By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
These days, it seems filmmakers and audiences alike are obsessed with crossovers, whether that’s Deadpool and Wolverine teaming up to save the multiverse or Superman teaming up with characters like Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner to save the world. But would you believe a film that came out nearly 20 years ago is now the ultimate genre team-up, bringing together stars from Marvel, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings? Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is now available to stream on Hulu, and it might just be the most entertaining way to dive into the literary world of sci-fi legend Douglas Adams.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (based on the Adams book of the same name) is about a man who gets a warning from a friendly alien that Earth is about to be demolished by other extraterrestrials. This leads both of them to the stars, where they are quickly caught up in a galactic president’s mad quest to answer the Ultimate Question of Life. The answer might be enough to save the galaxy. Assuming, of course, our heroes manage to survive that long.
The movie serves as a (relatively) faithful adaptation of the iconic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and it features an awesome cast, including Lord of the Rings legend Martin Freeman as our hapless human main character. He is joined by some Harry Potter stars, including Warwick Davis as a robot who just happens to be voiced by Alan Rickman. Meanwhile, memorable Marvel villain Sam Rockwell plays the President of the Galaxy, and the cast includes other big names such as Zooey Deschanel, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Stephen Fry.
Despite this star-studded cast, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy earned only a modest $104.5 million box office against a budget of $45-50 million. Originally, there were loose plans to create a sequel, effectively creating a film franchise out of Douglas Adams’ seminal sci-fi series. Unfortunately, Freeman later confirmed that the movie’s meager box office was not enough to warrant a big-budget follow-up.
As for the critics, they were a bit split on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 60 percent critical rating, with the critics generally complaining that the movie could be funnier and that it may not be as accessible to those who haven’t read the book. Audiences, meanwhile, liked the film a bit more, and it currently has a 65 percent Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In other words, this is a movie that’s barely “fresh” among critics and didn’t wow audiences enough to warrant a sequel. Why, then, am I recommending that you stream Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? For one thing, the movie feels fresher than ever. In an age of endless Marvel slop and audience superhero fatigue, it’s awesome to see a big-budget genre feature that does its own thing.
Plus, director Garth Jennings effectively got what he paid for when it came to this killer cast. Freeman brings the unassuming, everyman charm while Rockwell brings a big performance and even bigger laughs. Mos Def is all smoothness and grace while Fry embodies understated charm and Deschanel… well, she’s all wide-eyed charisma as a galactic girl next door.
Finally, the movie has plenty of heart and often feels like an extended Doctor Who episode in its presentation of the completely fantastic as utterly mundane. There’s something Zen-like about much of the advice that Ford Prefect offers to Arthur Dent in the face of otherwise unimaginable calamities. By the end, you’ll feel a bit like Dent himself: ready to take on the whole galaxy (all while offering various cutting remarks, of course).
In short, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is full of high-stakes plots and big-name actors, and the result is a team-up bigger and better than most of what we’ve seen from Marvel or DC. Will you find this sci-fi classic as entertaining as we did, or will turning off the TV be your own answer to life, the universe, and everything? You won’t know, of course, until you stream the greatest adaptation of Douglas’ Adams sweeping story for yourself on Hulu.
