The movie was better than I expected, but less than I'd hoped for. I've read all 5.01 trilogy books, and seen all but one or two of the TV episodes. Of course, there were disappointments, but those were all explainable by the fact that the movie all of the hardcore h2g2 fans really wanted would have gone straight to video in around the time it took for the sperm whale to come to terms with his mortality. They needed to "dumb it down" a little, pass on a lot of the subtle humor, and change the emphasis of various plot points in order to get fannies in the seats in a time of $10 tickets and extreme fickleness in the moviegoing population.

There aren't many franchises like Star Wars that can shit on a plate and have millions eat it up regardless, and we all know H2G2 isn't in that league. So, if the compromises made on this movie means I'll see a Restaurant at the End of the Universe film that's at least as good as this one, I'll be pleased.