I just went to see “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” today and it was a lot better than I expected. It’s no match for the book, but neither was it a disaster that many were predicting. They rearranged the plot quite a bit, putting many of the standard jokes in a different context, but it didn’t seem so bad, since the book didn’t really have so much of a plot. Some of the characters were a bit annoying, but Trillian was arguably improved. Some of the best jokes were missing, but many were included properly, and a couple of really great ones were added. The dialog wasn’t all that impressive, but on the other hand the film is also very pleasing visually. In some of the cases I was really really impressed by the framing – strangely, none of those great shots made it into the trailers. It also struck a good balance between on one hand being understandable to those not familiar with the book (I think), yet also having a good number of inside jokes to give those of us who know the book by heart a warm fuzzy feeling.

To sum it up, it’s not the greatest movie ever made and thus can’t measure up to the greatest book ever written, but it’s worth seeing. Just make sure to bring your towel.