Watchmen, soon....

Go get Koyaanisqatsi by Philip Glass. Or see the movie. Preferrably both.

 

7.5/10. Its ok, definitely worth a rental. I actually think if you haven't read the novel that it will seem better as a movie b/c it does capture a small fraction of the scenery which is no small feat.

The problem is the novel is superior in just about everyway.

As I originally thought, really only Rorscharch is compelling as a character on the face of it. The rest in the novel are sort of built up by the full setting and without that aspect, don't really stand up well.

The acting was mixed. The Comedian and Rorscharch are pretty good, otoh the Girl/Ozymandias/the old badguy and several other minor characters are not well played and its distracting.

I really also don't get why they changed the ending.

 

I think it was a pretty good conversion to movie from the book. I knew both before and confirmed afterwards, that people will get more enjoyment out of the movie from having read the book first and seeing how they brought the visual and storytelling style of the book to the big screen. I was quite impressed, especially with Rorscach and the Comedian.

 

Read the graphic novel a few years ago .. movie is good but a few small things spoilt it a little.

It did drag a bit and could have ended earlier but.... people in the cinema laughed at the "sex" scene - I just thought it was embarrassing.

As to the violence it was very gruesome, the special effects were special and the made me think was Rorshach actually right and did was it in fact necessary to kill him for the greater good?

Hmmmmm............... do the ends justify the means?

Love the Cold War background but it could have been another enemy quite easily with the same effect... I am a big Watchmen fan so a bit biased.

Nice 3 hours spent not thinking.

 

phew I thought I was out on my own there!

 

Well, 72% box office receipt drop-off from the first weekend, so this movie will be lucky if it breaks $100m domestically. Hard to imagine any exec failing to see where an R-rated, almost 3-hour long movie about dysfunctional superheroes no one's ever heard of containing graphic sex and violence might fail to have mass appeal. Particularly when the fanboy word of mouth is so mixed.

 

But watch those DVD sales fly out the door later this year....

 

I get that they didn't set up the original ending (well, except for Bubastis) but I don't get why people insist that the original ending sucked. Why exactly is a 'scientific accident creating God' more plausible than 'main villain spends 20 years engineering a psychic squid'? The main, defining event in the alternate universe that Watchmen takes place in is a Stan Lee origin story.

 

So true.

 

Guys, how was the original ending different, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Spoiler

In the comic book Ozymandias had engineered a psychic octopus that attacked New York and killed millions. This isn't very well explained, but the setup was such that humanity would believe it was an alien attack and thus unite together in the face of a common enemy.

 

Wow...

 

DVD


[edit] oops. already said.


9/10

I loved the film. Fantastic. Though the ending made sense and was a good fit with the movie. I was at college when the comic book came out. Loved it then (and V for Vendetta and Dark Night, and Batman -Killing Joke and...) Saw it with mates of a similar era. All thought it was great. The slower bits give you thinking time!

 

There's very little indication that psychic powers exist in this world, or maybe no indication at all. The event itself is deeply foreshadowed, though.

 

I have a couple of questions
why does the black parts of rorschacs mask move about ?
why does the president have a comedy nose ?

 

ink blots:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test

comedy nose:
Richard Nixon (I haven't seen it yet, but he was the president in the comics)

 

Nixon had a rather comical nose.

 

Yeah, but it was nowhere near that ridiculous thing in the movie

 

I know about the inkblot tests, but why does the ink in the mask move does it serve a purpose