YOU, IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!!!
Today marks the 8th day since Watchmen was released. If you know anything about this movie and haven’t seen it yet, I hope you have a good excuse! To put it [very] lightly, you are missing out!
This was one heck of a film. It had everything I thought I could only hope for and more. However, no matter how little you know about the original story and/or movie, it is a virtual certainty that you will go into this movie with certain expectations. So let me make a few things clear.
The first thing you have to understand is that this movie is based on a graphic novel. It’s a comic book, people. If you expect it to be more, you may be disappointed. Alan Moore (the author who incidentally disowned the movie before it was even in production…whole different story) said himself that the characters are such that if they existed in real life, they would seem particularly ridiculous.
BUT, the second thing you have to understand is that the graphic novel was a pioneer. It is not like most comics you may have heard of or read. The movie is no exception. This is not Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, or anything like them. The best thing I can think of to compare it to as far as deviation from the genre is the Crow. It’s dark, gritty, and violent. The characters have dark sides and not all the “good” guys are good guys. You will dislike some of them.
Moore created a depth in these characters that was extremely unique. He took human emotion and put it into costumes and gave them superhuman fighting skills. That is part of what makes this movie so amazing. It’s not a superhero flick. It’s a drama. As a matter of fact, only one single character in this movie actual has significantly superhuman abilities.
Having said all of this, I come to my third and final point. Despite Moore’s lack of involvement, this movie remains remarkably and undisappointingly faithful to the source material. Especially…ESPECIALLY the visuals. To the uneducated, this means you’re in for a visual thrill ride. To the educated, this means that you get to see blue CGI penis. A lot.
If you don’t know what that means, you fit into the uneducated category. But don’t be alarmed. Harness some maturity and enjoy the film. And if you’re like me, delve deep and appreciate all the nuances in the film. Just bring a snack. It’s 2 hours and 42 minutes long.
And one more thing. The ending of the film is slightly different than the ending of the graphic novel. I thought it was tastefully written and directed, and I understand and appreciate the reasons for the change. But leave me your comments and let me know what you thought of the end and/or the movie as a whole.
Left to Right: The Comedian, Nite Owl II, Rorshach, Silk Spectre II, Ozymandias, Dr. Manhattan (back)
March 13, 2009 at 12:50 pm |
It was a good movie indeed, but I’m a drama buff. I especially liked the opening scene with the (older) comedian.
Glad to see you blogging again, keep it up!
March 13, 2009 at 3:29 pm |
As you know, I haven’t seen it, and I can’t wait to see it with you. I only personally know two people who have seen it thus far, and you definitely make me want to see it even more.