After much anticipation and trepidation, I watched the “Hitchhiker's” trailer last night…
Here are my very mixed impressions. For anyone who cares. Which is probably just me.
Good: Straight off the bat, it was thrilling to see Arthur in his bathrobe.
Bad: It hurt to hear Ford's American accent although he says “What if I told you I was from another planet?” instead of “What if I told you I wasn't from Guilford”. So maybe this Arthur thinks his friend Ford is from Detroit. Regardless, it's changing a major characteristic of Ford and I don't like it.
Good: I still think Mos Def is a good actor and he JUST MIGHT be able to pull it off.
Good: The Vogons!
Bad: There's some slapstick jokes in there. They might be great in context but I worry that they might have stuck too many of these in just to appeal to the sub-intellectual American audience.
Good Trillian's cute little pajama-space outfit. I think she will be a charming Trillian and much more interesting than the one in the book and (especially the BBC series).
Bad: The obvious push for the Arthur/Trillian “love story” which is evident even in the split second that Trillian is being attacked by something or other and shouts “Arthur!”. Trillian was never in love with Arthur! She had the classic “Bad Boy” syndrome and that's why she chose Zaphod.
Good: The few lines I heard from Sam Rockwell were delivered very well. I still think he was a great choice for Zaphod.
Bad: I STILL hate the situation with Zaphod's head. When his first head “flips back” to reveal his second, he looks like this He-Man action figure I used to have. VERY cheesy. And it's not at all the way it was described very clearly by Douglas Adams. I just don't understand why they couldn't have done what they did in Men In Black 2. I can understand being on a budget but it would have been SOO worth it. That is something that I, as a director (or producer or anyone in an position of power) would NOT have been flexible on. And after waiting for 10 years to make this film, you'd think they'd want to get it right.
Good: Arthur! Arthur! Arthur! Martin Freeman is the PERFECT choice. And he even gives a little “Tim” look to the camera when Zaphod says that he and Ford shared 3 of the same mothers. Hopefully Martin Freeman's acting will overshadow all of the other little problems that I forsee.
I'm still pretty excited about the film. I realise I'm being hard on it. But that's what fanboys and girls do.
But seriously, guys…is having TWO PROPER HEADS too much to ask?! Apparently, yes.
Effed by the Wind 
