Planet Magrathea reviews the Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy movie and piles steaming heaps of hate on it. In the short version, linked here, it looks like a lot of writer MJ Simpson's opprobium is of the "how dare you deviate from the Holy Writ in any way" variety, but the long version of the review, with spoilers, highlights some things that I too would have difficulty with. The final, damning verdict is that
That's the movie we've been waiting 26 years for. And let me tell you, it was not worth the wait, not for this. The whole film is true to neither the letter nor the spirit of Douglas Adams' books and scripts.
I'm really sorry to hear that. (via cmkaapjes who got it from Fark)
By the way, the commenters on Fark are teh m4r00nxorz. Not all of them, but several dismiss the review without reading it and question Simpson's knowledge of the pre-existing body of work without bothering to check who the hell this guy is anyway. From his own website, MJ Simpson is the writer of several books and published articles on Douglas Adams and his work, including Hitchhiker, a noted biography of the man. I'd say his judgment is pretty damned authoritative. He also wrote his scathing review in spite of having been given favourable treatment by the production team.
