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.
Yep, the other important scene is in the film, and gored up a bit
It works though. I was kind of disappointed that they didn't explain the mask/face dynamic, or even where the mask came from, but it didn't seem to bother any of my friends who saw it without reading the book first. You still get the gist of why he's so extreme from that scene.
Went and saw it last night and really enjoyed it. I'd read the comic too.
Music choice comes from the comic. Alan Moore bookended chapters with lyrics and lines from certain songs and they had relevance to what had just happened or what was going to happen in the following chapter. So yea, Snyder is just being very faithful to the source material. I can understand why some people wouldn't understand the choices. They were a bit sledge hammered straight on top.
But I think some of the scenes were great with the music. Dunno, maybe Snyder doesn't have the finesse to pull off all the scenes with it. What works in a book, doesn't always translate well to film.
I think the scene between the jail warden and Rorshach tried to explain his mask.
It was weird that the mask didn't look like how it was explained in the comic though, it being two layers with a fluid in between. The movie made it seem the actual color of the fabric was almost changing, kind of weird my pals and I thought.
I never read the comic but the movie was dope. Ah so that explains how his mask was supposed to work, and yes it did look like the color was simply changing. All in all i think it was well done. Wasn't expecting all the blue peen though...rofl!
-Huge Spoiler Alert-
I'd like to discuss the ending a bit. They changed it up for the movie, and at first it struck me as a rather ingenious solution that they had come up with. A major point in the book is that the way to prevent war is to externalize human aggression. If everyone is pointing their guns at the stars, they won't point them at each other. Framing Dr. Manhattan for a global catastrophe is a novel replacement for the rather strange artificial alien plot in the original novel.
But then it occurred to me that the movie's replacement ending wouldn't actually work. At first glance, the artificial alien plot seems a little ludicrous. But that's exactly the point. Veidt needed a foreign threat. One that no one would be able to understand or grasp. Something that had absolutely nothing to do with humanity. And it had to be an implausible conspiracy. One that couldn't be traced back to him, and that no one could ever dream up on their own. The solution in the movie would have been far too easy to trace back to Veidt.
-Huge Spoiler Ends-
I think the movie's treatment of Veidt was probably my biggest disappointment. The major twist of the movie is that the most altruistic and idealized hero ends up being the villain. But a friend of mine who saw the film with me and had never read the book saw that coming a mile off. Veidt's character in the film was far too cold and calculating. By playing him a little more warm and friendly throughout the film, they could have better set the audience up for the surprise. With is chilly demeanor and severe manner, they might as well have slapped an "I will end up being the villain" sign on his back. They also severely skimped on his feelings at the end of the movie. His brief conversation in the book with Dr. Manhattan at the end has always been a great bit.
How did you guys feel about the JFK scene? The theater I was in there was a lot of shifting in seats at that scene. I can't really decide if it was to much or genious.
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.
Also, it was 1985 when it was written. If your computer had a password at all, that was tough stuff.
I thought it was enjoyable, though it missed a few key notes. You can tell the director loved the source material, which is about the best we can ask for from a watchmen movie, I guess.
Watched it yesterday afternoon, Cryptic took its employees. Have to say, they did an excellent job of bringing the characters over with all their nuances intact.
A coworker didn't care for Ozy's weak look, but I think the contrast between him and Manhattan was excellent. Manhattan has the physique to make you think he'll rip you in half with a flick of his pinky, but he's all about using his powers and mind. Ozy, on the other hand, is this superhuman intellect with a body that looks like it'd snap like a twig, but he'll kick you through three walls and break both your arms before you can take a second breath.
Both the visuals and the acting, especially the acting, were through the roof, and I have to say that I honestly like the movie's ending better than the book's. Why? (Spoilers!)
With the comic, the 'threat' was this otherwordly beast that noone knew about and noone had experienced until it suddenly popped in and killed everyone near it. It would take everyone a long while to figure out the whole "psychic blast wave mind death" thing.
Meanwhile, with the Manhattan Bombs, everyone 'knows' the source. Look how the story starts, with Manhattan barely showing up in 'Nam and a few days later, AN ENTIRE COUNTRY bows before his 'will'. Now the whole world is in fear of his wrath, and has to come to terms with the idea that they better clean up their act, or he'll lay waste to them all. It's not going to be an arms race to defend against a perceived alien threat, it's going to be "oh damn, we have to play nice or the god-man is gonna wipe us out with a blink of his eye".
I didn't read the comics (and I guess, it is the main reason of the following).
I didn't read the whole thread and I'm pretty sure I'll be more or less alone on this one. But I completly hated it. Actually, this is one of the first movie I even didn't finish and just I went out of the theater. I found the story
I just saw this and am glad I hadn't read it before, I didnt have to sit there looking for and hoping for similarities.
the characters were all pretty cool, I prefer vigilantes to straight up good heroes. Rorchach was pretty badass. It was cool that the characters behind the masks were also very human and had their own interesting stuff going on.
The visuals were pretty striking in some scenes and the crunchy violence was great.
the one thing I didn't understand about the flick was that all the 'watchmen' (aside from manhattan) were normal humans/cops or whatever they said.. yet somehow they all had super strength? whats up with that?
Holy shit that cartoon is incredibly bad =]
Complete ignoramous re: the original comic, loved the movie - though I went in expecting to be disappointed.
"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.
What a douchebag! I can understand most criticisms of the film, but saying something like that degrades not only the film, but the graphic novel aswell as anybody who enjoyed either. Apparently any movie that doesn't have a blatantly obvious good guy/bad guy dynamic, and a happy ending is for sociopaths.. This fucker can go back and watch mama-mia for the 64th time.
I havent read the comics and thought it was a pretty sick ass movie. I give it a 8/10....2 points deducted for subjecting me to multiple scenes with ding dongs.
It was definitely not what I expected from a "super-hero" movie. At the least, I expected a very commercial appeal like Hell-Boy, but this was total opposite. The music didnt bother me like some...it could have done with an original soundtrack score though. It took a while for the movie to pick up, so my only complaint was the pace of it.
I didn't read the comics (and I guess, it is the main reason of the following).
I didn't read the whole thread and I'm pretty sure I'll be more or less alone on this one. But I completly hated it. Actually, this is one of the first movie I even didn't finish and just I went out of the theater. I found the story
im with renaud. I thought it was actually pretty shitty movie. The story was kinda neat in the end, but leading up to it was nothing special. I felt manhattan and worlds smartest man were the two most interesting characters. The rest just felt like normal joes in stupid costums. They brought nothing to the table that made them a "hero". To sum it up, interesting flick tho I wouldnt watch it again.
To be completely frank, it was my least favorite movie ever. The boring plot was only made worse my mindless gore and pretty lighting. Pointless, unsensual sexuality also sprinkled the plot for no real reason. The mindless violence within this movie was just too much for me and left me kind of depressed in a way that no movie has before. It was gore for gores sake, despite what some said. The plot too, was way to ADD for me, and left me unsatisfied. I do not suggest seeing it. And I was really excited about seeing it too...........
Honestly, 20%, F
hrm, mindless violence to me is Toma movies were a random person in the crowd gets their head blown off for no reason, didn't see any of that in the Watchmen.
hrm, mindless violence to me is Toma movies were a random person in the crowd gets their head blown off for no reason
Well yes, that is mindless (and I see you are forgetting the scene with the comedian during the protest when he jumps down and starts beating the living crap out of random people and starts shooting them.... That pretty much matches what you said.
What I meant though, by mindless violence, was not that the violence in itself was mindless, just to the extent that they included. Some scenes would have been just as compelling (or.. uncompelling) with or without the guys arms getting cut off with a buzz saw, or without someones arm getting broken and having the skin split and squirt blood... It wasn't REALISTIC violence, it was just there to be there. It completely turned me off to the movie.
Pointless, unsensual sexuality also sprinkled the plot for no real reason.
Nothing pointless about it... the comedian attempting to rape the first silk spectre is an obvious development of his character, the whores that rorschach walks by represent the indecency of humanity (and reflect many of his comments), the scenes between dan and laurie reinforce how dressing up in costumes and fighting crime has so thoroughly dominated their lives that other elements of their lives revolve around it (this was really handled better in the book, I'll admit). Dr. Manhattan's nudity isn't really sexualized.
The mindless violence within this movie was just too much for me and left me kind of depressed in a way that no movie has before. It was gore for gores sake, despite what some said. The plot too, was way to ADD for me, and left me unsatisfied. I do not suggest seeing it. And I was really excited about seeing it too...........
Honestly, 20%, F
The violence wasn't mindless in that it didn't occur without purpose. It was extremely visceral and disturbing, yes, but it's just another theme. You might as well complain that the rain was excessive. We've all seen worse in video games, anyway.
A friend explained the password to me in a way I could accept.
Ozy had to make SURE that Owl & Silk would be able to figure it out, and follow him to Antarctica for his plan to work. So. . . the password had to be something that they could manage.
this is what everyone should expect from an alan moore movie. are we suppose to line this thing up with stuff like constantine? from hell? LXG? if so then prepare for an ass kicking cause this movie rocked.
zack snyder is amazing. people drop the whole "whats with all the gore? what's with all the sex?" and come on, 300? dawn of the dead? he crammed sex and gore in those flicks all over the place. directors direct, that's thier job, nobody can yank out alan moore's head and plug it into a machine that projects his thoughts and pacing onto the screen.
this is a different medium. and the movie was pretty much as close as you could get to the books as possible. like there was MANY panel for panel shots that really blew my mind.
most of the movie felt really natural. and holy shit, don't even start me on the casting. AMAZING! nightowl? rorschach? how the hell did they get those people in those roles!? so good.
kudos to snyder for being bold enough to do this movie. its a lose- situation for him. the fans are gonna hate it, and the new-comers are gonna be confused and hate it. talk about a balls-to-the-wall director, i salute snyder on his succesful attempt at the "unfilmable".
i have to say that after hearing billy corgan's whining during the trailers of the film i started to worry about the film's soundtrack, but low and behold it was a perfect 80's period piece with some great songs that were placed very well IMO.
all in all i loved the flick, after being among the many devoted readers of comics scoffing at hollywood's sad attempts at cinema i can honestly say i am impressed with this stupendous execution.
Thats pretty strange... That you'd dislike it enough to walk out. The genre must at least somewhat appeal to you if you went in after seeing the trailers... oh well
To be honnest, I didn't see any trailers before. Trailer tends to show almost every interesting scenes (in the way they are currently made), so I try to avoid seeing anything before the movie itself (if I'm planing to see it). Sometimes, it works, sometimes, not I went to see it because I love comics-based movie. I found IronMan awesome, for instence. This one was maybe too special/specific, and beside the fact I found all the design really overthetop and ridiculous, I felt like I was missing something (in the story and the general movie). I'm not saying the movie is bad, but I just didn't like/get it ^^ The walk out has also been pushed by my girl friend who was about to fell asleep after 1h
As a side note I was pretty amused to see we wasn't the only ones to quit (but not for the same reasons). We saw something like 2 or 3 families with small children leaving the room in a hurry "Momy, look at the big blue guy penis !".
Just got home from seeing it at Imax. Thats a really big blue guy penis.
It's pretty much what I was expecting. Top notch casting, screenplay, atmosphere. Solid acting. It falls down a bit because a lot of the scenes that add pathos and humanity to the comic had to be removed to keep the thing under 3 hours. It's a flawed film, but far better than one could reasonably expect a movie of the Watchmen to be. I look forward to seeing the DVD directors cut. I dare say it'll be a far more satisfying film to watch.
Renaud, Did you walk off because you were expecting a Superhero movie? Like Iron Man and spider man or else? Im pretty sure 80% of the people who will go see watchmen are expecting something like that, But thats just dead wrong, thats not what watchmen is about, Probably why u thought it was boring n shit?
As a side note I was pretty amused to see we wasn't the only ones to quit (but not for the same reasons). We saw something like 2 or 3 families with small children leaving the room in a hurry "Momy, look at the big blue guy penis !".
WTF were parents thinking taking small children to that movie, it's an 18 age rating here in the UK... irresponsible idiots... movies get these ratings for a reason!
I never read the novel and I still enjoyed the movie. I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm glad it wasn't a typical super hero movie treatment as we have seen with Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk, etc (many of which I have enjoyed also). I really enjoyed the back on the respective characters and the individual struggles with their own imperfect human qualities. I have to read the novel now because I want to know more about the characters.
Frankly, these are the most interesting super heroes I've seen in a while.
WTF were parents thinking taking small children to that movie, it's an 18 age rating here in the UK... irresponsible idiots... movies get these ratings for a reason!
Yeah there was a family with like a 4 or 5 year old behind us. During the scene with the cyanide pill, the kid was like "Ooh bubbles!" My wife and I were completely disgusted that any adult would be so selfish as to take a young child to see such a graphic movie.
b1ll : you got it I didn't know anything about watchmen, and I thought it would be like every other comics-based movie. Once again, I didn't tell it was a bad movie, but I just didn't like it. I'm planing of giving the comics a try and rewatch the movie when it will come out in dvd. We'll see
MoP : Definitly. But ratings are really minimized or almost inexistant here, in Belgium. I guess that's why some parents made this mistake.
this really reminded me of George RR Martin's wildcards (funny that they actually came out at roughly about the same time), it was interesting and i was glad they touched upon some of the themes that most other superhero flicks or hell most of the modern media doesn't even get close to.
Renaud, give the comics a try. Definitely a more mature read then your average comics.
Tanka, I hear what your saying. Guy's obviously a cock.
As for parents with kids walking out. I would have hoped it wasn't just because of Dr. Manhattans penis, after all thats natural (well the blue isn't!) But instead the ample violent scenes such as the pretty rough near rape scene!
I didn't catch the Tears-For-Fears reference during the business magnate scene. That's freaking awesome. However, it does highlight one of my major complaints about the film.
Ozymandias was far too vilified in the film. The original character in the novel comes across as much more sensitive and benevolent. This is significant because it contributes to a major theme that the author was exploring. In the end, the villain winds up being the hero, and the hero ends up being the villain. Ozymandias is supposed to represent the very best that the original Watchment had to offer. He is far more intelligent and altruistic than any of his fellow heroes. He is also considerably less flawed.
The author goes out of his way to highlight the flaws and issues that all of the other heroes suffer from. Rorschach is paranoid and brutal, completely unwilling to compromise. Nightowl is a bit of a pussy, with little backbone and a borrowed hero persona. Silk Spectre is always relying on others for support or protection. She rides her mother's coattails in her role as a superhero, and relies far to heavily on Dr. Manhattan for solutions to her problems. Dr. Manhattan himself becomes so far advanced in his powers that he loses touch with what it means to be human.
Ozymandias is the polar opposite of all the other characters. He has a strong character, and is self-reliant. He voluntarily opts to reveal his identity to the general public, and then goes on to embrace capitalism by using his intellect to build a financial empire. While the rest of the heroes wallow in their own personal obsessions and self-pity, he actually does something productive.
In the end, we are left questioning what really defines heroism. Do the ends genuinely justify the means? By skipping the brief conversation between Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, we lose some of this message.
It was good but definitely could have used some more of parts from the comic, Ozymandias has a lot more back story, the hatred Miss Jupiter has for the comedian, a lot of major side character are only briefly shown for time constraints, etc. Then again to truly cover the graphic novel in detail would certainly take a trilogy of movies.
It was my first time seeing a movie in the Cinerama, the second largest movie screen in Seattle, and that place had some AWESOME sound, those parts where Archemedes roared by felt real!
It was my first time seeing a movie in the Cinerama, the second largest movie screen in Seattle, and that place had some AWESOME sound, those parts where Archemedes roared by felt real!
In the first 5 minutes of the film I was thinking damn this is going to be loud the whole way through, then I really started to enjoy the volume. Definitely when Archimedes was tearing it up on screen it felt like the engines were vibrating your bones. Really cool for sure!
one of the best superhero movies so far imo. big fan of the comic, and i can see how not having read it would leave a few questions (my mates were like wtf when Ozy's pet walked into view).
great acting, great action, badass main character- I agree with the flaws mentioned in terms of ozy's character and the destruction in the ending seemed way more clinical than the comics- just skeletons of buildings instead of gore sluiced streets.
anyway, thouroughly enjoyable all round.. arent they doing something with the comic strip too? the pirate guy?
one of the best superhero movies so far imo. big fan of the comic, and i can see how not having read it would leave a few questions (my mates were like wtf when Ozy's pet walked into view).
great acting, great action, badass main character- I agree with the flaws mentioned in terms of ozy's character and the destruction in the ending seemed way more clinical than the comics- just skeletons of buildings instead of gore sluiced streets.
anyway, thouroughly enjoyable all round.. arent they doing something with the comic strip too? the pirate guy?
They probably should have removed Bubastas as she doesn't really make a lot of sense with the changed ending. On the other hand I think I would have been a little disappointed if she didn't turn up.
The Black Freighter is getting an animated DVD release alongside the movie. It should be already out in the US.
I went see it with my girlfriend, who's not a geek but loves superhero movies (even if she doesn't really know anything about x_men, she loves the whole power stuff).
She hated the movie of course ...I did warn her that it was more about retired superheroes with no real superpowers.
Personally i would have found it boring to hell too if I hadn't read the comic a month ago, which I liked.
Rorchach was really cool (and short) and the music made me usually smile.
Rorchach had an actually really cool voice, unlike Batman who sounds like he has a bad cough.
I loved the fighting scenes, it made the Superheroes stand out more with their impressive (and a bit ridiculous at times) ability to fling humans around easily and break arms and legs with a simple hit... but they looked great in action.
I liked the gentle 80s feeling and typical brown leather couches...
I feel like the movie didn't even try to take the book and make it accessible to a broad audience, it was pretty much a blueprint of it compressed into movie lengthwhich imo wont sit well with a lot of people that haven't read the comic...
The movie covers as much as it can from the comic but never as deep obviously, and the scenes go so often forward and back in time it must be annoying to follow for a lot non nerdy people.
...And the acting was at times terrible, maybe they should have tried to talk less like the comic and act more natural.
NEVER READ THE BOOK: (however i plan to now!)
I have to say i saw the very first trailer and thought WOW THIS SUCKS!
Then the co-workers in my room tried to explain to me why they looked stupid and cheesy.
After that I figured I'd wait it to come out and avoid the hype. I just figured the movie would be totally over the top with teeny-bobber crap the Jonas Brothers in it. I did the best i could and really only watched whatever trailers were on TV.
I just got back from the movie and I THINK THE MOVIE IS COOL, different and one I would watch again. I'm sure I could find something to bitch about. The blue penis didn't bother me. I mean, for once they didn't do the typical man-bump like they do in comics. I liked the plot and the questions/themes that are presented through out it. Sure it's nothing that's going to change the world, but it's a movie!
I think they did a good job.
B+
one of the best superhero movies so far imo. big fan of the comic, and i can see how not having read it would leave a few questions (my mates were like wtf when Ozy's pet walked into view).
great acting, great action, badass main character- I agree with the flaws mentioned in terms of ozy's character and the destruction in the ending seemed way more clinical than the comics- just skeletons of buildings instead of gore sluiced streets.
anyway, thouroughly enjoyable all round.. arent they doing something with the comic strip too? the pirate guy?
So. yeaaaaah. What was up with that pet thing?
edit. daaaang. I just realized that rorshach was without his mask in a few of the scenes standing in the background ;o
SNAP I fell asleep during the ending!! I enjoyed it, but I was just very tired hehe.
I loved blueguy, surprisingly he was the character I grew the most attached to/and the most human of all (weeeeeird...)
Now I need to find a link to a stremed version of the movie just to get back the last 15 minutes!! I think stuff explodes but I'm not even sure hehe.
I enjoyed the characters, except the lips of the batman guy.
Replies
When the film doesn’t get it right, it’s at least trying really hard to get it right.
It works though. I was kind of disappointed that they didn't explain the mask/face dynamic, or even where the mask came from, but it didn't seem to bother any of my friends who saw it without reading the book first. You still get the gist of why he's so extreme from that scene.
Music choice comes from the comic. Alan Moore bookended chapters with lyrics and lines from certain songs and they had relevance to what had just happened or what was going to happen in the following chapter. So yea, Snyder is just being very faithful to the source material. I can understand why some people wouldn't understand the choices. They were a bit sledge hammered straight on top.
But I think some of the scenes were great with the music. Dunno, maybe Snyder doesn't have the finesse to pull off all the scenes with it. What works in a book, doesn't always translate well to film.
It was weird that the mask didn't look like how it was explained in the comic though, it being two layers with a fluid in between. The movie made it seem the actual color of the fabric was almost changing, kind of weird my pals and I thought.
-Huge Spoiler Alert-
I'd like to discuss the ending a bit. They changed it up for the movie, and at first it struck me as a rather ingenious solution that they had come up with. A major point in the book is that the way to prevent war is to externalize human aggression. If everyone is pointing their guns at the stars, they won't point them at each other. Framing Dr. Manhattan for a global catastrophe is a novel replacement for the rather strange artificial alien plot in the original novel.
But then it occurred to me that the movie's replacement ending wouldn't actually work. At first glance, the artificial alien plot seems a little ludicrous. But that's exactly the point. Veidt needed a foreign threat. One that no one would be able to understand or grasp. Something that had absolutely nothing to do with humanity. And it had to be an implausible conspiracy. One that couldn't be traced back to him, and that no one could ever dream up on their own. The solution in the movie would have been far too easy to trace back to Veidt.
-Huge Spoiler Ends-
I think the movie's treatment of Veidt was probably my biggest disappointment. The major twist of the movie is that the most altruistic and idealized hero ends up being the villain. But a friend of mine who saw the film with me and had never read the book saw that coming a mile off. Veidt's character in the film was far too cold and calculating. By playing him a little more warm and friendly throughout the film, they could have better set the audience up for the surprise. With is chilly demeanor and severe manner, they might as well have slapped an "I will end up being the villain" sign on his back. They also severely skimped on his feelings at the end of the movie. His brief conversation in the book with Dr. Manhattan at the end has always been a great bit.
Also, it was 1985 when it was written. If your computer had a password at all, that was tough stuff.
I thought it was enjoyable, though it missed a few key notes. You can tell the director loved the source material, which is about the best we can ask for from a watchmen movie, I guess.
A coworker didn't care for Ozy's weak look, but I think the contrast between him and Manhattan was excellent. Manhattan has the physique to make you think he'll rip you in half with a flick of his pinky, but he's all about using his powers and mind. Ozy, on the other hand, is this superhuman intellect with a body that looks like it'd snap like a twig, but he'll kick you through three walls and break both your arms before you can take a second breath.
Both the visuals and the acting, especially the acting, were through the roof, and I have to say that I honestly like the movie's ending better than the book's. Why? (Spoilers!)
Meanwhile, with the Manhattan Bombs, everyone 'knows' the source. Look how the story starts, with Manhattan barely showing up in 'Nam and a few days later, AN ENTIRE COUNTRY bows before his 'will'. Now the whole world is in fear of his wrath, and has to come to terms with the idea that they better clean up their act, or he'll lay waste to them all. It's not going to be an arms race to defend against a perceived alien threat, it's going to be "oh damn, we have to play nice or the god-man is gonna wipe us out with a blink of his eye".
Friggin awesome.
I didn't read the whole thread and I'm pretty sure I'll be more or less alone on this one. But I completly hated it. Actually, this is one of the first movie I even didn't finish and just I went out of the theater. I found the story
the characters were all pretty cool, I prefer vigilantes to straight up good heroes. Rorchach was pretty badass. It was cool that the characters behind the masks were also very human and had their own interesting stuff going on.
The visuals were pretty striking in some scenes and the crunchy violence was great.
on a side note, this is awesome
[ame]
Complete ignoramous re: the original comic, loved the movie - though I went in expecting to be disappointed.
What a douchebag! I can understand most criticisms of the film, but saying something like that degrades not only the film, but the graphic novel aswell as anybody who enjoyed either. Apparently any movie that doesn't have a blatantly obvious good guy/bad guy dynamic, and a happy ending is for sociopaths.. This fucker can go back and watch mama-mia for the 64th time.
/end aggressive rant.
It was definitely not what I expected from a "super-hero" movie. At the least, I expected a very commercial appeal like Hell-Boy, but this was total opposite. The music didnt bother me like some...it could have done with an original soundtrack score though. It took a while for the movie to pick up, so my only complaint was the pace of it.
Honestly, 20%, F
As for the music - I liked it. Some of the songs were surprising, but I didn't feel they were jarring.
I got a kick out of Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World playing in the background while Ozy was laying down the law to the suits
What I meant though, by mindless violence, was not that the violence in itself was mindless, just to the extent that they included. Some scenes would have been just as compelling (or.. uncompelling) with or without the guys arms getting cut off with a buzz saw, or without someones arm getting broken and having the skin split and squirt blood... It wasn't REALISTIC violence, it was just there to be there. It completely turned me off to the movie.
The violence wasn't mindless in that it didn't occur without purpose. It was extremely visceral and disturbing, yes, but it's just another theme. You might as well complain that the rain was excessive. We've all seen worse in video games, anyway.
Ozy had to make SURE that Owl & Silk would be able to figure it out, and follow him to Antarctica for his plan to work. So. . . the password had to be something that they could manage.
this is what everyone should expect from an alan moore movie. are we suppose to line this thing up with stuff like constantine? from hell? LXG? if so then prepare for an ass kicking cause this movie rocked.
zack snyder is amazing. people drop the whole "whats with all the gore? what's with all the sex?" and come on, 300? dawn of the dead? he crammed sex and gore in those flicks all over the place. directors direct, that's thier job, nobody can yank out alan moore's head and plug it into a machine that projects his thoughts and pacing onto the screen.
this is a different medium. and the movie was pretty much as close as you could get to the books as possible. like there was MANY panel for panel shots that really blew my mind.
most of the movie felt really natural. and holy shit, don't even start me on the casting. AMAZING! nightowl? rorschach? how the hell did they get those people in those roles!? so good.
kudos to snyder for being bold enough to do this movie. its a lose- situation for him. the fans are gonna hate it, and the new-comers are gonna be confused and hate it. talk about a balls-to-the-wall director, i salute snyder on his succesful attempt at the "unfilmable".
i have to say that after hearing billy corgan's whining during the trailers of the film i started to worry about the film's soundtrack, but low and behold it was a perfect 80's period piece with some great songs that were placed very well IMO.
all in all i loved the flick, after being among the many devoted readers of comics scoffing at hollywood's sad attempts at cinema i can honestly say i am impressed with this stupendous execution.
thank you zack for delivering the un-deliverable.
To be honnest, I didn't see any trailers before. Trailer tends to show almost every interesting scenes (in the way they are currently made), so I try to avoid seeing anything before the movie itself (if I'm planing to see it). Sometimes, it works, sometimes, not
As a side note I was pretty amused to see we wasn't the only ones to quit (but not for the same reasons). We saw something like 2 or 3 families with small children leaving the room in a hurry
It's pretty much what I was expecting. Top notch casting, screenplay, atmosphere. Solid acting. It falls down a bit because a lot of the scenes that add pathos and humanity to the comic had to be removed to keep the thing under 3 hours. It's a flawed film, but far better than one could reasonably expect a movie of the Watchmen to be. I look forward to seeing the DVD directors cut. I dare say it'll be a far more satisfying film to watch.
ben
haha same here. I turned to my friend n said, hey do you know what song theyre playing? Its everybody wants to rule the world!!
WTF were parents thinking taking small children to that movie, it's an 18 age rating here in the UK... irresponsible idiots... movies get these ratings for a reason!
Frankly, these are the most interesting super heroes I've seen in a while.
Yeah there was a family with like a 4 or 5 year old behind us. During the scene with the cyanide pill, the kid was like "Ooh bubbles!" My wife and I were completely disgusted that any adult would be so selfish as to take a young child to see such a graphic movie.
MoP : Definitly. But ratings are really minimized or almost inexistant here, in Belgium. I guess that's why some parents made this mistake.
Tanka, I hear what your saying. Guy's obviously a cock.
As for parents with kids walking out. I would have hoped it wasn't just because of Dr. Manhattans penis, after all thats natural (well the blue isn't!) But instead the ample violent scenes such as the pretty rough near rape scene!
Ozymandias was far too vilified in the film. The original character in the novel comes across as much more sensitive and benevolent. This is significant because it contributes to a major theme that the author was exploring. In the end, the villain winds up being the hero, and the hero ends up being the villain. Ozymandias is supposed to represent the very best that the original Watchment had to offer. He is far more intelligent and altruistic than any of his fellow heroes. He is also considerably less flawed.
The author goes out of his way to highlight the flaws and issues that all of the other heroes suffer from. Rorschach is paranoid and brutal, completely unwilling to compromise. Nightowl is a bit of a pussy, with little backbone and a borrowed hero persona. Silk Spectre is always relying on others for support or protection. She rides her mother's coattails in her role as a superhero, and relies far to heavily on Dr. Manhattan for solutions to her problems. Dr. Manhattan himself becomes so far advanced in his powers that he loses touch with what it means to be human.
Ozymandias is the polar opposite of all the other characters. He has a strong character, and is self-reliant. He voluntarily opts to reveal his identity to the general public, and then goes on to embrace capitalism by using his intellect to build a financial empire. While the rest of the heroes wallow in their own personal obsessions and self-pity, he actually does something productive.
In the end, we are left questioning what really defines heroism. Do the ends genuinely justify the means? By skipping the brief conversation between Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, we lose some of this message.
Rorsach is nominated for bad ass of the year
It was my first time seeing a movie in the Cinerama, the second largest movie screen in Seattle, and that place had some AWESOME sound, those parts where Archemedes roared by felt real!
And the big change at the ending....mehhh..
In the first 5 minutes of the film I was thinking damn this is going to be loud the whole way through, then I really started to enjoy the volume. Definitely when Archimedes was tearing it up on screen it felt like the engines were vibrating your bones. Really cool for sure!
great acting, great action, badass main character- I agree with the flaws mentioned in terms of ozy's character and the destruction in the ending seemed way more clinical than the comics- just skeletons of buildings instead of gore sluiced streets.
anyway, thouroughly enjoyable all round.. arent they doing something with the comic strip too? the pirate guy?
The Black Freighter is getting an animated DVD release alongside the movie. It should be already out in the US.
She hated the movie of course ...I did warn her that it was more about retired superheroes with no real superpowers.
Personally i would have found it boring to hell too if I hadn't read the comic a month ago, which I liked.
Rorchach was really cool (and short) and the music made me usually smile.
Rorchach had an actually really cool voice, unlike Batman who sounds like he has a bad cough.
I loved the fighting scenes, it made the Superheroes stand out more with their impressive (and a bit ridiculous at times) ability to fling humans around easily and break arms and legs with a simple hit... but they looked great in action.
I liked the gentle 80s feeling and typical brown leather couches...
I feel like the movie didn't even try to take the book and make it accessible to a broad audience, it was pretty much a blueprint of it compressed into movie lengthwhich imo wont sit well with a lot of people that haven't read the comic...
The movie covers as much as it can from the comic but never as deep obviously, and the scenes go so often forward and back in time it must be annoying to follow for a lot non nerdy people.
...And the acting was at times terrible, maybe they should have tried to talk less like the comic and act more natural.
I have to say i saw the very first trailer and thought WOW THIS SUCKS!
Then the co-workers in my room tried to explain to me why they looked stupid and cheesy.
After that I figured I'd wait it to come out and avoid the hype. I just figured the movie would be totally over the top with teeny-bobber crap the Jonas Brothers in it. I did the best i could and really only watched whatever trailers were on TV.
I just got back from the movie and I THINK THE MOVIE IS COOL, different and one I would watch again. I'm sure I could find something to bitch about. The blue penis didn't bother me. I mean, for once they didn't do the typical man-bump like they do in comics. I liked the plot and the questions/themes that are presented through out it. Sure it's nothing that's going to change the world, but it's a movie!
I think they did a good job.
B+
So. yeaaaaah. What was up with that pet thing?
edit. daaaang. I just realized that rorshach was without his mask in a few of the scenes standing in the background ;o
You may not go by that name anymore but your reception of the film was what I was really looking forward to hearing, glad you liked it
I loved blueguy, surprisingly he was the character I grew the most attached to/and the most human of all (weeeeeird...)
Now I need to find a link to a stremed version of the movie just to get back the last 15 minutes!! I think stuff explodes but I'm not even sure hehe.
I enjoyed the characters, except the lips of the batman guy.