The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

You've been told your house is about to be demolished because it's in the way of a new bypass. Your friend then tells you that he is an alien and that the planet is about to be destroyed. You are beamed on board a Vogon ship and forced to listen to poetry read by something that looks like it has been scraped from a hankie. After that you are dropped into space and picked up by a maniacally depressed robot, a womaniser with two heads and some bird you hit on at a party. No, it's not the plot to yet another Star Wars movie, but the intro to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

The Office's Martin Freeman plays Arthur Dent, our hapless hero of this outrageous intergalactic comedy. Arthur has pretty much lost everything that he holds dear and a trip through an unknown star system is what he needs. Throw in a hilarious performance by Sam Rockwell, as Zaphod Beeblebrox, the galactic president, who has kidnapped himself and stolen the most prestigious ship in the galaxy, and a comically dour Alan Rickman, as the voice of Marvin the robot. Top this with Mos Def, as Ford Prefect, who gives a good performance that could rival that of David Dixon's original, and also the very lovely Zooey Deschanel, as Trillion, Arthur's lost love. Spice it up with cameos from Bill Nighy, some woman who can't take her eyes off Mos Def in the pub and John Malkovich. Finally, blend it all together with the debut direction of Garth Jennings and you have what could be one of the funniest films of the year.

The movie stays true to the original radio and TV series, but gives newcomers, like myself, an insight into what the Hitchhiker's Guide is really about. We are introduced to Vogons, Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters (oh, how we would love one of those down the local), Babel Fish and some others that quite frankly have to be seen to be believed.

Hitchhiker's has something for everyone and after all is said and done, we are left seeing towels in a new light and aching to know what happens to our galactic travellers when they eventually get to that restaurant at the end of the universe.