Well just a couple of things I'd like to say about the GN (haven't seen Watchmen yet)
Firstly, not sure if they changed the password, but in the novel it's his name in another language or from myth so it's not supposed to be cliched.
Dr. Manhattan is indeed obnoxious and at times hard to relate to.
Nite Owl is basically the only "superhero" left so he can't be filler. He's more of an ordinary Joe compared to the rest of them though.
Also the graphic novel ending was a bit of a WTF? when it seemed like a "I am the super villain, here's my plan" and then the squid explosion. However having the squid explosion makes it different and interesting and breaks the cliche, though since this was 23 years ago, it could have started the adapted cliche. But anyhow what I'm saying is the reveal could have been done with more style in the novel. It ended well though with Rorschach's death, the newspapers, explosion, scene between Dr. M and Ozy.

Amazing. I knew nothing of Watchmen before the trailer appeared on The Dark Knight, aside from some passing mentions in forum discussion from time to time over the years. That trailer sold me and since then, I've been skimming pre-release threads on various websites and getting a general outline of the story and characters. I had gotten so hyped up this last month and the film finally unfolded before me tonight and it was glorious.

It's unlike anything I've seen really and just when you think it's starting to follow a pattern, it manages to switch it up, or subvert those conventions. Right from the start I felt like I was watching something special. That first fight scene is tense and absolutely brutal and we are then launched into a gorgeous credit sequence that deftly takes us through this fascinating alternate history. I had no problems with the narrative flow at all. It was slightly unconventional, yet still pretty easy to follow. The funeral was a good way to launch into some background on the Comedian via three of his good friends/team members. And just when you feel like you need more information about Dr. Manhattan or Rorshach, you are treated to a couple of terrific origin tales. If anything, I would like to have seen the same for Nite Owl and Ozy, though I understand the latter was not that prominent a character in the graphic novel.

So much to digest in this movie. This created world of masked vigilantes is so interesting, particularly in the fact that they are all so flawed. The comedian is the most apparent and Rorshach is a given (though not as vile to me, since he does what he does in service of some absolute set of principles, as extreme as they are), but I was kind of surprised to see silk spectre and nite owl brutalize those street thugs. Ozy seems to fall so in love with the idea of his own magnificence and superiority, enough to think that he can take it upon himself to solve humanities problems in whatever way he sees fit. And he gets away with it! Even the man he frames comes down on his side of things, since it seems the lesser of two evils and then that bastard Manhattan kills Rorshach. I was gobsmacked.

I thought all the actors did a fine job, with the standouts being Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian. Both give us a depiction of what a couple of nutjobs/misogynists who took on this profession would turn out like. If there is a weak link it is Malin Akerman, as some of her scenes with Wilson were the only moments in the film that didn't totally work, though she definitely wasn't terrible.

So for the uninitiated viewer, Zach Snyder really nailed this. He still shows great prowess with the action scenes, and has again helmed a visually stunning movie, but he has also shown that he can dial it back a few notches to let these characters breathe. Loved the music in the film, both original and licensed, with the standout being that Philip Glass tune that I was so familiar with from hearing it a million times in GTA4 on The Journey. Can't wait for the extended cut.

A

Ozymandias is soooo gay. If the Studio 54 lovefest with The Village People, Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie, and Mick Jagger didn't clue you in, then the folder on his floppy disk marked "Boys" should.

I never ever thought I would end up liking this movie. Thought the ads were retarded, along with the costumes. I guess going in with low expectations helped out, because I was BLOWN away. Sweet movie. Loved how each section of the movie felt like its own, much like a chapter in a book. The characters were all very well-done. I was guessing there was going to be a lot of unintentional humor, but I was wrong. I also liked the ending.

Grade: A-

I believe the intent was just to leave it open. They may or may not believe him. He was a lunatic, yes. But also a lot of the things he says will match up. We don't know.

I found it interesting that Veidt stands to make billions of dollars at the end of Watchmen. The electric car, Veidt. The construction at ground zero, Veidt.

clever.

I liked it much more than 300, and I really don't get all this fanboy hate for Malin Akerman, the character is probably the most boring, but she as always goes above the work. A little long in places and Dr. Manhatten was very boring at times, but other than that it was a pretty good superhero drama. Rorshack was cool, but after hearing all the hype he just fit in well. In the middle of Superhero movies.

Solid B+

As I said, I was also not a fan of Patrick Wilson. Then again, he's pretty much bland in almost all of his films, the only notable exception being Hard Candy.


I just realized that two of Watchmen's main actors (Wilson and Haley) have not only acted together in Little Children, but both also played pedophiles recently, hehe.

Oh so just because he's a fan of the black chocolate he's a pedophile...you sicken me Lecter.

The Times They Are A-Changin

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/wa ... e-sequence

definitely one of the best title sequences ever.

Brilliant.

Watchmen

"4 hours ago I enter into a theater to watch the Watchmen"

Remembering seeing the news when the Berlin Wall fell and my mom's utter shock that it actually happened, it was an amazing experience to read in the 90s the Watchmen only a few years after the Cold War had ended. The palpable fear that many people had at that time about atomic war nowadays seem to have been lost or subsided to terrorist threats. Though that may be the case, it was refreshing to go to a movie theater and go back in time, if it were, to alternate history presented in the Watchmen.

I was one who was completely captivated and mesmerized by the graphic novel. When I heard that they were going to try to make a large-scale movie of the novel, I was actually anticipating it. Though I knew it wasn't going to be the same as watching The Lord of the Rings coming to life, I nevertheless was hopeful that the graphic novel would be represented well. For that particular wish I wasn't disappointed. I was also extremely anticipating seeing Dr. Manhattan and seeing his interpretation. For that case, I couldn't be happier.

If anything was transcendent in this movie, for me it was Dr. Manhattan's background story come to life. All of it was visually masterful and thoughtfully done. I remember reading the original comic series and being interested enough in the story through the 1st three chapters. However, what caught my attention and made me yearn for more was the 4th chapter in which Dr. Manhattan is on Mars and has his story brought to life. I still love that chapter and the end quote by Einstein made it even that much better. The conversation he has with himself in which he deconstructs time and applies quantum mechanics to his view of the universe on a macroscopic level were some of the most interesting, powerful and thought-provoking words I have ever read that came from a fictional tale. Being a complete math and science person, I loved how that was interwoven into the story. Though he may be hard to understand from a human perspective, from a math and physics perspective he is perfectly rational. Thus, seeing it was as poignant as when I first read it and made me silently clap during the movie after the scenes had ended. The music during his scenes was perfect (unlike some other parts of the movie).

Crudup's soft, yet chilling voice was a great fit for Dr. Manhattan (even though it was most likely electronically smoothed out) and I thought he played the part wonderfully. I liked that fact that he was kept naked because for him there is no purpose in wearing clothes on a daily basis. And I thought just as the original artist Gibbons intended they made all the scenes in which it showed him fully nude that they didn't do anything to draw complete attention to the fact that he was naked.

All that being said there were some minor things and one not-so-major, not-so-minor thing involving Dr. Manhattan that I personally didn't like. One minor thing was that during his conversation with Silk Spec on Mars he referred to human life as "thermodynamic miracles", yet in the movie he only says "miracles". Though it's only one word I think it should have been important to include the thermodynamic part. Miracles seem to connote something that happens that we have no physical explanation for. Yet, Dr. Manhattan can understand the principles that govern the universe and through thermodynamics could tell you the past and present states of the universe. The fact that he used Silk Spec as an example of a thermodynamic miracle meant that even though he knew exactly what needed to happen in order to get her there to that point to talk to him, it was still a marvel to behold. This allowed him to come to the conclusion that an imperfect human can be just as marvelous as the great mountain on Mars for the pure fact that something like us can exist.

Also, during that pivotal scene Akerman showed her weaker side. I didn't feel emotionally connected to what was happening to her. It was a huge discovery on her part, but it seemed a little contrived in the movie. Other than that scene I didn't find her too bad, really.

The only slightly more than minor complaint I would have with the movie was the ending. Not the change in the ending from Moore's, but the choice words that were taken from Dr. Manhattan and given to someone else. I wish that Ozymandias and Dr. Manhattan's last conversation would have been included, but even though it wasn't I still would have wanted Spectre or someone to ask Manhattan if everything was going to turn out ok in the end. His response, "Nothing ends. Nothing ever ends," was his quintessential statement. He most of anyone understands that principle. It was the perfect ending for Manhattan. Alas.

That all behind me, I think that the new ending given in the movie was done quite well. I knew that it didn't need to be a scientifically constructed alien to drive the point home. Even though the movie took place during the 1980s, the fact that they were talking about energy and the need for fossil fuels made the argument fit within our time. I also didn't mind it because I don't think it took anything away from the essence of Dr. Manhattan. He didn't have to change who he was in order to fit the new ending.

Of all the actors/actresses that were cast in the movie, Haley nails it. Wow, I loved him as Rorschach. He made the character come to life. So much so that I wish his interviews with the psychiatrist wouldn't have been congealed into one. I liked how his brutality in the novel was left untouched. And although I may have been upset the 1st time I read it, I'm glad that they left his ending the same. There really was no other way to complete his character. He could never compromise.

Overall (even though I could go on forever), I really enjoyed the movie and enjoyed one of my favorite novels coming to life. I definitely need a second viewing. I question the choice of music and not including the Pumpkins or Muse, but otherwise there were good musical moments (the Tears for Fears beat playing in the background for Ozymandias). The flow was fine and I didn't mind that it was long. The intro was done particularly well with nods to the original Minutemen and Dylon's song definitely fit in. I knew they were going to have to cut large chunks out of the original story, but I think they did an admirable job of including most of the major scenes involving the main characters. I think that having read the source material it was much easier to follow the storyline, but I can understand how people can get lost with all the flashbacks and parallel stories. But nevertheless, imagine: Nixon would have been President when I was growing up!

A-

Intriguing point.



I also found A.O.Scott's concluding point similarily intriguing in his New York Times review of Watchmen...

omg that's what I said!

Wow I just realized The Comedian is NOT Robert Downey, Jr.

What the? Most alike actors ever? I was 100% sure

I'm speechless.

I give the movie a solid A-. I loved the action, violence and unintentional comedy. The storyline is confusing but who cares. I was never bored.

I didn't like the girls who played silk spectare 1 and 2. Found both of them annoying. The guy who played Owl Man was weakest of the male heroes.

You find it funny, but the friend I watched this with tried to convince me that it was RDJ as well. I was like: "Dude who of us do you think knows more about films and actors?!".

yea that reminds me of one time I got into a 30 minute argument with a guy who thought Leo was the lead of Into the Wild right when it was coming out... it was ridiculous. I was in "I'll cut off my penis if I'm wrong, that's how sure I am" mode

I dunno, he looks a lot more like Javier Bardem to me:

Probably the best movie adaptation of the novel you could get. I was surprised the auld fella enjoyed it as well, must be more accessible then I figured.

Synder really needs to get over his slo-mo love though.

That's exactly who he looks like, though my girlfriend kept bringing up RDJ last week like a crazy person.

To be fair, he looks like the love child of RDJ and Bardem.