THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Directed by Garth Jennings
Certificate PG

IT'S such a shame celebrated author Douglas Adams is no longer around to see the release of the film version of his most famous creation.
From its birth as a radio play The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy has grown to attract millions of fans and the movie is bound to bring in more. Not that it’s without its faults – in essence it is one glorious, chaotic mess – but if you sit back and let it whizz past you, there’s much to enjoy. Arthur Dent (The Office’s Martin Freeman) is miffed to discover his house is to be demolished to make way for a bypass, but he soon finds this is the least of his worries when buddy Ford Prefect (Mos Def) arrives with the news he’s actually an alien and the dreaded Vogons are about the blow up the entire planet. But he has a plan; the pair will hitch a lift on a passing spaceship and wing it from there with the help of the aforementioned Hitchhiker’s Guide.
The film then becomes a crazy journey involving two headed president Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), poetry-spouting ETs, a spaceship that runs on an improbability drive, and a depressed robot called Marvin (voiced by Alan Rickman). The problem is it all moves at warp-factor 8. The special effects are wonderful but don’t blink or you’ll miss them.
Also, a section Adams wrote especially for the movie involving a cult leader (John Malkovich) doesn’t add anything to proceedings. But who cares, it’s fun, Freeman is well cast, and it’s all rather endearing.