[15Praxanant]

Well, I saw it this morning and here we go, I'l try to write down my thoughts on the film (when compared to the book...since I can't judge the film on its own);

THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS




Rorschach - Glorified as the ultimate anti-hero, the character has lost the edge and the darkness he had in the comics. His backstory is told with a worrying amount of pace, considering that it takes an entire chapter to learn his story in the comics, here he gives it up with a minimum of fuss.

The Ending - As bad as I thought it would be. No emotional resonance when NY is destroyed given that the tertiary characters who added so much to the NY scenes are never introduced in the movie. The two Bernie's share the embrace from the comic, but given that neither character is given screen time why should anyone care? Nite-Owl's "VADERNOOOO.jpg" moment was not needed, as was his childish tantrum directed at Ozy.

Violence - Ummm...I've no real complaints here. Some say its too gratutitious, I'd say that where it was implied in the comic, here it is seen in all its glory. Some scenes do work better, for example I've never understood why Big Figure had his fat henchman's throat cut, the scene in the movie made a lot more sense (to me).

Manhattan - Well played, but his portrayal is all over the place. On the one hand we have Laurie telling us how he no longer cares about humanity, but he spends parts of the film working with Ozymandias on an infinite power source in a hope to end war....that level of detachment that is present in the comics is only used when it seems its necessary for the story.

Everybody needs a montage! - There are a few choice scenes in the movie that are set to some well known tracks from the 60s/70s/80s, but for me, they simply don't work. Whilst the idea of having The Comedian's funeral set to 'Sound of Silence' works on paper (and in a fanmade youtube vid), in the movie it just feels horribly overbearing, and more a case of Snyder doing what he thinks looks cool.

Nixon's nose - .... wtf? Did no-one say "Uhmm.. isn't that a little too big, even for Nixon?" I keep expecting Gepetto to pop up and say "Back in your box, Pinocchio".


However, I don't want to give the impression that I hate the movie. What I find annoying is a lot of the criticisms I've made will probably be rectified for the full-blown director's cut. So until I've seen that version, its hard to pass judgement. I'll have to accept the new ending I guess, its a shame that a giant alien monster is considered far too fantastic for audiences to accept than say....a blue man who can create multiple copies of himself and increase 700% in size.... oh wait... :/

At the end of the day, I think that barring someone putting up $200 million of their own money to make a Watchmen movie that is 1:1 with the comic, this is the best adaptation that Hollywood could have provided us with. If you read through David Hayter or Sam Hamm's scripts for the movie then you'll agree that this could have turned out a hell of a lot worse. So for Snyder to make a movie that is as close as this is to the source material, I think deserves some credit.

Roll on the 210 minute cut!

[Savviers]

I will sum the movie up like this. Saw the 9:00am IMAX showing.

Movie = Go see it

I wasn't even aware of the Watchmen comic before hand. And I liked the movie. I consider it an Action movie and as such, my $15 for imax was well spent.

[Buincchotourb]

Excellent points, Siony. 100% with Nixon's nose! Was quite distracting I found.

[15Praxanant]

Excellent points, Siony. 100% with Nixon's nose! Was quite distracting I found.

Totally. Nixon did have a pretty big nose, but they took it to almost cariacture level in the movie. I heard that some audiences were prone to giggling fits with Dr Manhattan's blue wang... to be honest I think that Nixon's nose was deserving of people rolling around in the aisles.

http://www.milesteves.com/gallery/d/...on+old-web.jpg

[Buincchotourb]

Totally. Nixon did have a pretty big nose, but they took it to almost cariacture level in the movie. I heard that some audiences were prone to giggling fits with Dr Manhattan's blue wang... to be honest I think that Nixon's nose was deserving of people rolling around in the aisles.

http://www.milesteves.com/gallery/d/...on+old-web.jpg

Every time the blue dong was shown there was fits of giggles in our theatre. [rolleyes] I mean, sure it was a little funny the first time, but not the 4th or 5th.[thumbdown]

Check this review snippet from RT:

The movie's not so subtle homoerotic content will draw in gay viewers as it did Snyder's 300 but 163 minutes is an awfully long time to expect a lone blue **** to remain entertaining -- especially one that never gets hard. [rofl][rofl]

[Buincchotourb]

Forgot to mention probably my favourite part:

The whole opening/credit sequence set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'" was amazing. The wax figure like, slow mo style was just mind blowing.

[disappointment2]

Intro was very good and stylised i have to admit i liked it even though it was long.

I pretty much agree with everything Sionyboy said (especially the funeral music for the comedian...really didnt fit and seemed a token choice).

Though i dont agree about Rorschach, i thought the character was built up well and he lived up to be the dark anti-hero he is supposed to be, i think maybe less time as Walter Kovac would be the only thing id change as it felt he exposed far too early.

[whatisthebluepill]

lol what´s up with the Nazi-man ? [rofl]

[untostaronaf]

I pretty must agree with all of Siony's points, and dare I say it, Alan Moore's. Snyder did an impeccable job of trying to capture the graphic novel into a film, but I have to admit that the book is almost too complex to be shown in movie form. I give Snyder plenty of credit for even attempting such an endeavour, but I feel as if the story is far too complex to fit into a 2.5 hour film. However, I did throughly enjoy the movie, and can't wait to see the "director's cut."

[15Praxanant]

I completely forgot the cheesiest line in the entire film, a line that has been parodied so much I'm amazed they had the audacity to include it;

Spoiler

"No Laurie.....The Comedian is your father!"

There aren't enough facepalm.jpgs in the world for that one.


Although I will agree that the intro sequence was very well done, seems to be the part of the movie that is getting the most praise and rightly so. It really does help set the basis for the alternate timeline.

[PickEmUp]

Just seen it in the cinema.. there were some enjoyable moments but quality-wise the movie was horrible. I haven't read the comics, but there were SO many moments where everything just didn't make sense (no not because its a fantasy movie)..
For example, why would mr manhattan need any of the the other 'super heroes'? he can clone himself 100x making the rest obsolete..

And what are the superpowers of Dan and the chick in leather? they had none but were able to beat 30 prisoners on their own? And why did the big prisoner had to have is arms cut off? Why did he die instantly? Why wasn't it cold on mars? Why did the ink on this guys face move? why did everyone accept a giant blue guy like it's a normal thing? why did mr manhatten walk around in his penis all the time why was Dan naked when he was watching his suit?
etc.etc.etc.etc.

the director must have been gay?

[15Praxanant]

And what are the superpowers of Dan and the chick in leather? they had none but were able to beat 30 prisoners on their own? They have no powers, they are simply well trained in hand-to-hand combat ala Batman.


And why did the big prisoner had to have is arms cut off? Why did he die instantly? Because Big Figure wanted to cut through the lock so he could get to Rorscach before the prison riot was over and order was restored. As you will have noticed Rorschach broke the fat guys fingers then tied his hands together, thus meaning he was in the way of the door lock mechanism. As a result, Big Figure deemed it quicker to simply cut him away, as opposed to trying to untie the knot.

Did he die? The film gave no indication that was the case, it certainly showed him falling onto the floor. He could have passed out due to shock, the intense pain he would have felt or the sudden drop in blood pressure in his body.

Why wasn't it cold on mars? The temperature on Mars varies greatly depending on where you are and time of day. It can reach surface temperatures of 20c.

Either way, do you not think that since Dr Manhattan could create an aura of breathable atmosphere around Laurie, he might have been able to create heat too?

Why did the ink on this guys face move? Unfortunately the scene explaining where Rorschach got his mask from was cut (which is a shame as it is central to explaining why he chose to fight crime in the first place). Long story short, thanks to Dr Manhattan there were great leaps and bounds in various technologies thanks to his presence. One of these was the discovery of a method to allowing viscous fluids to move freely inside of materials. Hence the funky ass mask.

There is a lot more regarding the creation of the mask and Rorschach's origins, but would take too long to explain.


why did everyone accept a giant blue guy like it's a normal thing? I think you'll find they didn't, if you watch the news reports in the film you'll see that there was great shock around the world at the creation and the presense of a super-human. Indeed, there was one scene where a man says that if you are not afraid at the idea of Dr Manhattan being a walking god then it is an indication you are insane.

why did mr manhatten walk around in his penis all the time If you were a being with control over objects at the atomic level, were able to see reactions at the chemical level, able to perceive time in non-linear perspective, can walk across the sun, teleport between two locations in an instant etc etc etc....If you had that sort of power would you really concern yourself with wearing pants?

Again, due to cuts you do not see the progression of the character as you do in the book. Initially Dr Manhattan does wear a full black body suit to cover his blue wang, but as time moves on and he becomes ever more detached from humanity so he begins to wear less and less.

why was Dan naked when he was watching his suit? To emphasise how vulnerable and how powerless he feels without his suit.


the director must have been gay? No, it would appear you are insecure about seeing male genitalia and so have to resort to name calling in an attempt to distance yourself from any possible notion that you somehow enjoyed seeing a cg blue penis on-screen.

I can only imagine that you spent large portions of the movie sweating profusely, shifting around uncomfortably in your seat, all the time the bag of popcorn shaking in your hand as you deal with the sudden rush of strange emotions and feelings. Seek help. hurrrhhhhhhhh

[Amorsesombabs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIhHema5PNg
[rofl]

[PickEmUp]

They have no powers, they are simply well trained in hand-to-hand combat ala Batman.

Well trained != better than 30 prisoners, especially after being in-active for a long time.

Because Big Figure wanted to cut through the lock so he could get to Rorscach before the prison riot was over and order was restored. As you will have noticed Rorschach broke the fat guys fingers then tied his hands together, thus meaning he was in the way of the door lock mechanism. As a result, Big Figure deemed it quicker to simply cut him away, as opposed to trying to untie the knot.

If they'd pulled the big guy away from the fence they could've easily grabbed rorschag. Also, where'd they get a chainsaw thing? and there were just sockets around the corner to plug it in.... ?

Did he die? The film gave no indication that was the case, it certainly showed him falling onto the floor. He could have passed out due to shock, the intense pain he would have felt or the sudden drop in blood pressure in his body.

Actually, he'd rather feel no pain than faint because of the pain. Either way, he looked pretty dead to me.

The temperature on Mars varies greatly depending on where you are and time of day. It can reach surface temperatures of 20c.

True, but the chances of it being -100 is a lot greater. Also, he forgot to create an aura for the first secs..would he take the risk?

Either way, do you not think that since Dr Manhattan could create an aura of breathable atmosphere around Laurie, he might have been able to create heat too?

he could have just created oxygen on mars.

Unfortunately the scene explaining where Rorschach got his mask from was cut (which is a shame as it is central to explaining why he chose to fight crime in the first place). Long story short, thanks to Dr Manhattan there were great leaps and bounds in various technologies thanks to his presence. One of these was the discovery of a method to allowing viscous fluids to move freely inside of materials. Hence the funky ass mask.
There is a lot more regarding the creation of the mask and Rorschach's origins, but would take too long to explain.

I actually believe explaining the origins/details of each hero would have made this movie much better. I liked the part where they had some history of Mr Manhatten..and how he got himself 'blue'. I hoped they'd do that for the others too.

I think you'll find they didn't, if you watch the news reports in the film you'll see that there was great shock around the world at the creation and the presense of a super-human. Indeed, there was one scene where a man says that if you are not afraid at the idea of Dr Manhattan being a walking god then it is an indication you are insane.

Actually all these peoples get saved by this flying owl thing but nobody things its weird or anything.. also Mr Manhatten gives this interview and everyone acts normal.
Oh and nobody things rorschags mask is weird..

If you were a being with control over objects at the atomic level, were able to see reactions at the chemical level, able to perceive time in non-linear perspective, can walk across the sun, teleport between two locations in an instant etc etc etc....If you had that sort of power would you really concern yourself with wearing pants?

If you could be wearing a suit within 0.1s...then ye why wouldn't you wear something? He also puts on a suit for the interview.

Again, due to cuts you do not see the progression of the character as you do in the book. Initially Dr Manhattan does wear a full black body suit to cover his blue wang, but as time moves on and he becomes ever more detached from humanity so he begins to wear less and less.

Sounds, once again, like a bad cuts to me.

To emphasise how vulnerable and how powerless he feels without his suit.

He hasn't used it for ages and suddenly he feels so vulnerable and powerless that he needs to get naked? I thought he was a hero? I think its a bad metaphor.

No, it would appear you are insecure about seeing male genitalia and so have to resort to name calling in an attempt to distance yourself from any possible notion that you somehow enjoyed seeing a cg blue penis on-screen.

I can only imagine that you spent large portions of the movie sweating profusely, shifting around uncomfortably in your seat, all the time the bag of popcorn shaking in your hand as you deal with the sudden rush of strange emotions and feelings. Seek help. hurrrhhhhhhhh

No need to go offensive here[thumbdown][thumbdown], i don't need help.
It just seemed that the movie was way too focused on showing off manhatten without his pants.

[gambleingsites]

No need to go offensive here[thumbdown][thumbdown], i don't need help.
It just seemed that the movie was way too focused on showing off manhatten without his pants.

Wow, focused? Really?

I barely noticed it I cant believe people paid so much attention to it, he's naked because he's no longer human and is becoming more detached from reality. He has the power of a god, wearing clothes would be the least of his concerns. Think outside the box for a moment.


Edit: It seems like you are having trouble seeing the alternate reality for what it is. Nixon still in power, America wins war due to Doc Manhattan etc.... The Watchmen are part of everyday life in this reality and have been since the Minutemen in the 40's.

[untostaronaf]

No need to go offensive here[thumbdown][thumbdown], i don't need help.
It just seemed that the movie was way too focused on showing off manhatten without his pants.

It's quite obvious you do not understand this film, which essentially is a simplified version of the novel. I would actually recommend reading the GN, as it does a much better job explaining the origins of each character, as well as painting a better picture of the events that were actually going on.

[intisgunkas]

It's quite obvious you do not understand this film, which essentially is a simplified version of the novel. I would actually recommend reading the GR, as it does a much better job explaining the origins of each character, as well as painting a better picture of the events that were actually going on.

I say don't read the novel. If you have a problem with Manhatten's dong and can't accept that people don't think things are wierd because they've been around forever (hence why people don't freak out at seeing images coming from a tv) then the novel will just upset you further.

[tarmpriopay]

Lol (do we still need to put 56K warnings... come on, its 2009...)

[orbidewa]

how is it the movie anyways?

[fuesquemill]

how is it the movie anyways?

It was awesome, haven't read the novel but I'll probably pick it up now