Only 2 films this month in what turns out to be a sci-fi showdown. First up is Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Now the purists have already started complaining about the inconsistencies with the book. As has been pointed out, none of the separate versions (radio, tv, and book) actually fit together, so why should the films be any different? Judged on their its own merit, it does have some lacklustre points: the emphasis on the somewhat forced love story, the finale that isn’t very much of a crescendo, and the narrated moments from the Guide that are awkwardly shoe-horned into a universe that is visual enough already. Other than that, it’s a reasonable interpretation of Adams’ world. In fact, it features one moment of absolute genius, not seen in any previous incarnation of the series. Worth watching, but a cumbersome in places.
This months other film is (deep breath): Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith. It can be summed up as follows. Good bits: lightsabre fights, Natalie Portman, space battle. Bad Bits: Hayden Christensen (oh dear), the clumsy handling of Palpatine’s turning of Anakin, Mace Windu’s bizarre and unfounded change half way through, Grevious being a coward (when he spends most of the Clone Wars murdering Jedi), did I mention Hayden Christensen yet?
Episode 3 is probably exactly what you expect, Hitchhiker’s is too. Hard to pick one this month, so I’ll go with Hitchhiker’s.