Don't Panic! ClassicSciFi.Com's guest reviewer Dave Ganin, an NYU Film student, has written the first American review of this highly anticipated blockbuster film release.

Twenty-three years after the first screenplay draft was written, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has finally emerged onto the silver screen resting upon the shoulders of British music-video director Garth Jennings. Sound impossible? It’s not; just very improbable.

After having spent those decades in developmental limbo, the reins of this Hitchhiker’s incarnation, which follows successful radio, television and book series, were finally handed over to the unlikely newcomer Jennings and the production received a green light. Upon viewing the film’s final cut, it is apparent that the producers’ faith in Jennings was not misguided. He has proven himself more than worthy of continuing where the late author (and patriarch) of the series Douglas Adams left off.

The film begins with a beautifully shot prologue and opening credit sequence that establishes the absurd tone of the story with a Broadway-style production number featuring (what else?) dolphins. After this, we meet protagonist Arthur Dent, a timid, passive Englishman whose house is about to be demolished. Arthur is soon whisked away to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect, whom he very quickly discovers to be an alien. Just as this occurs, a Vogon Constructor Fleet arrives at the planet to make way for a hyperspace bypass route. Ford manages to hitch a ride for the two of them on a Vogon ship, saving their lives. The Vogons destroy the Earth and everyone on it, and from there, things really get complicated.

The biggest challenge in adapting The Hitchhiker’s Guide to this new medium is balancing Douglas Adams’ love of digression (some of the greatest jokes of the series come from hilarious but tangential narratives) with the constraints of time and structure needed for a commercial feature film. Although director Jennings and screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick have maintained many of the classic jokes of the series, some of them are far too rushed to get the laughs they deserve. The plot also seems at times to be disjointed and frenzied: The subplot involving John Malkovich’s religious leader Humma Kavula is funny, but never resolved (it feels as if it might have been contrived just so that the production team wouldn’t have to worry about the special effects of Zaphod’s extra head).

But don’t panic! Jennings’ greatest triumph is in his casting. With rare exceptions, the actors chosen for the film build spectacularly upon the time-tested material and characters and help facilitate the adaptation of the work to a modern, cinematic version. Martin Freeman, playing the nervous, utterly-ordinary Arthur Dent, combines classic British comic stoicism with contemporary rhythm and energy. Mos Def, a surprise (but inspired) choice for the role of Ford Prefect, truly makes the character his own and provides many of the biggest laughs in the film. Sam Rockwell, playing sophomoric President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, creates a charismatic and conceited persona that is the perfect antithesis to Arthur’s over-analysis and cowardice.

Other notable performances are Bill Nighy’s as planet-builder Slartibartfast, Stephen Fry’s as the voice of the Guide itself, and the combined performance of Warwick Davis and Alan Rickman, who provided the body and voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android, respectively. Marvin steals his scenes with so much as a gesture, and by the end of the film he proves himself not just an underappreciated intellectual, but truly the unsung hero of the group. Unfortunately, Zooey Deschanel does not stand up to her predecessors in the Hitchhiker’s canon portraying the brilliant and beautiful astrophysicist, Tricia MacMillan (“Trillian”). Deschanel’s delivery was often stiff and emotionless, and she simply is not the bombshell of the books that woos eternal frat-boy Zaphod. Ms. Deschanel is not completely to blame; Trillian’s character is not as fully developed as she was in the books or radio series, and so she becomes more of a device to develop Arthur’s character as he becomes more assertive of his feelings. This love story plot often felt extraneous, but the emotional sentimentality was (thankfully) always tempered with humor.

Overall, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an energetic, hilarious and absurd journey through Douglas Adams’ Universe. Its shortcomings notwithstanding, the film does justice to the source material and even enhances it, especially due to the superb cast. The film contains many of the original gags of the series (wait around during the closing credits for an extra one), and also some new elements; but most importantly, it maintains the spirit of all the previous versions. Fans of the series will not be

disappointed, and newcomers willing to stick out their thumbs will most certainly be brought along for the ride.