The Yeti and I agree
Or at least, I agree with him, since the total sum of any relationship between myself and Matt Baldwin is limited to my reading his website. This doesn't quite make me a "special fan" or anything like that. Still, I found myself nodding during his review of Hitchhiker's Guide. Nodding... a little TOO MUCH! Basically, I got a similar impression: yes, they left a lot out of or changed stuff from the books, but it just wouldn't work if they did a literal translation.

I remembered reading [the book] when the line "I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them" cropped up in the film. But instead of thinking "They've ruined a classic!' I found myself musing, "well, yeah -- the other way probably would have been too long." Blasphemy I know.

Which isn't to say that Hitchhiker's trademark silliness is completely missing -- it's there, but watered down and spread out. The movie intersperses bits from the book -- scenes lifted directly from the pages, guide entries, etc. -- with traditional motion picture fare, like action sequences and muted bits of exposition. It's as if they decided to just split the difference between Hitchhiker's outlandishness and Hollywood's reluctance to think outside the proverbial box. Granted, Hollywood gets the upper hand by the end, but up until then it works pretty well.

  ¶ 6:56 p.m.