The official I SAW WATCHMEN! thread

[ashes]

I was planning on going again on my weekend. Forced overtime and illness had other things in mind, apparently.

[Akitsu]

Another little touch I thought worth mentioning. Keep an eye out for whenever Rorschach is walking around with his "The End is Nigh" sign. There's a brief moment when Dan sees him and has a minor double take that I thought was a brilliant touch.

Have to also mention that I thought Matt Frewer put on a brilliant performance as Moloch. A very important, if minor, role that could have come off as goofy... but was perfectly executed and emoted. The fear in his eyes as The Comedian breaks down in front of him... absolutely perfect.

[devious_vixxen]

did'nt like it but i guess thats just me..

[Akitsu]

did'nt like it but i guess thats just me..

Erm... care to elaborate?

I talked to my friend Lori about her response to the film, and the more we talked about it the more she realized there was a lot about the film she loved... but she just wasn't expecting that kind of movie. She was expecting something like Batman... lol.

[^o^CORVUS^o^]

did'nt like it but i guess thats just me..

Awwwwwwww

[devious_vixxen]

i would love to elaborate but i'm afraid that i would just be criticized over it and told why time and time again why i am wrong for thinking that way

[Akitsu]

No no no... it's not that... lol. I'm just interested. Feel free to PM me if you're afraid of backlash...

[Dusty]

i would love to elaborate but i'm afraid that i would just be criticized over it and told why time and time again why i am wrong for thinking that way

I don't think that's fair.

Maxx didn't like it and we haven't jumped down his throat. I am genuinely interested in dissenting opinions on this movie in particular.

[devious_vixxen]

i didn't say you did jump down anyones throat i simply said i was worried that that kinda thing might happen.. yes akitsu i will pm you

[Spike]

I think, from most of the people I've read that didn't like Watchmen, a big issue with them is that they expected something more along hte X-Men/Spider-Man lines...which this certainly isn't...nor should be.

[Akitsu]

I think the main problem a lot of non-fans are having is the same. No experience with the graphic novel, which made an already challenging narrative pretty difficult to follow.

This is actually a common thing, which is why I bring it up. There's a lot of decisions that are counter to what you'd expect in a typical Hollywood superhero movie... a lot of weird soundtrack choices... and a lot of Moore-ish concepts that people just aren't used to seeing on a big screen... or a small one... and a lot of character development crammed into a small space.

Thankfully, 90% of comic fans worth their salt understand that there is a graphic novel out there... so hopefully when they see confused people leaving the theater, they'll chirp out "Pick up the book... you'll understand the movie a lot better."

[Maxx]

I think the main problem a lot of non-fans are having is the same. No experience with the graphic novel, which made an already challenging narrative pretty difficult to follow.

The narrative of the Watchmen was never difficult. Comedian gets killed, characters react, shit happens. They even took out all the incidental characters and the pirate sidestory, which is the actually moderately hard part of the book to understand, as it's a lot of metaphor and symoblism, which god knows a modern audience can't handle.

Also, you shouldn't have to read something before hand to understand the movie. You can watch LOTR's without reading books and still follow the story easily enough and those books were some dense shit.

This is actually a common thing, which is why I bring it up. There's a lot of decisions that are counter to what you'd expect in a typical Hollywood superhero movie... a lot of weird soundtrack choices... and a lot of Moore-ish concepts that people just aren't used to seeing on a big screen... or a small one... and a lot of character development crammed into a small space.

I don't even know here to start here. A lot of Moore's concepts are lost in the movie, as they're literary techniques such as allusion and foreshadowing. The reason there's a lot fo character development is that there's 400 pages crammed into 2 and a half hours, which means that yeah, Snyder had to book it through some backstory. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a good idea to adapt something with that kind of depth.

This movie was a total wank fest for fans. You can't even deny it. Which is great, but it kind of insults the source material in a way. It's better than just being wank.

Thankfully, 90% of comic fans worth their salt understand that there is a graphic novel out there... so hopefully when they see confused people leaving the theater, they'll chirp out "Pick up the book... you'll understand the movie a lot better."

Also, this is so horribly consumeristic that it makes me want to vomit. The book should be bought because it's an excellent peice of literature, far, far, FAR better than the movie. I recommend the book to friends who hated the movie, because I knew the book would be much more enjoyable, as it had, what's the word?

Intelligence, not just SEX, PUNCHING, ACTION, EXPLOSION, ARMS CUTTING OFF, BAD NIXON.

[Akitsu]

Maxx... your response gets a huuuuuge anime sweatdrop from me.

Your response is kind of weird. On the one hand you want it to be more accessible for moviegoers, and claim it should stand on it's own... yet on the other you claim it's "consumeristic" to say people confused by the movie should look into the book which you claim should only be sought after for it's literary worth.

I mean hell, I may think the LoTR books are some of the most intricate works of literature ever made... but that doesn't mean I look down on the film adaptations because there were a few omissions and changes. I enjoy them for their strengths.

Yes, the book is better... but it's not a competition. THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER. That doesn't mean I should feel some sort of shame for enjoying "SEX, PUNCHING, ACTION, EXPLOSION, ARMS CUTTING OFF, BAD NIXON."

"NYAH! Good DAY sir! I said GOOD DAY!"

Just got back from the third theatrical viewing... this time with my friend Dan who's never read a page of Watchmen. He loved it... he's picking up the graphic novel as I type this.

[^o^CORVUS^o^]

Maxx, I understand your points, and I agree on some levels. However I came away with a different experience and feeling obviously

[Akitsu]

The way I see it, a lot of people think that a movie is somehow competing with it's source material... rather than complimenting it.

The same thing happened with Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Despite the fact Douglas "42" Adams wrote the screenplay before his death, including brand new scenes specifically for the movie version, fans immediately saw it as some sort of blaspheme. "It's not better than the book!" they'd shout. "Douglas is rolling in his grave!" they'd scream. "We'd rather have no movie at all!!!!" they'd whine.

Quite frankly this uber-elitism just confuddles me. The book is a book. A movie is a movie. The video game is a video game. You can't complain when a movie resorts to THINGS THAT WORK WITHIN THE MEDIUM OF MOVIES in order to better convey the story of the book.

Whiz-bang explosions, slow-mo fist fights, special effects... these are good things in the realm of movies... just as two page spreads and the mental musings between panels are a good thing in the realm of comics.

I'm just saying this. It is not a crime to like something based on it's own merits. It's also not a crime to dislike it. It is a shame that the easiest and most frequent complaint is, "It's not as good as the book." Nothing ever should be... so it's a moot point. Going into a movie expecting something that's impossible is setting your standards too high.

I have absolutely no problem with the movie being a giant commercial for the book... as that's how my man Alan gets his cut. It doesn't matter if someone buys it for it's literary worth, because they didn't understand the movie, or because they want dirty pictures of superheroes doing teh nasty... it just matters that it sells.