Saturday, March 07, 2009
The Watchmen
We went with another couple to see The Watchmen last night. My wife had read the graphic novel just last month. I'd re-read a little bit of it while my wife had it checked out from the library, but otherwise hadn't read the thing in twenty years. Another friend had read it several times, the latest being about two years ago, while her husband had never read it.
We all left the theater appropriately blown away. Those of us who had read the graphic novel were impressed by how incredibly faithful they were (aside from nitpicks) to the source material. The friend who'd never read it told us it had hung together really well without requiring his familiarity with the original. It seemed incredibly well done.
When I left the theater, I felt ambivalent about whether I really liked it, or really hated it. Which was about how I remember feeling about the graphic novel, too.
It was also a bit too heavy on the sex & violence for our tastes. We'll not be owning it on DVD in the future - probably won't ever watch it again - but we were glad we went to see it once. It was - like the graphic novel - important. And far removed from the escapism of your average super-hero movie.
How's that for a wishy-washy review?
The laugh of the week is for those people on forums who are complaining about it ripping off core situation in The Incredibles. That's pretty much like complaining that the Lord of the Rings movies ripped off Dungeons & Dragons. (Though I honestly and truly LOVED The Incredibles, something I can't really say about The Watchmen).
Labels: Geek Life
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 9:36 PM (Permalink)
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The Incredibles was much too long (or simply too boring) for my taste. I had the same experience with Monsters, Inc.: Dull midsection, then a short explosive finale.
Regarding Watchmen:
I won't own the DVD either - I'll buy the Blu-ray the moment it comes out! ;-)
Regarding Watchmen:
I won't own the DVD either - I'll buy the Blu-ray the moment it comes out! ;-)
# posted by 
: March 08, 2009 7:37 AM
: March 08, 2009 7:37 AM
It was a work of art, definitely one of the better films I've seen. I've never read the comic book, but plan on picking it up. I'm not a big fan of superheroes, the lack of mortality and humanity in superheroes are boring to me. But the Watchmen... It was amazing.
Regarding the sex scenes, they probably weren't necessary, but it definitely exemplified their humanity. Even Dr. Manhattan's body...while he was detached from the world, the gender-neutral version of him would have detached him from ever having been human, I think. Overall, it was a work of art.
Of course, thats just initial impressions. I'll have to see it again to see if I say the same thing.
Regarding the sex scenes, they probably weren't necessary, but it definitely exemplified their humanity. Even Dr. Manhattan's body...while he was detached from the world, the gender-neutral version of him would have detached him from ever having been human, I think. Overall, it was a work of art.
Of course, thats just initial impressions. I'll have to see it again to see if I say the same thing.
I've read the graphic novel several times, and I found the movie enjoyable. I'd go see it again in the theater. And I'll buy the DVD.
I probably will, in fact, go see it with my brother, as his wife isn't interested in seeing it and he'd hate to go alone.
As for the R-rated scenes, yeah, that was a bit embarrassing... it's been a long time since I've seen T&A on the big screen. Oddly, it made it seem more like an actual mid 80's movie that way.
The only thing missing was the smoking. In the graphic novel, practically everyone smoked, and they used these weird cigarettes with a sphere at the end... I don't recall it explained anywhere in the graphic novel, but I think the idea was the filter was designed to prevent second-hand smoke problems.
I probably will, in fact, go see it with my brother, as his wife isn't interested in seeing it and he'd hate to go alone.
As for the R-rated scenes, yeah, that was a bit embarrassing... it's been a long time since I've seen T&A on the big screen. Oddly, it made it seem more like an actual mid 80's movie that way.
The only thing missing was the smoking. In the graphic novel, practically everyone smoked, and they used these weird cigarettes with a sphere at the end... I don't recall it explained anywhere in the graphic novel, but I think the idea was the filter was designed to prevent second-hand smoke problems.
I found it amazing, and i liked the ending better than the comic book ending. But i couldnt decide if i enjoyed the movie because of its faithfullness to the comic or if it was a good movie... My friends (who does NOT read comics, for some reason) enjoyed it as well, but felt that it was a bit cut.
Cant wait to the extended edition get on dvd, with the Black Freighter placed in the correct place in the movie... :D
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Cant wait to the extended edition get on dvd, with the Black Freighter placed in the correct place in the movie... :D
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