I was underwhelmed. Some odd music choices and each scene felt like a scene rather than part of the entire story. While Rorschach was cool, even he seemed to be just giving lines, it seemed to lack emotion. I know Jon is not really human, but he really seemed robotic, like he would give a line or 2, have a long pause, then give another line or 2.
I really wanted to like this, you could say I set my standards too high, but I still thought it was sub-par. It all looked really cool though! They could still redo it as a HBO miniseries! Hopefully the Directors Cut this summer will be more enjoyable, but I doubt it will add much.
I've read the comic and very keen on seeing this even though I've heard it can be a dissapointment. Maybe I'll go see it today aswell.
Apparently watching it first and then reading it is meant to be better. So Asherr, you could be safe.
I didn't realise the film was so violent though. Yes there is violence in the comic but being translated to film, to some it's coming off a bit heavy handed. My friend sent me the link to the review by the British paper The Daily Mail (shit as it may be) and it was obvious they were going to tear it a new one. It ends with:
"This despicable trash will find an audience among sad sociopaths, deranged pseudo-intellectuals and brutalised, immature men of all ages. I just hope that there aren't enough of them to make it a hit. If there are, God help cinema."
So opinionated. Fuck him. Makes me want to see it even more.
I skipped reading due to expected spoilers. Cryptic's taking all of us this afternoon. I've never read the book, so I'm not as insanely thrilled as some. But still have high hopes.
I think any review needs to be prefaced with whether the reviewer has read the comic or not.
Seriously? Are we going to go there?
Yeah, some odd music choices but pretty fitting for the theme and era they were going for. I heard a few giggles at 99 Luft Balloons. I doubt many of those people know the song is about nuclear war.
The violence/gore was high but fit within context of the movie. It never really felt out of place to me, like consequences for actions rather than gore for gore's sake (Rambo).
Lots of man ass and blue penis.
They didn't shy away from anything, which I really liked.
Unapologetic would probably describe it best.
It can just color a review, and I think it's a bias worth knowing. While person A may love it as a movie and think the story was deep and interesting, person B may hate it for simplifying a story or pushing a certain aspect of the theme rather than the one or ones they thought more important. I don't at all intend to infer that your opinion is only valid if you've read it, but simply that this is a worthwhile bit of background to know about the review you're reading.
For some creative efforts, you pretty much have to go there. Reading a novel or comic source ahead of time can definitely skew your reception of their cinematic interpretation.
I'll even offer my own personal example. A lot of people I know like the movie Starship Troppers. It is obviously a bit campy, but the action is pretty good, the alien bug special effects are good, and there's testosterone all over the place. In general, I really like movies that involve monsters or aliens, and have copious amounts of special effects. By my own natural tastes, I probably should have liked Starship Troopers.
But I don't. I absolutely despise the film. Despite all of the elements of it that I am naturally in favor of, I still loathe it. And the only reason I have for spitting on it is that I read the book ahead of time. The original novel by Robert A. Heinlen is an excellent sci-fi imagining of futuristic warfare against an alien species. It is gripping and exciting, with some really well-crafted and developed characters. The world that he imagines makes sense, and feels very human. By comparison, the movie is one long over-exaggerated cliche.
With a comic source as influential as The Watchmen, it is understandable that many fans may be overly critical of the movie due to deviations from the graphic novel.
-SPOILER WARNING - I am given to understand that the method Ozymandias uses for his master plan is significantly different from what it was in the comic. This will likely end up being a point of contention for a lot of fans. At the same time, the solution the filmakers came up with is more conventional than the original, but it does still make sense within the context of the story. -END SPOILER WARNING -
I am gonna unfortunately have to be really opinionated hehe.(sorry if people find this rediculous) I am going to not see the movie in support the man who actually came up with the story itself, who is obviously not going to see a penny from this(not that its about the money) but I feel bad for a guy who puts so much work into his stories then has absolutely no control over whether its going to get made into 2 versions of the same movie a BRD of the graphic novel itself and a video game. I know that is kind of the nature of the industry as it is with ours. But supporting this movie, (since it WAS DC who caused Alan Moore to leave in such a bad way and is now capitalizing in a huge way on his work) feels wrong IMHO. I can understand if people don't feel the same way.
I am gonna unfortunately have to be really opinionated hehe.(sorry if people find this rediculous) I am going to not see the movie in support the man who actually came up with the story itself, who is obviously not going to see a penny from this(not that its about the money) but I feel bad for a guy who puts so much work into his stories then has absolutely no control over whether its going to get made into 2 versions of the same movie a BRD of the graphic novel itself and a video game. I know that is kind of the nature of the industry as it is with ours. But supporting this movie, (since it WAS DC who caused Alan Moore to leave in such a bad way and is now capitalizing in a huge way on his work) feels wrong IMHO. I can understand if people don't feel the same way.
BTW that's a sweet avatar Richard Kain!
You know that he sold the film rights, right? So he already did see a penny from this?
Yeah, Alan Moore was actually involved in the first few attempts to make this movie. But he grew frustrated with the whole process and decided to wash his hands of any Watchmen film. He went out of his way to make sure that he was neither affiliated or even credited in regards to the film now being released. It's not so much that he's being cut out of it, so much as him intentionally distancing himself from it.
I read about a quarter into the novel and stopped. I dunno, I'm not really a comic person, I honestly tried to read it but just couldnt....
Now, I came into the movie expecting it to be your average hyped up hollywood superhero movie. But boy was I pleasantly surprised. Like snemmy said I felt it was very unapologetic about the violence, gore and nudity, which I thought was awesome. Was really cool seeing how they brought everything from the pages to life. Now after seeing the movie I'd really like to go back and finish the novel. So again, probably my having low to no expectations played a big factor in me enjoying this.
I'd also like to comment on the soundtrack, I actually loved it! I thought it was very fresh to see classic rock tunes(something out of forest gump almost) combined with the slick, stylized visuals.
1 more note...my friends told me how they changed the ending, most agreed it still worked and didnt have too many qualms with it. I thought it was awesome and totally worked. Now going back and reading the book, chances are I'll like the films ending better, but will still be interesting to see both versions!
Awesome movie, will definitely watch it again
PS. Kinda nit picky now, but I really didnt like Dr. Manhattans voice at first. I was expecting a deeper, more kind of godly Stoic voice. Billy Crudups voice sounded kinda wimpy and boyish, but I soon got over it and was able to really enjoy the character.
You are right he sold the rights... 22 years ago to someone else, with a different writer and a different director. Right now you are correct in the fact he would get royalties that was my mistake however, he has chosen to give everything he makes to Dave gibbons as he did on V for Vendetta since he objects to the current film and the current director(not that Zack Snyder did anything wrong except make 300 in Alan Moore's eyes). But as I stated before its not about the money its about not having control over something that he at least 50% created and once again I say I understand if someone disagrees with me lol(trying really hard not to sound like I am patronizing anyone its just my opinion)
I thought it was awesome. I read about 1/4 of the book as well.. just never got around to finishing it. Rorshachs mask was freaking awesome in motion though. One of those things that just carries much better to film than different panels in a comic.
Yeah, doc was a little too Abe Sapien for my liking. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of blue cock in the movie.
KyleM, I don't think anyone will blame you for refusing to see the movie. It's your choice, after all, and if you enjoyed the comic book, its unlikely that you will regret refraining from the film. (see previous musings on the disparity between films and the literary works they are based on) Besides, if you are ever curious, you will probably have the opportunity to borrow it from a friend after it comes out on DVD. (thereby avoiding contributing to the film financially)
I read through the novel entirely. (although I do admit to skimming through most of the pirate sub-story) I can appreciate why so many others might not have completed it. For a graphic novel it is exceptionally dense. The text to visuals ratio is very high. And a good deal of the visuals suffer a bit from "talking-head" syndrome. The payoff of the work is also a long time coming.
Much of the graphic novel centers around some truly exceptional character development. The major difference between this and the usual comic book fare is that the characters portrayed in The Watchmen are exceptionally human, despite the remarkable circumstances surrounding their lives. Most comic characters tend heavily to juvenile male fantasies. But most of the characters in The Watchmen are people we would never want to be, making decisions we would never want to be faced with.
Well I just finished coming back from the movie theater so the film is still fresh in my mind.
Here are my overall thoughts on the movie:
Direction: Zack Snyder is clearly talented and a director on the rise but he needs to learn a bit of restraint. What worked so well for him in 300 seems over the top and out of place in Watchmen. Instead of letting the story flow he seemly set of up one exaggerated sequence after another, it felt like I was watching 3 different films in one. Now I dont mind a little bit of the stop and go techniques use in 300 but someone should have pulled him aside and said that a little goes a long way! Aside from that I liked that the film was rated R and really pushed the violence, sex, etc. The film had a dark and mature tone that helped keep things grounded, this was essential since you had people running around in weird suits.
Production values: God does this film look gorgeous! This is one of the best looking films Ive seen in a while and will make one hell of an addition to peoples DVD or BlueRay collections. The team behind the film really brought to life the look and feel of the graphic novel, you can tell that every penny put into the look of the film was well spent!
Music: Tyler Bates is a good composer and did a great job for 300 but the score/songs for this movie felt out of place, if anything it felt like a remix to the 300 soundtrack with a bunch of extra songs thrown in. I would have preferred composers like Phillip Glass, Enrico Morricone, or Medwyn Goodall to Tyler Bates. That being said Im still going to pick up the soundtrack since Im a film score lover and collector. Im sure the score will work as an enjoyable stand-alone piece, its just too bad it didnt sync with the film.
Acting: In my opinion everyone did a fantastic job realizing the characters from the graphic novel, especially the actors who played Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, and Rorschach! Theyre almost exactly how I envisioned these characters in my head and it was great to see them up on the big screen. With that said the only weak link was the actress who played the Silk Spectre 2. She simply felt miscast and out of place, especially when compared to the other actors involved.
Story: Ive read Watchmen more times that I could remember so I knew what I was getting into. That said they kept most of the guts of the story and simply cut back on much of the exposition found throughout the graphic novel. Hell I didnt even mind the altered ending that has been so talked about, to me it felt right and in some ways better than the ending found in the book.
One thing that I really miss that I felt was necessary to the story were the street vendors. The vendors gave you some insight as to how the world was viewed from an opposite angle, it would have also given the movie a human connection to the people in the city. This is one of the things the book did so well imo.
I also miss the origin story of the villain in (wont spoil this) question towards the end, I think it would have been worth having a good 10 minutes or so explaining how he came to be in a compelling manner. This would have added greater depth to the character and really helped people who didn't read the book understand him a bit better.
In closing I felt that the Graphic Novel was done justice and hiccups aside turned out to be a fantastic film! Overall score 9 out of 10.
I never read the comic, but I thought the movie was interesting. It was incredibly well done, regardless some of the cg I felt like was a bit weak at part. I agree the music was kind of odd at times, my expectations were a bit different I suppose. I can't say I walked out feeling "holy shit that was epic" like I did with 300 though.
Hot damn it was graphic though. Plenty of man ass for the whole family :poly124:
Yeah, heh, I'm waiting for Rorshach's verdict
I won't get to see it for another 2 weeks, since we booked at the IMAX in London here, and by the time we realised it was going to be on there, all the earlier showings were fully booked
I was hesitant about reading this thread, fearing there'd be spoilers, then I realised that I'd already read the graphic novel o_O
Mop: It's good, you'll like it. Looks and sounds great, music is terribly placed, songs that while good ... always seemed to pull away from the feelings generated by the visuals.
The pacing is off, often the characters need only 1 extra second before and after a line of dialogue to make the impact of the moment work but Snyder seemed in too much of a rush to check off all the main points in order to get to the action scenes where he excells.
In one of the opening shots where Blake comments ' I guess it was only a matter of time' is a good example of the pacing issue that runs through a lot of the film.
He did a good job of broadening its appeal, it will bring in a lot of money and be enjoyable by a wider variety of people than the book.
Theres a few scenes where they hollywood it up too much and miss the point but we always knew snyder was a fighter not a thinker so we end up with a visual extravaganza that is easily worth the admission.
Those that wanted something deeper, more thoughtful and inteligent can read the book again, newcomers looking for more can go and buy the book
The things I found lacking are things that 90% won't care about, I always enjoyed the human angle more, I like depth and allegory, most don't, in fact I'd say that most that enjoyed the comic were not enjoying the same things as myself so I'd recommend it to anyone really.
Rorschach himself is easily the best thing in it, again, it plays to Snyders strengths, they amp him up a little too far but thats part of the broader appeal deal I think.
Well, the people who knew the book just wondered why i spelt the name differently ( is he just stupid?) and those that hadn't probably just thought it was an interesting collection of letters haha
Few realized that most computer art is mirrored like a Rorschach, thats kinda why I kept the name for so long, best to get rid of it before the film I thought though.
yaaa I agree with you kevin about the bad pacing, Same about the hollywoody feel..
Im still partial about it, Ill have to see it again, at home, I didnt hate it, I enjoy it, but Im character base, It was hard for me to connect to the characters in the movie compare to the comic..
I loved Ror Voice!.
Interesting Id say! like the other said, WTF was the deal with the music, I just didnt get that at all, that was awfull..
My wife and I are checking this out tomorrow...I actually got my wife liking football, comics and she even critiques my work now. Man, if I can only get her to cook
I've read the book a few times, and I have to say I disagree with some of the criticisms leveled at the movie from others who have as well. I thought the pacing was very well done, and some of the restructuring and cutting was likely less due to Snyder being a "fighter not a thinker" than to the necessities of keeping a nearly three hour film moving. I think when you're reading a comic you can deal with 32 pages of Dr. Manhattan playing with the sand on Mars because you're also reading his thoughts and gaining an insight into his character, and that's just one example. If they just filmed it all straight, a great deal of the early and middle portions would be intolerably boring for the vast majority of audiences.
The music was a little weird as far as the songs they used from the time period. Sound of Silence I thought was completely out of place, it just didn't work for the kind of scene it was in. The rest fit well enough I thought.
The one big problem I had was with the damn slow-motion. It'd be really cool if they used it on select shots. Instead it seems like every fight scene is entirely slowed down, as well as half of the rest of the movie. The opening scene with the comedian was a great example of this. However it's at least a better alternative than the shakycam stuff directors do a lot these days when shooting fights.
Kask: Nah, I see what you are trying to say, but the first 10 minutes of the Incredibles did a better job capturing the depth of the Watchmen.. . I watch a lot of films, I can see where the fat wasn't cut away pretty clearly.
I don't think he should have followed the book more, I felt he should of cut more from the book and let the important scenes to the story HE wanted to tell have more time to marinate is all.
And again, I enjoyed the film, I would just have enjoyed it having more of a brain is all
I have never read the book. It's just one of the many things that is on my "list" of things to get to eventually.
I didn't love it, or hate it. There was a lot of story there and it felt a bit long and quite slow most of the time. The story is also quite dated; Since I was a teen-ager in 1985 I can relate to the cold war and fear of nuclear war elements but I have to wonder how the kid who just saw Dark Knight is going to feel about it. It really is more of a drama than an action film, IMHO.
Aside from that I absolutely loved Ror's character though. He really made the movie for me:
"You all think I am locked in here with you but what you need to realize is that things are the other way around" ... I am pretty sure that is not a verbatim quote but it was a bad ass line that followed a very brutal and kick ass action sequence. That is probably my one of my favorite parts of the film
I got back from seeing the film about an hour ago and I really enjoyed it.
The film felt really rushed and it was a little overwhelming at times because a lot was thrown at you really quickly and you didn't really get much time to absorb anything. Having read the book, it wasn't a huge deal to me because I already knew what was happening.
I will agree that the music choice was weird, but for some strange reason, I kind of liked it. It reminded you that it was set in the 80s.
I also didn't mind that the ending was changed, it worked. I always thought the giant squid monster thing in the book was kinda rubbish. But by changing the ending, they took away some of the sub-plot stuff and were able to make film more coherent without making it last for 6 hours.
I personally think it should have been made into a HBO mini-series instead of a film.
Aside from that I absolutely loved Ror's character though. He really made the movie for me:
"You all think I am locked in here with you but what you need to realize is that things are the other way around" ... I am pretty sure that is not a verbatim quote but it was a bad ass line that followed a very brutal and kick ass action sequence. That is probably my one of my favorite parts of the film
He's one of the best characters in the history of comics. You can read thousands of issues of superhero books and never find another character you can so totally sum up with two words like Rorschach's "Never compromise." Moore's finest creation, IMO. And that is a great quote - I just did a reread yesterday, this the line from the book:
None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me
Pure badassery
Kevin, your last post is pretty much describes what I think has always made Watchmen "unfilmable." It's such a struggle to balance being loyalty to the words and pictures of the book or true to the ideas the book was trying to get across. In a fluff piece like the Spider-Man movies, you can just hit the major notes and play with the details as you like. With something like Watchmen, you've got a Hollywood action film atop all the layers that Moore wrote underneath - that's a tall order.
Having not seen it, the comments I read make me think Snyder did as good a job as anyone could have hoped. He can't be entirely loyal or entirely interpretive, and so had to pick his spots both ways; he didn't get them all right, but no one could. When I get in to see it, I'll try to put my feelings about the book aside and keep in mind that Snyder fought for the big budget and epic running time - even with flaws, he went about it the right way, and that's really all I can ask.
I also didn't mind that the ending was changed, it worked. I always thought the in the book was kinda rubbish.
hey douche don't ruin the comic for me I haven't read it yet >:*( you big.. jerk.. face.. person.. jerk.
anyway, I just got back from seeing the movie (after NOT having read the book /glare) and enjoyed it a lot. it was quite confusing at some moments but came together by the end. worth seeing for sure I think.
and actually I was worried at first about the slo mo parts being too often, but I actually thought they did a good job NOT overdoing it.
Just got home from it. Never read the book. I really enjoyed the movie. I agree it wasn't the ZOMG! that some people were making it out to be, but it was well done all around, and thoroughly enjoyable.
A question from someone that hasn't read the books. . . so, obviously with the exception of Manhattan, do ANY of the characters actually have powers? or are they just all badasses? (not that I mind either way, just never noticed anything but general badassery)
Also, I loved how graphic it was (both in it's violence, and nudity (They really should have left him uncovered when he was a mile tall attacking Vietnam))
The music didn't bother me at all, and I loved that they left it in the 80's rather than trying to contemporize it.
I was disappointed by two things.
1) When Mickey (sorry, he'll always be Mickey to me) sawed off the guy's arms in the prison, I was really expecting Rorschach to pull them out and hit him with them.
2) RAMSESII? REALLY? The SMARTEST man on Earth's password is RAMSESII, and readily viewable from the computer?
2) RAMSESII? REALLY? The SMARTEST man on Earth's password is RAMSESII, and readily viewable from the computer?
iirc, Rameses II was another name for Ozymandias, maybe his official title or something. It's all about the mythology of his character, big into all those ancient empires. As for being readily viewable, I don't think that was in the comic, but I can't rememeber really.
He's one of the best characters in the history of comics. You can read thousands of issues of superhero books and never find another character you can so totally sum up with two words like Rorschach's "Never compromise." Moore's finest creation, IMO. And that is a great quote - I just did a reread yesterday, this the line from the book:
None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with me
A question from someone that hasn't read the books. . . so, obviously with the exception of Manhattan, do ANY of the characters actually have powers? or are they just all badasses? (not that I mind either way, just never noticed anything but general badassery)
A major part of the comic was that none of them were actual superheroes. They were just people who dressed up. The movie exaggerated them a lot more than the comic in terms of their strength and the moves they would pull off. It makes sense: people want to see a superhero movie so embellishing the action parts was reasonable.
So whats up with rorshachs ever moving mask thingy? Also, why did he choose that identity anyway, has he been in mental institutions?
I havent read the book but I thought the movie was awesome! One thing I hated was the 'pharaoh cat thingy' at the end, it looked so fake and didn't really contribute to anything. But in the end all of the flaws are ok because you get to see three giant blue glowing cocks in one shot... w00t!
it was quite hard to understand from the movie, but it suggests that the people of earth now think dr manhattan is like a god watching over the planet right?
Yup to make it more plausible, possibly less distracting. It was changed for the better I think. The gist is the same, the story carried through, and was at least a less jarring fit with the cold war premise.
But! It has the side effect of making Ozy's pet seem totally out of place without the
bio engineering
angle...my girlfriend thought it looked like something out of Final Fantasy.
AWESOME SAUCE overall though!
kwakkie - i don't know what the deal is with the ever moving ink blots either, but i think it's supposed to say something about ror's totally black and white moral stand...the whole 'never compromise' thing.
They didn't explain Rorshach's background? That seems like kind of an important aspect of the story...
Alright let's see.
Kovacs works at a clothes factory when he's 16. There's an order for a dress made of "Dr Manhattan spin-off fabric. Viscous Fluids between two layers of latex. Heat and pressure sensitive".
Woman doesn't like dress and leaves it behind. Kovacs likes it - black and white changing shape but no mixing. no grey.
After the woman is raped and murdered while neighbours look on Kovacs decides to turn the dress into a mask and become a vigilante.
There's a bit more to it than that and another important scene (it's probably in the film. I'm sure Snyder wouldn't miss the chance for a little more extreme violence) but that'll suffice until you can get yourself a copy of the comic.
me and some mates were discussing this (in a pub it must be the truth) and thought that as an artistic idea it was like psychiatrists inkblot, you see what you want in his face, and that says more about you than him
Replies
I was underwhelmed. Some odd music choices and each scene felt like a scene rather than part of the entire story. While Rorschach was cool, even he seemed to be just giving lines, it seemed to lack emotion. I know Jon is not really human, but he really seemed robotic, like he would give a line or 2, have a long pause, then give another line or 2.
I really wanted to like this, you could say I set my standards too high, but I still thought it was sub-par. It all looked really cool though! They could still redo it as a HBO miniseries! Hopefully the Directors Cut this summer will be more enjoyable, but I doubt it will add much.
Some of the musical choices did strike me as odd too, although others were spot on for atmosphere so I didn't mind too much.
Apparently watching it first and then reading it is meant to be better. So Asherr, you could be safe.
I didn't realise the film was so violent though. Yes there is violence in the comic but being translated to film, to some it's coming off a bit heavy handed. My friend sent me the link to the review by the British paper The Daily Mail (shit as it may be) and it was obvious they were going to tear it a new one. It ends with:
"This despicable trash will find an audience among sad sociopaths, deranged pseudo-intellectuals and brutalised, immature men of all ages. I just hope that there aren't enough of them to make it a hit. If there are, God help cinema."
So opinionated. Fuck him. Makes me want to see it even more.
Seriously? Are we going to go there?
Yeah, some odd music choices but pretty fitting for the theme and era they were going for. I heard a few giggles at 99 Luft Balloons. I doubt many of those people know the song is about nuclear war.
The violence/gore was high but fit within context of the movie. It never really felt out of place to me, like consequences for actions rather than gore for gore's sake (Rambo).
Lots of man ass and blue penis.
They didn't shy away from anything, which I really liked.
Unapologetic would probably describe it best.
In any case, excited to see it this weekend.
For some creative efforts, you pretty much have to go there. Reading a novel or comic source ahead of time can definitely skew your reception of their cinematic interpretation.
I'll even offer my own personal example. A lot of people I know like the movie Starship Troppers. It is obviously a bit campy, but the action is pretty good, the alien bug special effects are good, and there's testosterone all over the place. In general, I really like movies that involve monsters or aliens, and have copious amounts of special effects. By my own natural tastes, I probably should have liked Starship Troopers.
But I don't. I absolutely despise the film. Despite all of the elements of it that I am naturally in favor of, I still loathe it. And the only reason I have for spitting on it is that I read the book ahead of time. The original novel by Robert A. Heinlen is an excellent sci-fi imagining of futuristic warfare against an alien species. It is gripping and exciting, with some really well-crafted and developed characters. The world that he imagines makes sense, and feels very human. By comparison, the movie is one long over-exaggerated cliche.
With a comic source as influential as The Watchmen, it is understandable that many fans may be overly critical of the movie due to deviations from the graphic novel.
-SPOILER WARNING - I am given to understand that the method Ozymandias uses for his master plan is significantly different from what it was in the comic. This will likely end up being a point of contention for a lot of fans. At the same time, the solution the filmakers came up with is more conventional than the original, but it does still make sense within the context of the story. -END SPOILER WARNING -
BTW that's a sweet avatar Richard Kain!
Now, I came into the movie expecting it to be your average hyped up hollywood superhero movie. But boy was I pleasantly surprised. Like snemmy said I felt it was very unapologetic about the violence, gore and nudity, which I thought was awesome. Was really cool seeing how they brought everything from the pages to life. Now after seeing the movie I'd really like to go back and finish the novel. So again, probably my having low to no expectations played a big factor in me enjoying this.
I'd also like to comment on the soundtrack, I actually loved it! I thought it was very fresh to see classic rock tunes(something out of forest gump almost) combined with the slick, stylized visuals.
1 more note...my friends told me how they changed the ending, most agreed it still worked and didnt have too many qualms with it. I thought it was awesome and totally worked. Now going back and reading the book, chances are I'll like the films ending better, but will still be interesting to see both versions!
Awesome movie, will definitely watch it again
PS. Kinda nit picky now, but I really didnt like Dr. Manhattans voice at first. I was expecting a deeper, more kind of godly Stoic voice. Billy Crudups voice sounded kinda wimpy and boyish, but I soon got over it and was able to really enjoy the character.
Yeah, doc was a little too Abe Sapien for my liking. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of blue cock in the movie.
Huge fan of the comics. Moderate expectations.
I read through the novel entirely. (although I do admit to skimming through most of the pirate sub-story) I can appreciate why so many others might not have completed it. For a graphic novel it is exceptionally dense. The text to visuals ratio is very high. And a good deal of the visuals suffer a bit from "talking-head" syndrome. The payoff of the work is also a long time coming.
Much of the graphic novel centers around some truly exceptional character development. The major difference between this and the usual comic book fare is that the characters portrayed in The Watchmen are exceptionally human, despite the remarkable circumstances surrounding their lives. Most comic characters tend heavily to juvenile male fantasies. But most of the characters in The Watchmen are people we would never want to be, making decisions we would never want to be faced with.
Here are my overall thoughts on the movie:
Direction: Zack Snyder is clearly talented and a director on the rise but he needs to learn a bit of restraint. What worked so well for him in 300 seems over the top and out of place in Watchmen. Instead of letting the story flow he seemly set of up one exaggerated sequence after another, it felt like I was watching 3 different films in one. Now I dont mind a little bit of the stop and go techniques use in 300 but someone should have pulled him aside and said that a little goes a long way! Aside from that I liked that the film was rated R and really pushed the violence, sex, etc. The film had a dark and mature tone that helped keep things grounded, this was essential since you had people running around in weird suits.
Production values: God does this film look gorgeous! This is one of the best looking films Ive seen in a while and will make one hell of an addition to peoples DVD or BlueRay collections. The team behind the film really brought to life the look and feel of the graphic novel, you can tell that every penny put into the look of the film was well spent!
Music: Tyler Bates is a good composer and did a great job for 300 but the score/songs for this movie felt out of place, if anything it felt like a remix to the 300 soundtrack with a bunch of extra songs thrown in. I would have preferred composers like Phillip Glass, Enrico Morricone, or Medwyn Goodall to Tyler Bates. That being said Im still going to pick up the soundtrack since Im a film score lover and collector. Im sure the score will work as an enjoyable stand-alone piece, its just too bad it didnt sync with the film.
Acting: In my opinion everyone did a fantastic job realizing the characters from the graphic novel, especially the actors who played Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, and Rorschach! Theyre almost exactly how I envisioned these characters in my head and it was great to see them up on the big screen. With that said the only weak link was the actress who played the Silk Spectre 2. She simply felt miscast and out of place, especially when compared to the other actors involved.
Story: Ive read Watchmen more times that I could remember so I knew what I was getting into. That said they kept most of the guts of the story and simply cut back on much of the exposition found throughout the graphic novel. Hell I didnt even mind the altered ending that has been so talked about, to me it felt right and in some ways better than the ending found in the book.
One thing that I really miss that I felt was necessary to the story were the street vendors. The vendors gave you some insight as to how the world was viewed from an opposite angle, it would have also given the movie a human connection to the people in the city. This is one of the things the book did so well imo.
I also miss the origin story of the villain in (wont spoil this) question towards the end, I think it would have been worth having a good 10 minutes or so explaining how he came to be in a compelling manner. This would have added greater depth to the character and really helped people who didn't read the book understand him a bit better.
In closing I felt that the Graphic Novel was done justice and hiccups aside turned out to be a fantastic film! Overall score 9 out of 10.
-Marcus
Hot damn it was graphic though. Plenty of man ass for the whole family :poly124:
I won't get to see it for another 2 weeks, since we booked at the IMAX in London here, and by the time we realised it was going to be on there, all the earlier showings were fully booked
I was hesitant about reading this thread, fearing there'd be spoilers, then I realised that I'd already read the graphic novel o_O
The pacing is off, often the characters need only 1 extra second before and after a line of dialogue to make the impact of the moment work but Snyder seemed in too much of a rush to check off all the main points in order to get to the action scenes where he excells.
In one of the opening shots where Blake comments ' I guess it was only a matter of time' is a good example of the pacing issue that runs through a lot of the film.
He did a good job of broadening its appeal, it will bring in a lot of money and be enjoyable by a wider variety of people than the book.
Theres a few scenes where they hollywood it up too much and miss the point but we always knew snyder was a fighter not a thinker so we end up with a visual extravaganza that is easily worth the admission.
Those that wanted something deeper, more thoughtful and inteligent can read the book again, newcomers looking for more can go and buy the book
The things I found lacking are things that 90% won't care about, I always enjoyed the human angle more, I like depth and allegory, most don't, in fact I'd say that most that enjoyed the comic were not enjoying the same things as myself so I'd recommend it to anyone really.
Rorschach himself is easily the best thing in it, again, it plays to Snyders strengths, they amp him up a little too far but thats part of the broader appeal deal I think.
I so want to model the owl ship now!
I thought the movie was amazing btw.
Few realized that most computer art is mirrored like a Rorschach, thats kinda why I kept the name for so long, best to get rid of it before the film I thought though.
Im still partial about it, Ill have to see it again, at home, I didnt hate it, I enjoy it, but Im character base, It was hard for me to connect to the characters in the movie compare to the comic..
I loved Ror Voice!.
Interesting Id say! like the other said, WTF was the deal with the music, I just didnt get that at all, that was awfull..
If you model the ship Kevin, Im doing Nite Owl !!
ben
The music was a little weird as far as the songs they used from the time period. Sound of Silence I thought was completely out of place, it just didn't work for the kind of scene it was in. The rest fit well enough I thought.
The one big problem I had was with the damn slow-motion. It'd be really cool if they used it on select shots. Instead it seems like every fight scene is entirely slowed down, as well as half of the rest of the movie. The opening scene with the comedian was a great example of this. However it's at least a better alternative than the shakycam stuff directors do a lot these days when shooting fights.
I don't think he should have followed the book more, I felt he should of cut more from the book and let the important scenes to the story HE wanted to tell have more time to marinate is all.
And again, I enjoyed the film, I would just have enjoyed it having more of a brain is all
I didn't love it, or hate it. There was a lot of story there and it felt a bit long and quite slow most of the time. The story is also quite dated; Since I was a teen-ager in 1985 I can relate to the cold war and fear of nuclear war elements but I have to wonder how the kid who just saw Dark Knight is going to feel about it. It really is more of a drama than an action film, IMHO.
Aside from that I absolutely loved Ror's character though. He really made the movie for me:
The film felt really rushed and it was a little overwhelming at times because a lot was thrown at you really quickly and you didn't really get much time to absorb anything. Having read the book, it wasn't a huge deal to me because I already knew what was happening.
I will agree that the music choice was weird, but for some strange reason, I kind of liked it. It reminded you that it was set in the 80s.
I also didn't mind that the ending was changed, it worked. I always thought the giant squid monster thing in the book was kinda rubbish. But by changing the ending, they took away some of the sub-plot stuff and were able to make film more coherent without making it last for 6 hours.
I personally think it should have been made into a HBO mini-series instead of a film.
8 out of 10 from me.
He's one of the best characters in the history of comics. You can read thousands of issues of superhero books and never find another character you can so totally sum up with two words like Rorschach's "Never compromise." Moore's finest creation, IMO. And that is a great quote - I just did a reread yesterday, this the line from the book:
Kevin, your last post is pretty much describes what I think has always made Watchmen "unfilmable." It's such a struggle to balance being loyalty to the words and pictures of the book or true to the ideas the book was trying to get across. In a fluff piece like the Spider-Man movies, you can just hit the major notes and play with the details as you like. With something like Watchmen, you've got a Hollywood action film atop all the layers that Moore wrote underneath - that's a tall order.
Having not seen it, the comments I read make me think Snyder did as good a job as anyone could have hoped. He can't be entirely loyal or entirely interpretive, and so had to pick his spots both ways; he didn't get them all right, but no one could. When I get in to see it, I'll try to put my feelings about the book aside and keep in mind that Snyder fought for the big budget and epic running time - even with flaws, he went about it the right way, and that's really all I can ask.
hey douche don't ruin the comic for me I haven't read it yet >:*( you big.. jerk.. face.. person.. jerk.
anyway, I just got back from seeing the movie (after NOT having read the book /glare) and enjoyed it a lot. it was quite confusing at some moments but came together by the end. worth seeing for sure I think.
and actually I was worried at first about the slo mo parts being too often, but I actually thought they did a good job NOT overdoing it.
but yeah, pretty sweet.
A question from someone that hasn't read the books. . . so, obviously with the exception of Manhattan, do ANY of the characters actually have powers? or are they just all badasses? (not that I mind either way, just never noticed anything but general badassery)
Also, I loved how graphic it was (both in it's violence, and nudity (They really should have left him uncovered when he was a mile tall attacking Vietnam))
The music didn't bother me at all, and I loved that they left it in the 80's rather than trying to contemporize it.
I was disappointed by two things.
1) When Mickey (sorry, he'll always be Mickey to me) sawed off the guy's arms in the prison, I was really expecting Rorschach to pull them out and hit him with them.
2) RAMSESII? REALLY? The SMARTEST man on Earth's password is RAMSESII, and readily viewable from the computer?
Fuck, I really gotta read the book now...
just got back from watching it - and i loved it, especially rorschach -"WHERE"S MY FACE!"
I havent read the book but I thought the movie was awesome! One thing I hated was the 'pharaoh cat thingy' at the end, it looked so fake and didn't really contribute to anything. But in the end all of the flaws are ok because you get to see three giant blue glowing cocks in one shot... w00t!
Yup to make it more plausible, possibly less distracting. It was changed for the better I think. The gist is the same, the story carried through, and was at least a less jarring fit with the cold war premise.
But! It has the side effect of making Ozy's pet seem totally out of place without the
AWESOME SAUCE overall though!
kwakkie - i don't know what the deal is with the ever moving ink blots either, but i think it's supposed to say something about ror's totally black and white moral stand...the whole 'never compromise' thing.
Alright let's see.
Woman doesn't like dress and leaves it behind. Kovacs likes it - black and white changing shape but no mixing. no grey.
After the woman is raped and murdered while neighbours look on Kovacs decides to turn the dress into a mask and become a vigilante.