I had a lot of the same issues I had with Sin City, only not as strong. It shared the trait of trying to translate the written material directly to film, which just doesn't work. The biggest problem was that watching it was alot like reading a comic, short of the word balloons. If I wasn't a fan of the graphic novel, I probably would not have liked the film at all. I felt alot of the time that without reading the gn, the film might be hard to follow at parts. And apparently Billy Cruddup isn't a good enough actor to play a deadpan emotionless Dr Manhattan that they needed CG to play his part, much like the Hulk. They didn't make The Owl nearly as pathetic as he seemed in the gn. And Rorschach is the only likable character in the entire movie. For a movie about characters, it lacked all of the character required to pull it off.
Overall it worked very well. I had some quibbles, some of which pulled me out of the picture while I was watching, but the net result was positive. I had some other, non-spoiler things I said about it on my blog: http://anothermisadventure.blogspot.com/
I finally got to see Watchmen last night. Actually saw it with a girl (even more suprising is that she was the one to choose that movie. More suprising still, she actually dug the movie).
Most of the movie played out exactly as I expected. Fairly faithful to the source material, down to panel angles and progressions.
What I did notice where some small things, like why did Dr. Manhattan's eyes keep flitting around when he was talking. Was this intentional, as though he was seeing things we couldn't?
And where did they learn how to fight like that? Did they take self defense classes at the local Y? With that said, I thought the violence in said fights was just the right amount of over the top. I mean, you could feel each punch and kick. If you are going to take out a bad guy, it should hurt.
One thing that struck me is Rorshach's ultra conservatism. I never noticed it when I was reading the book but his comments about gays and whores and communists made him seem like a rage filled Rush Limbaugh (wait, Rush Limbaugh is raged filled...hmm).
Overall, I actually enjoyed this flick better than The Dark Knight. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect or that the movie never tried to rise above itself. If nothing else, this is definitely a movie that I will look forward to buying for the extras.
I saw it yesterday, too, with my 23 year-old stepdaughter and --- it was uncomfortable in places. Just something about watching soft-core porn with my daughter was a little off-putting.
That said, as a film it made me want to read the book. As an adaptation, it left a little to be desired. My daughter (step-daughter) asked me: Why did Dr. Manhattan draw that on his forehead? and then asked to borrow the GN.
There's just too much information in the way the book was done to really do it 'justice' in a three-hour film. It requires so much more time to spread out and let us feel the emotions that worked so well on the nine-panel grid but not necessarily on film.
Zack Snyder needs to remember comics and film are NOT the same thing. It's okay to take some liberties (I was fine with the changes like the Comedian's birthdate being moved back) but not okay with the way Doc was not really linked back to being Jon at all.
Rorshach was indeed the most sympathetic character to me, and so was Jon, but only because I knew the book well enough to get the nuances.
I still like The Dark Knight better, but I'll wait for the super-director's cut DVD before buying it. I want all the extras, not just the film.
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I had a lot of the same issues I had with Sin City, only not as strong.
It shared the trait of trying to translate the written material directly to film, which just doesn't work. The biggest problem was that watching it was alot like reading a comic, short of the word balloons.
If I wasn't a fan of the graphic novel, I probably would not have liked the film at all. I felt alot of the time that without reading the gn, the film might be hard to follow at parts.
And apparently Billy Cruddup isn't a good enough actor to play a deadpan emotionless Dr Manhattan that they needed CG to play his part, much like the Hulk. They didn't make The Owl nearly as pathetic as he seemed in the gn. And Rorschach is the only likable character in the entire movie.
For a movie about characters, it lacked all of the character required to pull it off.
Overall it worked very well. I had some quibbles, some of which pulled me out of the picture while I was watching, but the net result was positive. I had some other, non-spoiler things I said about it on my blog: http://anothermisadventure.blogspot.com/
I thought it was really PRETTY DARN GOOD.
I have a longer review in my zine...
I finally got to see Watchmen last night. Actually saw it with a girl (even more suprising is that she was the one to choose that movie. More suprising still, she actually dug the movie).
Most of the movie played out exactly as I expected. Fairly faithful to the source material, down to panel angles and progressions.
What I did notice where some small things, like why did Dr. Manhattan's eyes keep flitting around when he was talking. Was this intentional, as though he was seeing things we couldn't?
And where did they learn how to fight like that? Did they take self defense classes at the local Y? With that said, I thought the violence in said fights was just the right amount of over the top. I mean, you could feel each punch and kick. If you are going to take out a bad guy, it should hurt.
One thing that struck me is Rorshach's ultra conservatism. I never noticed it when I was reading the book but his comments about gays and whores and communists made him seem like a rage filled Rush Limbaugh (wait, Rush Limbaugh is raged filled...hmm).
Overall, I actually enjoyed this flick better than The Dark Knight. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect or that the movie never tried to rise above itself. If nothing else, this is definitely a movie that I will look forward to buying for the extras.
I saw it yesterday, too, with my 23 year-old stepdaughter and --- it was uncomfortable in places. Just something about watching soft-core porn with my daughter was a little off-putting.
That said, as a film it made me want to read the book. As an adaptation, it left a little to be desired. My daughter (step-daughter) asked me: Why did Dr. Manhattan draw that on his forehead? and then asked to borrow the GN.
There's just too much information in the way the book was done to really do it 'justice' in a three-hour film. It requires so much more time to spread out and let us feel the emotions that worked so well on the nine-panel grid but not necessarily on film.
Zack Snyder needs to remember comics and film are NOT the same thing. It's okay to take some liberties (I was fine with the changes like the Comedian's birthdate being moved back) but not okay with the way Doc was not really linked back to being Jon at all.
Rorshach was indeed the most sympathetic character to me, and so was Jon, but only because I knew the book well enough to get the nuances.
I still like The Dark Knight better, but I'll wait for the super-director's cut DVD before buying it. I want all the extras, not just the film.
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