Hello all....
I watched the Watchmen film last night. And I thought it was really good. Probably the best adaptation they could have done. ;D
I have read the Graphic Novel and was impressed how much they kept it as close to this as possible (without the film being 7 hours long)
I just wanted to know what people thought of the film. Those who have read the comic, what did you think? and those who have never read it at all.
Massive Spoiler Below, comic and film:
Spoiler
Also what did you think about the changed ending? I thought that in order to do the actual ending with the genetically altered squid would have taken a lot more time to explain in the film. I think it was a needed change. When I heard that they had changed the ending, I was expecting them to save everyone before Veidt killed millions of people, I thought it might have been too controversial for film. But they did it.
So what did you think?
Is it that "good adaptation" as "300" was of the battle of the Thermopile? Because then, I will save that 5 euros for something better, like sponsoring the massive plantation of daisies in the Gobi desert or something like that...
It was...okay. Saw it last night.
It was...okay.
I'm a huge fan of the comic, and have been anxious about this since like the first trailer.
Ultimately, my feeling is that Watchmen found it's ideal medium just over 20 years ago. This was an...okay movie. It was the best film we're gonna get from this source material - I don't think they could have done a better job.
Watching it though, I just thought the book has so much more depth. Notably:
Spoiler
The psychologist is in it, but we don't get his full arc.
The newsvendor and kid are there when the "incident" happens, but not before at all, thus kind of diluting their appearance.
Hollis doesn't make an appearance after his first scene, elimating one of my favourite emotional moments.
The Mars scenes seemed to be resolved much more quickly.
And so on and so forth.
In conclusion, it was...okay.
Definitely worth seeing for the conversation, and to form your own opinion.
The best thing to come out of it is that it has caused lots of people to buy and read the comic. And hopefully that causes comics to be more appreciated by a couple more people.
Not seen it yet, but I'd really like too.
Action movie that's an 18?
Set in the 80's?
Sex and strong violence?
Xmen type people??
AWESOME!
I'm way excited for it. My bro introduced me to Watchmen a couple years back, and I've been waiting to see it since I saw the first trailer (on an IMAX screen no less!). I don't feel like I have any expectations of it--good or bad--so I'm sure I'll enjoy it no matter what.
~Trent
VWG. Keep in mind there over an hour of footage missing from the theatrical cut. All of your complaints will be resolved in the DVD release that will be just shy of 3 hours and 40 minutes long.
I just wrote a list on another board of about 50 things that were cut or changed unnecessarily while they were cramming a brilliant book into a half-arsed movie...I mean, I understand how hard it would be to make it work as a movie, but I was seriously disappointed. The wire effects, blood and gore, and crappy CGI just dragged it down even lower.
LGM! You are correct, I read about that soon after posting here, and it indicates a couple of things I mentioned being included in the extended cut (plus, of course, things like the Black Freighter.)
HOWEVER, I don't think these will turn it into an amazing film. It felt long in the first place, and I don't think an extended version could be sat through in one setting. Not by me anyway.
I don't even mind that things were missing, it's just the things that were half-baked that bothered me.
ALSO I forgot to mention that the film makes it seem more like there is a clear "badguy" at the end, where the comic leaves the reader to decide who is right and wrong.
Some of the music choices were bizarre. Ride of the Valkyries while Dr Manhattan strides through Vietnam was cringeworthy.
The ending wasn't bad, it brought about the same outcome basically, but I felt there was no need to change it. But that might be my squid fetish kicking in?
I thought Adrian was kind of miscast. He was a bit weak and puny to be a believable hero who has trained his body to such peak position. But oh well.
But I don't want to focus on the negative, as I feel my past two posts have been moanarific. SO: things I liked:
Some of the actors! Notable Rorschach and Doc Manhattan. Dan wasn't bad either.
The opening credits! Very cleverly done to fill in a lot of backstory in a different way from the comic - this is how I feel a lot of the film should have bene made, adapted for the medium of film rather than translated directly. Whoops, sorry, I moaned again.
Some music! I really enjoyed hearing All Along The Watchtower and The Sound Of Silence through cinema speakers. Man, I wish I had big speakers.
Background stuff! A lot of background elements were clearly there for the comic nerds, such as copies of Hollis's book "Under the Hood."
In conclusion, it was...okay. I definitely think you all should see it. And then read the comic, if you haven't already. Or even if you have.
I agreed with everything Revan, this thread starter, mentions.
As for veryweirdguy...
Quote from: veryweirdguy on Fri 06/03/2009 15:21:04
Spoiler
The newsvendor and kid are there when the "incident" happens, but not before at all, thus kind of diluting their appearance.
Not really /hide worthy, but...
Spoiler
The newsvendor and the boy are seen at least once before. The newspaper truck pulls up and throws out a new edition with a news headline that moves the plot along.
And I saw it on IMAX and it was amazing. I'm going on Sunday to see it again.
I saw the Midnight showing and I have a few ideas about it.
First off, the cinematography was beautiful. Larry Fong always does good (Cost of Living, 300) It really captured the feel of the graphic novel. I feel it was a little TOO close to it. Copying word for word and shot for shot isn't really my thing.
The soundtrack was atrocious! The Sound of Silence was the only thing that sort of fit, but having well known songs like that break the suspension of disbelief, in this case all I could think of was The Graduate when that song came on.
The balance of humor and violence was done well though, it's just a weird blend of childish dorky costumes with nudity and gore. However the costumes we well adapted from the GN so no complaint there.
I found that the audience in the cinema really ruined my experience, clapping and cheering in random scenes that appealed to them, overpowering the dialogue so no one could hear anything.
Cool film though, in an arty geeky way.
Nice mix of comments coming through, which is what I wanted when I started this post.
A couple of things: some of you have mentioned the soundtrack, yeah I thought at points the music choice was bad, and perhaps more time should have been spent on its selection.
I cant wait for the DVD, to see if they manage to hold together the entire film when its over 3 and a half hours.
I can understand a lot of peoples disappointment in the film , especially if you read the comic way before hearing about the film. I my self read comics all the time. And had heard of Watchmen being this cult classic and a must read before you die. But it wasn't until I heard there was a film coming out that my interest peaked. Also got it at Forbidden Planet (comic shop) for under £10. I read it and steered clear of the trailers so it wouldn't give anything away for me. I finished it at the start of February, so I didn't have long to wait for the film.
Overall a mix of comments from every one, keep them coming. Also those who have posted on the wall saying they are going to see it, please post back again when you have and we can see what you thought...
Also remember Spoiler pages, if you think it might spoil the film or comic.
Spoiler
For example the fact that Veidt is the costume killer, or the change of the ending, or the squid. (veryweirdguy on ur second post ;D )
Too long.
Genius.
Disapointing ending.
Why did I need to know so much backstory about the guy who dies at the start?
Kept me interested for a film without much action in it.
A blue penis!
Different.
BIG spoiler:
Spoiler
Why did Rosarch have to die, why?!! I loved that character! He was so cool and twisted! And okay so the evil mastermind type guy who killed few to save many.. well I'd still liked to have seen him perish. And Dr Manhatten, that guy scares me.
I think I'd say I enjoyed it, and I think I'll get it on DVD, especially if there's more footage to see. (And I'll watch it in 5 parts thanks)
Quote from: Scummbuddy on Sat 07/03/2009 01:01:31
Spoiler
The newsvendor and the boy are seen at least once before. The newspaper truck pulls up and throws out a new edition with a news headline that moves the plot along.
Spoiler
This is true! I noticed them, but they wouldn't really be noticable to someone who wasn't looking for them - a casual viewer. Maybe.
Or maybe not. I've been trying to look at the whole thing from the perspective of someone who hasn't read it, but it's proving far too difficult.
ManicMatt:
Spoiler
The idea is that Adrian has to live the rest of his life with doubts, wondering whether he made the right decision, although it didn't come across too strongly.
Anyways, The wonderful Jess Fink put up a review here (http://finkenstein.livejournal.com/127735.html) which is pretty damn agree-able-to-able.
I saw it last night, having never read the book, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. Superhero movies have been absolutely incredible over the past year - first Iron Man, then the Dark Knight, and now Watchmen. I think Watchmen was the best of the three.
Can I comment on how incredible the opening credits were? After this I am never going to want to watch another movie where the opening credits are just text on a blank screen ever again.
I have heard a lot of complaints about the music, but the only part that made me pause was 99 Red Balloons. Everything else was, I thought, perfectly appropriate.
I have always meant to read Watchmen and just haven't gotten around to it, but it's pretty much at the top of my to-do list now. What a fantastic movie.
Quote from: ManicMatt on Sun 08/03/2009 12:04:05
BIG spoiler:
Spoiler
Why did Rosarch have to die, why?!! I loved that character! He was so cool and twisted! And okay so the evil mastermind type guy who killed few to save many.. well I'd still liked to have seen him perish. And Dr Manhatten, that guy scares me.
Spoiler
Never would have worked. That would have been far too neat a Hollywood ending. A black-and-white "this guy is evil so good has triumphed" ending would not have worked at all for this movie - the ending is there so that you can decide who was right and who was wrong. Rosarch had a completely black-and-white view of morality, and as a result he could not continue to exist in that world.
Im impressed with Makeout Patrol. getting sooo much from just the film. Rorschach's character is very black and white. no grey what so ever.. He was apparently based on a character created by Steve Ditko called 'Mr A' who was also right/wrong no middle ground, uncompromising principles and incorruptibility.
Also a line from the comic was left out of the film, a line that captured Rorschach completely, he is referring to the material that makes up his mask, but it's an obvious parallel to his own belief system:
"Black and white. Moving changing shape... But not mixing no grey."
Also, Rorschach is a loose adaptation of 'The Question', and many of the other characters are adaptations/parodies of Charleton Comics characters.
I found it very good. And as Makeout Patrol has said, the opening credits were fantastic. Brilliant stuff!
I have never read (or even seen) the graphic novels so I went in to this movie blind.
So what did I think?
It was WAY too long.
I know the comic-purists will blow-up at this statement ... but there was way too much "fluff" in the film.
The entire prison scene was totally unnecessary. It was nothing other than showing how bad-ass the heroes are. It was cool, don't get me wrong, but not necessary for the over-all story of the film.
Almost every scene with Carla Gugino was also not needed (over-all) for the film. They could still have revealed the "big secret" without taking 30 minutes of un-needed back story of her character. Not to mention they weren't that interesting (her back stories) and slowed the pace of the film (in my opinion).
All the "relationship" scenes between Dr. Manhattan and Silk Specter were tedious and too involved. I suspect this was the point, but I found it slow and somewhat boring!
I hate to say it, because he was the most interesting character by far (for me), but the back-story scenes with the comedian weren't really necessary either.
Though:
Spoiler
I loved the scene in the bar is Saigon when he killed the pregnant woman ... as morbid as that was it really showed a different side of "super heroes" that I really dig. He's not really a good guy ... he's a thug hiding behind a mask of legality who isn't in it to save humanity, but because he's an adrenaline junky who enjoys the killing. I really like this aspect of the story!
Don't get me wrong, I love a long and involved story ... but I think, for a theatrical release, the movie could have been every bit as good at 120 minutes as opposed to 180 minutes! I think a video release version with all the extra scenes would rock! Sitting at home I'd love that! Flesh it out ... hell, make it 4 hours long. I can pause it and get up to have a piss without worrying about missing something! The story is interesting enough to warrant the length.
The problem is, from my experience, the average film-goer doesn't have the attention span for that much material and it only appeals to people familiar with the source materials. For me it's not an attention span thing ... it's that I always get a nice big drink before going in and, inevitably, I have to use the restroom after about 90 minutes!
I know that fans of the novels will not appreciate my statements ... but I'm looking at this from the perspective of somebody who had no connection with the source material. And as such, these are just my thoughts on the film.
edit - I forgot to mention that I liked it! It was visually appealing and the acting wasn't too over the top! I just felt it was too long!
But you knew that it was going to be almost 3 hours long, right? And you know that if you have the drink you'll have to go to the bathroom halfway through, so... maybe forgo the drink this time?
I thought it was pretty fantastic that they'd managed to make a movie that was both fun and stayed true to the comic. Not everything worked, but mostly those were things where they were trying to stick too closely to the comic (except for the portrayal of Ozymandias and some of the ultraviolence: those were just poor choices), so I didn't mind.
Never read the comic book, so take that into account when you read my thoughts.
I liked it quite a bit. As a child of the 70s/80s, I liked the music choices a lot. 99 luft balloons fit both as a song about the apocalypse and a nice pop choice for Dan and Laurie's first date. Also, that was the first time I've seen Cohen's Hallelujah used in a scene that seemed to fit the message of the song (really, what the hell was that song doing in Shrek?).
Overall, it was a bit too long, but I liked the casting choices. The guy who played Rorschach should get some kind of award. He really embodied the righteous, psychotic hobo that no conspiracy plot should be without. Same with the guy who played the misanthropic yet all-American Comedian. I would have liked to seen more of that guy. His patriotic nihilism was unsettlingly entertaining. But I guess the director needed that extra screen time to get more neon blue penis on the screen. In a non-penis showcasing role, Matt Frewer really shined as the Comedian's old arch-nemesis. Also sans-penis was the girl in the black outfit and the bob haircut in the opening credits. Movie needed much more of her and her girl-kissing, crime fighting ways. Much, much more. It helped offset the rave party glow stick Dr. Manhattan was carrying around.
One of my friends is a big fan of the comic and was distressed that they changed the ending. He explained it to me (in great, nerd-anguished detail) over lunch and, wow, am I glad they went with the ending they did.
Overall, a solid B+. (With extra points because this movie utterly defies becoming a franchise. Too many of those these days. Nice to see a story wrapped up with a big "The End" when the credits roll.)
Just my two cents,
- Ponch
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 10/03/2009 19:49:19
Overall, a solid B+. (With extra points because this movie utterly defies becoming a franchise. Too many of those these days. Nice to see a story wrapped up with a big "The End" when the credits roll.)
Never rule it out, if it makes enough money. After all, they are bringing back I am legend after
Spoiler
the main character got eaten by zombies.
Quote from: Zooty on Tue 10/03/2009 20:02:58
Never rule it out, if it makes enough money. After all, they are bringing back I am legend
A sequel to I am Legend? Now that just silly! What sort of nonsense will Hollywood try next? A sequel to Planet of the Apes? What could you possibly do with that? Send another astronaut back? Have some sort of mutants worshiping a bomb or something? Or send the Apes back in time (somehow) to the Planet of the Humans? Madness! Next thing I know, you'll try to convince me Hollywood might be dumb enough to make a live-action version of the Flintstones!
- Ponch
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 10/03/2009 20:13:49
Quote from: Zooty on Tue 10/03/2009 20:02:58
Never rule it out, if it makes enough money. After all, they are bringing back I am legend
A sequel to I am Legend? Now that just silly! What sort of nonsense will Hollywood try next? A sequel to Planet of the Apes? What could you possibly do with that? Send another astronaut back? Have some sort of mutants worshiping a bomb or something? Or send the Apes back in time (somehow) to the Planet of the Humans? Madness! Next thing I know, you'll try to convince me Hollywood might be dumb enough to make a live-action version of the Flintstones!
- Ponch
Yeah right.. who would they get to play Fred? I mean maybe John Goodman at a push, but he'd never agree to that career shattering role... But then who would play Barney? I guess I havn't seen Rick Moranis play a good old comidic role in a while.. In fact with my casting skills they could pull off the greatist live action flintstones film ever... Lets mix a young Haley Berry in there, why the hell not!!!
lol... ;D
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 10/03/2009 20:13:49
Quote from: Zooty on Tue 10/03/2009 20:02:58
Never rule it out, if it makes enough money. After all, they are bringing back I am legend
A sequel to I am Legend? Now that just silly! What sort of nonsense will Hollywood try next? A sequel to Planet of the Apes? What could you possibly do with that? Send another astronaut back? Have some sort of mutants worshiping a bomb or something? Or send the Apes back in time (somehow) to the Planet of the Humans? Madness! Next thing I know, you'll try to convince me Hollywood might be dumb enough to make a live-action version of the Flintstones!
- Ponch
They're also considering doing a sequel to "The Passion". And "Titanic II". And a prequel to Star wards (<-yes, no tpyo there). Hehe... ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Snarky on Tue 10/03/2009 18:36:51But you knew that it was going to be almost 3 hours long, right? And you know that if you have the drink you'll have to go to the bathroom halfway through, so... maybe forgo the drink this time?
No.
I like to have my beverage while watching a movie. So why would I give up the drink, thus making myself uncomfortable and taking away some of the enjoyment of my experience, just to avoid making myself uncomfortable when I have to use the restroom 90 minutes in? Nah. I'd rather have to "hold it" for a bit and sit through another 1/2 hour rather than not have the drink in the first place. Doesn't change the fact that [I felt] the movie was unnecessarily long.
I don't mind movies that are three hours long (or longer) if the content feels worthy of the length (Lord of the Rings for example). I felt this movie didn't need all the extra fluff. This is, of course, subjective. Some [fan-boys] probably feel this content was worthy of the length of the film. I do not.
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 10/03/2009 19:49:19Also sans-penis was the girl in the black outfit and the bob haircut in the opening credits. Movie needed much more of her and her girl-kissing, crime fighting ways. Much, much more.
Couldn't agree more! She was captivating and didn't have nearly as much time on-screen as the CGNBP (computer generated neon blue penis). I found her limited screen time extremely intriguing. I didn't really mind the over-abundance of the CGNBP. It wasn't blatant or flaunted, just part of the story. The only thing about it that bugged me was that every scene with it would cause some idiots in the audience to giggle. It's a fake penis ... is it really that funny?
Haha.. just found this on Youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDHHrt6l4w
Dont worry i found out it was fake. but it had me for about 1min.. lol
I think the whole concept is silly, and the trailer looks even more cheesy. I just can't see what's so "cool" about men in tight pants flying around. But I guess that's just why Donald Duck got so popular in Finland. All this batman - superman stuff just sounds a bit if not retarded, then immature to me. :P
Quote from: Tuomas on Wed 11/03/2009 13:55:09
I think the whole concept is silly, and the trailer looks even more cheesy. I just can't see what's so "cool" about men in tight pants flying around. But I guess that's just why Donald Duck got so popular in Finland. All this batman - superman stuff just sounds a bit if not retarded, then immature to me. :P
I don't remember Donald Duck ever wearing tight pants and flying around... in fact now that i think about it, he never put pants on... however when getting out of the shower he'd put a towel on.. what's with that...?
I pity people who think Comics are immature and for kids... You are shutting yourself off from such a fantastic form of media. Also if you took the time out to look at watchmen, you'd realise that the very thing you are talking about is tackled in the film. They discuss how sill it was to dress up and become vigilantes.
You are entitled to your own opinion I agree, but there are ways of expressing opinions without being rude. :P
I found the movie to be quite good, though it made a few strange deviations from the comics that didn't make sense
in light of the sheer dedication it seemed to pay to the source material (which I have read). For instance:
Spoiler
Captain Metropolis is strangely absent from everything but the original flashback photo session of the original Watchmen. He was the one in the comics responsible for trying to form the 'Crime Busters' iteration of the Watchmen, not Ozymandias. I can see 'why' they would eliminate him, though he does appear a few times in the comic, but since they bothered to include Hollis Mason (who has just as minor a role) it just seems odd.
Spoiler
Dan Dreiberg warning Adrian about the 'mask killer' instead of Rorshach. Why? The only logical explanation I can give here is because they felt Rorschach was getting too much screen time and had to mix it up a bit. Unfortunately, this hurt the narrative somewhat because Rorschach's dialog with Adrian reveals more information than the movie version.
I didn't mind some of the more subtle changes, but these two stood out to me as 'why?' moments in the film. I also bring these up because I doubt the extended version will alter these unless they have refilmed these scenes entirely. Overall, though, I was quite pleased with the film and glad that they kept the comic's ending, though I do think their decision to go with an 'R' rating (which I fully support) is at least partly responsible for some of the negative reviews and sales. Hollywood is really trying to force everyone into the PG-13 mold these days.
Quote from: Revan on Wed 11/03/2009 14:53:04
Quote from: Tuomas on Wed 11/03/2009 13:55:09
I think the whole concept is silly, and the trailer looks even more cheesy. I just can't see what's so "cool" about men in tight pants flying around. But I guess that's just why Donald Duck got so popular in Finland. All this batman - superman stuff just sounds a bit if not retarded, then immature to me. :P
I don't remember Donald Duck ever wearing tight pants and flying around... in fact now that i think about it, he never put pants on... however when getting out of the shower he'd put a towel on.. what's with that...?
My point exactly.
QuoteI pity people who think Comics are immature and for kids... You are shutting yourself off from such a fantastic form of media. Also if you took the time out to look at watchmen, you'd realise that the very thing you are talking about is tackled in the film. They discuss how sill it was to dress up and become vigilantes.
You are entitled to your own opinion I agree, but there are ways of expressing opinions without being rude. :P
That's not what I mean, I read a lot of comics myself, no superherostuff though, through personal preference.
Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Wed 11/03/2009 03:08:19
I like to have my beverage while watching a movie. So why would I give up the drink, thus making myself uncomfortable and taking away some of the enjoyment of my experience, just to avoid making myself uncomfortable when I have to use the restroom 90 minutes in? Nah. I'd rather have to "hold it" for a bit and sit through another 1/2 hour rather than not have the drink in the first place. Doesn't change the fact that [I felt] the movie was unnecessarily long.
I don't mind movies that are three hours long (or longer) if the content feels worthy of the length (Lord of the Rings for example). I felt this movie didn't need all the extra fluff. This is, of course, subjective. Some [fan-boys] probably feel this content was worthy of the length of the film. I do not.
I guess I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying that you were in great discomfort or couldn't stay for the length of the movie, in which case I'd say that's really more of a self-inflicted problem.
Nearly 3 hours is a long time, and if a film is boring it's a REALLY long time. I was going out of my mind watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2, for example. I was pretty bored through the Lord of the Rings movies, and fascinated through this, but tastes differ. It might have been possible to trim it a bit more, but most of the sequences in the film are either essential to the story or just too damn cool in their own right to remove.
Quote from: ProgZmax on Wed 11/03/2009 20:46:39
I didn't mind some of the more subtle changes, but these two stood out to me as 'why?' moments in the film. I also bring these up because I doubt the extended version will alter these unless they have refilmed these scenes entirely. Overall, though, I was quite pleased with the film and glad that they kept the comic's ending, though I do think their decision to go with an 'R' rating (which I fully support) is at least partly responsible for some of the negative reviews and sales. Hollywood is really trying to force everyone into the PG-13 mold these days.
Hollis is going to have a much bigger role in the director's cut, as they restore one of the most important scenes Snyder had to take out here. As for the change with Dreiberg telling Veidt instead of Rorschach, I think it made a lot of sense. One of the things that made the comic hard to film is that it's so clearly divided into separate chapters, with different points of view. Chapter 1: Rorschach goes around and talks to the surviving Crimebusters. Chapter 2: Flashbacks about The Comedian. Chapter 3: some plot stuff. Chapter 4: Dr Manhattan reminisces. Etc., etc. To make the movie flow, it was important to kind of smooth this out.
I personally think they'd amped up the violence unnecessarily, and that the sex scene didn't really need to be explicit, so I would have been fine with a PG-13 rated version.
I agree about the sex scene, though it didn't really bother me. Aside from the rather fake looking ceiling gore sequence, though (looked like a lot of raspberry-filled donuts exploded), I didn't think it was that graphic.
Quote from: Tuomas on Wed 11/03/2009 13:55:09
I think the whole concept is silly, and the trailer looks even more cheesy. I just can't see what's so "cool" about men in tight pants flying around. But I guess that's just why Donald Duck got so popular in Finland. All this batman - superman stuff just sounds a bit if not retarded, then immature to me. :P
I can understand you saying this! Most of the time, I would agree with you - the superhero genre is usually about as boring and simple as it gets. Watchmen, however, is different - it's a complex and compelling morality play. It's not about flying around and fighting crime, it's about who has the right to do what to whom and for what purpose. It's an exciting action movie, but more than that it's a compelling commentary on morality and superpower politics.
I'd also point out that I was surprised by how graphic the movie was - I was expecting a 14A movie, but Watchmen definitely deserved its 18A. I didn't have a problem with any of it, however. The sexuality was tasteful, and the violence wasn't celebrated, it just made you take the violent story more seriously.
Quote from: Snarky on Wed 11/03/2009 22:09:02I was going out of my mind watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2, for example.
Good lord yes! I loved the first one ... the second one bored me so bad I damn near walked out of the theater. It was so bad that I didn't go to the theater to see the 3rd one. I just drudged through it at home.
Quote from: Snarky on Wed 11/03/2009 22:09:02It might have been possible to trim it a bit more, but most of the sequences in the film are either essential to the story or just too damn cool in their own right to remove.
This is, I think, where not being familiar with the source material alters my "take" on the film. I felt that a lot of the sequences were totally unnecessary and could easily have been trimmed out. With Lord of the Rings (of which I am extremely familiar with the source material) while I could see some scenes that could have been trimmed, I
wanted them in the film. I would wager it's the same situation with Watchmen fans.
I watched men yesterday, literally.... :/ too much blue schlong!!1
The film was really good I enjoyed it. About a year ago I borrowed the comic to read but found it slow, boring and hard to keep interested in it so I never finished it (made it about a quarter of the way in) and found the film did a superb job of translating what I saw into film yet keeping it interesting unlike the slow monotonous tone of the comic.
I was worried because all the hype about the comic, which I didn't enjoy, and all the hype about the film. My initial thoughts were that I was going to be disappointed and / or confused about things that would have been obvious if you had read the comic but otherwise hopeless.
I didn't realise that the film had an 18 age rating at the start but I was glad it did. It meant that the film didn't have to cut or cater to a younger audience which, from the comic, I would have assumed have been difficult and lousy and I believe is where most comic/book->film translations go wrong.
The film intrigued me enough that I bought the Watchmen graphic novel! Well okay my lovely girlfriend of 2 weeks knew I wanted it and bought it for me as a gift! :)
I saw it the other night.
Having not read the graphic novel I wasn't sure what to expect but I thought it wasc fantastic.
The fight scenes are awesome. The story is interesting with a charming twist at the end.
My only gripe is that the story doesn't really seem to focus on anything in particular. All the various story arcs seem a tad incomplete and unpolished. This is probably an unavoidable effect of being an adaptation of a much larger work, so I'll forgive it as it is an otherwise astounding peice of cinema.
That, and smegloads of small but quite significant stuff was cut or merged into existing scenes. Wait for the Director's Cut, it will scratch many of those itches.