Watchmen


I never did read the original Watchmen series created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons which was published by DC comics in the mid-80s. But I've heard so much about it over the years that I was thrilled to learn that they were going to turn the series into a movie.

Couldn't be there last night, so I headed out to the theatre as soon as I exited the gym this afternoon. Watchmen starts with a bang and builds a lot of momentum. So much so that at first I thought that this flick could top last year's The Dark Knight. The flashback scenes add a lot of depth to the story, and it's nice to see most of the tropes regarding superheroes kicked in the balls along the way.

Could have done without the corny moonlit sex scene and the Matrix-esque fight sequences. But other than that, I thought the movie was pretty solid.

Speculative fiction fans should enjoy it, even though the pace and the storylines start to drag 2/3 into the movie. Which, if I'm hearing what people say correctly, is what kills Watchmen for a lot of people.

So regular folks won't be able to get into it as much as they did with the latest Batman. . . Big deal. Still, a good, if overlong, flick. Check it our for yourself!

Oh and Rorschach rules!;-)

12 commentaires:

Anonymous said...

I just came back from a long night out and watched it first. I only have one complaint: too many blue penises, but otherwise I love this film!

Anonymous said...

Saw it at midnight on Thursday, I'd give it about 7.5/10. I loved the graphic novel and was sad at how much they had to cut. Hopefully the ~4 hour director's cut will make it a more complete and faithful adaptation. I so wanted to see the rest of the backstory on Rorschach and Dr. M, and the Hollis death scene.

Anonymous said...

Without a doubt Rorschach has the best lines ever!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'd strongly recommend reading the graphic novel first. There is a lot that was cut out and the ending is completely different(though people have been arguing over which one is better).

Anonymous said...

I just read a bunch of user reviews on Yahoo Movie and wow, did a lot of people HATE this movie! (My daughter and I loved it). Why? 1) Too much blue dick; 2) too much talking; 3) it wasn't the heroes I was expecting.

Yes, Rorschach rules! Best line: I'm not locked up in here with you, you're locked up in here with me!

ediFanoB said...

I read WATCHMEN last year and it blew me away.
In three days I'll watch the movie.
I watched the trailers before.I also read a lot about the movie.

So far it seems that you have a big advantage in case you read the novel before.

Anyway I'm keen to watch my faforite character RORSCHACH on a big, big screen!!

Anonymous said...

It's too bad it's had to rely so much on viral marketing from Time-Warner to prop up its popularity. It wasn't a seller when it was published two decades ago and the idea that it's become a legend since is a viral-marketing lie. It took so long to get made largely because it's an ineptly written and obscure investment for Time-Warner that failed epically in its first attempt. End of story.

Anonymous said...

Um, Ameriphonic, Watchmen blew up DC Comics's sales records in 1987 to the point where they surpassed Marvel as the highest volume publisher. Moore and Gibbons became millionaires many times over from that book. Hell, the goddamn colorist became a millionaire from it.

Anonymous said...

No, no. Ameriphonic pretty well got it correct. Most comic readers haven't heard of Watchmen because it was a largely failed investment for DC and Warners. They've had to milk it to near mythological extremes to get people to pay it any attention, which they have done famously. It's now regarded as being well-written, which, of course, it's anything but. At the time of its publication Batman and Daredevil, both under Frank Miller, were crushing all oncomers, which goes without saying, and I should point out to you uninitiated that this is a very well documented fact of comic history. Watchman was a bust and has remained so ever since, but now Warners is hoping it can recoup some of all that lost investment and time by turning it into the... ahem... "greatest comic ever made". It isn't going to happen, but more power to them for trying. :)

Anonymous said...

Watchmen was hardly a "bust" when it was first written. It sold very well. More importantly though was the affect it had on the comic industry as a whole.

Because of the attention, praise, and awards Watchmen recieved, comics started to be held in higher esteem by the general public. People who had never read a comic before realized comics were more than just kid stuff. There was quality writing and storytelling behind the artwork.

Watchmen when it was combined into it's novel form was one of the very first "graphic novels". Libraries started carring it and other comics as well around this time and that can be directly attributed to Watchmen.

"Greatest comic ever made"..., I can't say that. What I can say is that it has had a dramatic effect on the comic book industry and deserves its praise.

Anonymous said...

Wikipedia has a well documented article about it's degree of success, with sources cited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen#Publication_and_reception

Anonymous said...

@Pat and everybody that saw the film but didn't read the book:

I can't recommend the book strongly enough. The movie stands well on its own but the graphic novel has so much density and detail that a movie (even one 3 hours in length) can't do it justice.

But Rorschach steals the show on both versions!