OcR Gimp
03-08-2009, 06:17 PM
I saw it yesterday.
I've been simaultaneously scared of this movie and anticipating it for months, ever since they started teasing it. I was heavily in the "Watchmen is the unfilmable graphic novel" category and so I'd kept my expectations in check. I was expecting it to be visually spectacular considering how much Snyder was able to make of 300 considering how little material was actually in that particular comic. I was hoping for the letter and spirit of the graphic novel, but I have to admit I wasn't holding my breath.
Oh wow. I can't wait to see it again.
It's the best part of two and three quarter hours but that time just flew by. The pacing is brilliant, each character is well fleshed out and stays true to the essence of the comic. There are some details that obviously had to be left out so that the story would work as a movie, but on the whole those changes were for the greater good. Certain things about the ending worked as a comic but would have been absurd in a movie so I don't begrudge them.
The action sequences are brilliant without ever being overblown simply for the sake of it and I am so glad they didn't compromise by making it so that it would get a lower rating (I'm looking at you, Daredevil). This movie is rated 18 in the UK and R in the US and it deserves it... The core events that define the characters are intact and punches on any level are never pulled.
I hope that this movie will be accessible to those who haven't read the graphic novel. I hope that it will inspire people to pick up the Watchmen graphic novel and learn more about these characters. At the very least, I hope people will watch it and get what they should from it; this isn't your typical superhero movie... it takes the so called moral "conflicts" of other superhero archetypes (I'm looking at you, Spiderman) and squeezes every ounce of decency out of them.
In other superhero movies the character might wrestle with darkness for a bit, shake it off and do the right thing. These characters have no such luxury... they have to wrestle their own consciences and compromise on their beliefs or not, and take the consequences accordingly.
It isn't a perfect movie, the concepts and issues are so complex that one viewing could leave someone unfamiliar with Watchmen confused, but I do highly recommend it and I promise that with multiple viewings you will see more every time.
As a Watchmen fan, I will see this movie again (hopefully in theatres) and will be getting the best possible DVD/Blu-Ray edition I can when it's released.
I've been simaultaneously scared of this movie and anticipating it for months, ever since they started teasing it. I was heavily in the "Watchmen is the unfilmable graphic novel" category and so I'd kept my expectations in check. I was expecting it to be visually spectacular considering how much Snyder was able to make of 300 considering how little material was actually in that particular comic. I was hoping for the letter and spirit of the graphic novel, but I have to admit I wasn't holding my breath.
Oh wow. I can't wait to see it again.
It's the best part of two and three quarter hours but that time just flew by. The pacing is brilliant, each character is well fleshed out and stays true to the essence of the comic. There are some details that obviously had to be left out so that the story would work as a movie, but on the whole those changes were for the greater good. Certain things about the ending worked as a comic but would have been absurd in a movie so I don't begrudge them.
The action sequences are brilliant without ever being overblown simply for the sake of it and I am so glad they didn't compromise by making it so that it would get a lower rating (I'm looking at you, Daredevil). This movie is rated 18 in the UK and R in the US and it deserves it... The core events that define the characters are intact and punches on any level are never pulled.
I hope that this movie will be accessible to those who haven't read the graphic novel. I hope that it will inspire people to pick up the Watchmen graphic novel and learn more about these characters. At the very least, I hope people will watch it and get what they should from it; this isn't your typical superhero movie... it takes the so called moral "conflicts" of other superhero archetypes (I'm looking at you, Spiderman) and squeezes every ounce of decency out of them.
In other superhero movies the character might wrestle with darkness for a bit, shake it off and do the right thing. These characters have no such luxury... they have to wrestle their own consciences and compromise on their beliefs or not, and take the consequences accordingly.
It isn't a perfect movie, the concepts and issues are so complex that one viewing could leave someone unfamiliar with Watchmen confused, but I do highly recommend it and I promise that with multiple viewings you will see more every time.
As a Watchmen fan, I will see this movie again (hopefully in theatres) and will be getting the best possible DVD/Blu-Ray edition I can when it's released.