Watchmen
POSTED BY: ecgordon
UPDATED: Monday, December 14, 2009 18:36
VIEWED: 13159
PAGE 2 of 7
Here's my non-spoilery review - http://templetongate.net/watchmen.htm
I'll also be uploading my friend's review sometime later today or tomorrow.
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Quote:
Originally posted by deepgirl187:
I think that I'm more with the 'stayed too close to the graphic novel' camp, though for slightly different reasons. The fact that some of the scenes were directly lifted from the comic is great, but I think it kind of restricted the actors. A lot of the text is more literary than dramatic, so it doesn't necessarily come out as well as it does when your're reading it.
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I agree. What was brilliant dialogue on the page often came off as hokey on the screen.
Having read the comic prior to seeing the film, I actually didn't LOVE it...it was good, worth the money, but ideas and scenes that flow well in the comic medium did not do so on the screen. The film was often disjointed and tough to follow. The lack of backstory on several characters (mostly Night Owl...some very important scenes that shaped his state of mind at the end of the story were completely cut) led to friends who had not read the comic not understanding what motivated the characters.
Comedian and Rorshach were both acted quite well. Night Owl was also pretty well done, Silk Spectre II was...pretty bad. Some fanboys hated Ozy, but I thought he was pretty good too. The actors were not the weak link in the film IMO, the pacing and script were.
I'd also add the level of violence was at times just plain stupid; the comic was violent enough, and to go above and beyond that for no apparent reason was obnoxious.
The sex scene was...uncomfortable. It was pretty obvious they tried to drag it out to fit the timing of the Cohen song that accompanied it. That's some backwards thinking.
As someone else noted, the soundtrack was...not very good. Too predictable. Some songs are just played out...Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower" and "Flight of the Valkyries" have both been used too many times or in such defining films, they've lost their impact.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Muggi:
As someone else noted, the soundtrack was...not very good. Too predictable. Some songs are just played out...Hendrix' "All Along the Watchtower" and "Flight of the Valkyries" have both been used too many times or in such defining films, they've lost their impact.
I know... "Flight of the Valkyries" is fine Wagnerian opera, but I keep hearing "Kill the Wabbit" every time I listen to it... The Bob Dylan songs were cool though. I kinda liked the soundtrack in general (I'm not going to buy it--Mamma Mia would be higher on my list), but I can see how people wouldn't. Heh, I have limited musical taste.
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I thought the use of "Flight of the Valkyries" was brilliant. The music is forever linked with "Apocalypse Now" so to use the same music in a DIFFERENT version of the Vietnam War underscores the connection, I think.
*****
As for the movie overall, I thought it was very good, but not quite excellent. When we got out of the theater, I said to my friends that I think it was as good a WATCHMAN movie as could have been made (and I mean that as a compliment). I've read the miniseries a number of times, but not in the past few years.
I thought the casting was excellent, with the possible exceptions of Silk Specter II (who was good, but perhaps a little weak compared to some of the others) and Veidt (who was by turns brilliant and one of the weakest links in the film... still not sure how I feel about the casting).
I thought that the story was an excellent depiction of the original story, faithful enough to please the vast majority of fans, and I think most of the changes were improvements.
For a movie that clocks in at almost 3 hours, I thought it moved along quite briskly. Seemed much shorter than a lot of 2 hour movies I've seen!
Ultimately, though, I have to judge it enjoyable (and good!) but somewhat "forgettable." I don't see it standing the test of time like, say, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or even The Matrix.
Still, I'm looking forward to the director's cut on DVD!
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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Geez, what the heck was that?
Murderers, rapists, serial killers, assassins are superheroes? Where's that get fun?
I was like a surreal liberal fantasyland, not much made sense.
RMN in his 5th term, and there is still MAD? how is that supposed to have happened, except in pure fantassy? Without Jimmy Cotta to prolong the Cold War, how could it have lasted into 1985? It should have been ended 6 years before it did in real life, so about 1982ish. No term limits were enacted? Does that mean also no new VPs? Did RMN's original new VP (GHWB) make it? If so, why would Bush not have been the next candidate, instead of RWR?
And has there been a worse film soundtrack? If there has been, I have thankfully rid my mind of it.
At the risk of being struck by lightning for positive allusions to a Will Smith film, I must admit that even Hancock had a better understanding of the relationship which must exist between superhero and public.
Liberals must be overjoyed to have their criminal elements hoisted to suprehero status in this surreal nightmare.
About the only positive thing I can say is that the last film I felt I wanted a refund for was Fireproof, and this wasn't quite as bad as that. But rarely have I enjoyed a film less than this.
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I posted this on another site. It is very spoilerish so I've followed the protocol
Select to view spoiler:
It has some unquestionably brilliant moments but by staying almost absolutely faithful to the graphic novel, it includes some stuff that, quite honestly, doesn't translate well to film. There are some rambling soliloquies we could have done without - usually Rorschach - for example.
The pluses are:
*some visually stunning moments - e.g. the summary montage at the beginning that traces the history of the Minutemen;
*some killer action scenes - Silk Spectre and Nite Owl breaking into the prison is my favourite bit;
*excellent casting - Carla Gugino (phwoar) and Billy Crudup are strong as always; Mathew Goode, despite getting a bad review in this morning's paper by a disappointed fanboy (for not looking the part, ffs) is appropriately ambiguous and arrogantly certain; Malin Akerman is testicle tightening hot but she's also very good, like when Rorschach has to go to the bathroom;
*the soundtrack works for me - I have to be honest here, my opinion is that anyone who uses "Boring Bob" Dylan in their film deserves only derision, but I'm going to forgive it this once.
The minuses are:
*the aforementioned monologues;
*a tendency to give us something that's obviously a frame from a comic, stationary rather than dynamic - the first frames when NO and SS hook up is the most ludicrous example;
*some unnecessarily repellent violence - don't get me wrong here, there is some repellent violence in the film that is necessary and I've no beef with that, e.g. Rorschach's first kill. However, it seems to me that, sometimes, to prove that comics aren't "kids' stuff" they go over the top in the brutality. There was absolutely no need, when Laurie and Dan were being mugged in the alley, to show bones breaking so violently that they burst through the skin. Indeed, I found the understated violence of Rorschach's final confrontation with Big Figure more effective than the less subtle stuff. This story is obviously not kids' stuff - its themes and characters are too complex, too mature, too real to be a cartoon.
Overall, it's a good movie, well worth $15 and I'd love to see it again to try to pick up some of the tantalizing moments (not the sex scenes - I got them.)
BTW follow this link for a laugh - or a cautionary tale http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/485797
www.cpfc.org - my life
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Yeah, I'll agree with most of that review.
www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."
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Quote:
Originally posted by GWEK:
I thought the use of "Flight of the Valkyries" was brilliant. The music is forever linked with "Apocalypse Now" so to use the same music in a DIFFERENT version of the Vietnam War underscores the connection, I think.
Gotcha. So my problem rests in the fact that I've never seen Apocalypse Now, evidently. From what you're describing, it's a creative pairing of sound and image.
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I posted this over at ShinyUniverse when this site was down. So at the risk of repeating myself...
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE COMIC OR SEEN THE MOVIE!
First off it is an incredible adaptation. Any complaints about it not being 100% faithful are from nit pickers. That being said there are a few changes, mostly towards the end, but I can totally understand why they had to be made.
This was quite literally like watching the book. Almost every significant moment is brought to life hence the 2 hour 43 minute run time. I'm wondering what was actually cut from the movie.
Every character was spot on. The only one that struck me as a little weak was Adrian Veidt. For some reason I expected him to command more screen presence. Part of the problem may be due to a lack of screen time. I actually found him to be the most interesting character in the book so my expectations may have been a bit too high.
This is not a movie for the squeamish. Anyone who thought The Dark Knight was bleak is in for a shock. I am actually amazed at how many children were in the theater. I guess parents just don't believe an R-rated "superhero" movie can be that bad. There is quite a bit of nudity, sex, and violence. The violence is a step down from Snyder's 300 but it is still very stylized and brutal.
I get the feeling this movie is not going to resonate with the public at large. I really don't think they will know what to make of it. It's not a typical good versus evil story. The good guys aren't all that good, in fact some of them are downright amoral. What I expect to happen is people who see this but were not familiar with the material will run screaming back to the comfort of Spiderman and Superman.
Now some specifics:
- I liked how the fight between The Comedian and Ozymandias was fleshed out a bit more. The former really went out strong, though he really didn't get in any good shots.
- Rorschach chopping up the child killer was a change I can live with, it really emphasizes how far over the edge he was driven after finding the remains.
- The most surprising things in the movie were the scenes involving The Comedian's background. I honestly did not expect to see the attempted rape of Silk Spectre or him gunning down the pregnant Vietnamese woman. Kudos to Snyder and the studio execs. Without these moments the audience would not get a complete picture of what the character was all about.
- Now the big one many people will complain about. In the comic New York is decimated by a giant squid monster that had been created by Veidt. In the movie New York and other major cities are destroyed by blasts of energy. The disaster is not blamed on an alien invasion but rather Dr. Manhattan. Although I prefer the book version I can see why this was changed. I also think it works better because for once it wasn't just New York that got wiped out.
So there it is in a nutshell. As long as the theatrical version was I can't wait to see the extended version on Bluray.
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We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.
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Quote:
Originally posted by singate:
The most surprising things in the movie were the scenes involving The Comedian's background. I honestly did not expect to see the attempted rape of Silk Spectre or him gunning down the pregnant Vietnamese woman. Kudos to Snyder and the studio execs. Without these moments the audience would not get a complete picture of what the character was all about.
I was talking with my mom about this one. I thought there was an interesting connection in that Snyder and the execs didn't compromise on those scenes and likewise, a big part of the film and the novel is about compromising (or not compromising) your beliefs.
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"This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes ding when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at 30 paces, whether you want it to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow."
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