Rickman’s wonderful sarcasm and the big headed robot is genius, and did I mention the robot is manic-depressed? “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” has its good points, but I couldn’t get into the story. I guess this is another case where the book is better than the movie.

THE VIDEO

Touchstone Home Entertainment presents “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16x9 televisions). The available subtitle options are English, French and Spanish. The video in this movie is pretty darn good. Colors are vibrant and the black levels are solid.

THE AUDIO

Touchstone Home Entertainment presents “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” in 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound. If your system is so equipped this film also has been THX certified (includes THX optimizer). French and Spanish tracks are also available for your listening pleasure. The sound in this film is very good, excellent punch from the subwoofer during certain scenes and the surrounds also kick in to great effect. The Dolby Digital and DTS tracks are pretty much on par with each other, with DTS getting the slight edge in Bass if that is your forte.

THE EXTRAS

Deleted Scenes: 3 scenes titled “Earth Mostly Harmless”, “We’re going to win” and “Impossible Forces” are very short and unnecessary subtractions from the movie.

Really Deleted Scenes: This is essentially more deleted scenes as the title of the extra suggests. The first one “Don’t Panic” is funny and also cool because the actors doing the scene think the scene is dumb, and they actually have a serious discussion with the director. “Arthur Escapes” is another short scene and the director was right to cut it.

Sing Along So Long: Remember those singing dolphins I told you about, well here is the scene that is presented in the beginning of the film.

Two Audio Commentaries: You can check out the commentary with Director Garth Jennings, Producer Nick Goldsmith and actors Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy, or Executive Producer Robbie Stamp and Sean Solle. You can even watch it with all the above mentioned people at the same time. Commentary is very lively with discussion about the movie and whatever else comes to their minds.

FINAL THOUGHTS

“The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” has good visuals and a performance by Alan Rickman that is hilarious. Unfortunately, this film has a plot that is so crazy that you need to have the book next to you while you’re watching the movie. The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy isn’t bad it’s just “special”.