I honestly can’t say what I think that people unfamiliar with the original stories will think of the movie, but as a long-time fan of both the books
As was obvious from the trailers, the casting was impeccable, especially Sam Rockwell, who was an inspired choice for Zaphod Beeblebrox. The artistic direction was spot on, the Jim Henson-created Vogon costumes are amazing and the humor in the script was perfectly Adams-like, which makes sense, since he wrote the original screenplay. (He was working on the production of the film when he died in 2002.)
I had read a couple of negative reviews before going in (as well as some generally good ones), but the ones who didn’t like it — well, I think they simply didn’t get it. They didn’t understand either the entire point of the story (not having been familiar with it beforehand) or didn’t understand Douglas Adams’ intentions. Roger Ebert gave the movie a bad review, but he was very forthright in his lack of knowledge about the story.
People unfamiliar with the story will either like it or not; the British-style sense of humor isn’t for everyone. But some long-time fans felt let down, and I think I know a couple of reasons why.
Douglas Adams wrote the script for the original radio play, which then turned into the novels, which then turned into BBC television, then a movie version # 1, and finally movie #2. All of them are different in different ways. Adams’ intention was never to tell exactly the same story twice — each new production became an adaptation instead of a re-telling. And I think some people were unprepared for that.
The changes in this latest incarnation are brilliant. The classic storylines are intertwined and wrapped up much more tightly (and perhaps more successfully) than had previously been done. The characters are a bit more sympathetic, and perhaps even richer. There are new aspects that, admittedly, aren’t ever referred to in the books, but were obviously written in the original voice — Adams’.
My one quibble with the script is that a number of jokes from the books are started, but not finished. A perfect example comes in the beginning of the movie, when Ford and Arthur first arrive on the Vogon ship:
Arthur: Where are we?
Ford: We’re safe.
Arthur: Ah.
Ford: We’re on board one of the ships in the Vogon constructor fleet.
Arthur’s next line in the movie is along the lines of “oh dear, oh my, I want to go home.” (I can’t remember exactly.) In the book, there’s a fantastically dry, quitissentially Adams line: “Ah. This is obviously some usage of the word ‘safe’ with which I am unfamiliar.” There are three or four moments like that in the movie, but as flaws go, in my book this is relatively minor — I think of it as a lost opportunity rather than a huge mistake.
Anyway — I think that’s all I have to say about it. Suffice it to say I think the movie does both the stories annd Douglas Adams great justice. If you agree/disagree, I hope you’ll comment.