Watchmen (w/Spoilerz)

[Onkel Neal]

Ok, saw this last night. I was 100% unfamiliar with the original grf novel, so this was all new to me. The story was interesting, although the main premise was flimsy. The Russians and US on the edge of nuke war because the US had the blue naked guy with fantastic powers... ok.

My favorite character was Rorschach, especially when the ended up in prison. He was bad to the bone.

Nice effects.

Be warned, this is NOT a movie for children. Egads, it's violent, and has a couple scenes that are adults only. And the worst part, the Dr. Manhattan insists on walking around naked all the time, it's like a Blue Man Group porno, with his blue willie always in your face. I didn't know comic fanboys were so homoerotic, jeesh, put some pants on that guy. :haha:

Cool film, was worth the 2.5 hours.

[XabbaRus]

I have got to see that just for the naked blue man. That sounds funny as hell..

Naked Blue Man tips the balance of power.....

[Blacklight]

You should read the comic. It's a very interesting read and doesn't feel like a comic at all. It's more like reading a piece of good classic sci-fil literature than a comic book.

I'm being cautious with this one. The same guy who wrote Watchmen also wrote V for Vendetta, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Hollywood unfortunately felt the need to completely RAPE everything about V for Vendetta, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Heck.. they even decided to put Tom Sawyer into it because they didn't think Americans would understand who any of the characters were without Tom Sawyer showing up !). Both of those were excellent books that didn't deserve at all what Hollywood did to them. I'm hoping that Watchmen breaks this trend that Hollywood has of "Re-tooling" everything.

[Platapus]

2.5 hours? Crikey can't directors get the plot across without killing 2.5 hours?

[Dowly]

Havent seen this one yet, but I love the trailer; When the ppl yell: "Save us!", I whisper: "No...".

The best part of any trailer I've seen ever.:yeah:

[Frame57]

Tall blue naked men scare me. Also what is the deal with the Hulk? The guy morph into this huge green beast, his shirt is ripped off along with his shoes, but he manages to keep his pants on?:O:

[Onkel Neal]

Thank God!:timeout:

[Aramike]

Well, that settles that. This movie certainly isn't for me. The idea of being "entertained" by some naked fool with a swinging blue wang does nothing to get me to buy a ticket. :dead:

[Rhodes]

Blacklight is right, every one out there, read the comic!!! It's a masterpiece (even of I do not like the finalle...)!

The league was a terrible adaptation, or even better, it was not (but a good popcorn movie)! V, was a little better adaptation and a good movie to watch. Also, read the comic, it's wonderfull (I'm re-reading again)!

There is a director's cut that will came out in 3 months, with 3 hours (scenes that were deleted because of the long run of the movie). And then a dvd will have 4 hours or something, because it have the pirate story scenes (read the book:O: )!

I am going to see next monday!

[Stealth Hunter]

I have got to see that just for the naked blue man. That sounds funny as hell..

Naked Blue Man tips the balance of power.....

IT was swinging...

IT WAS SWINGING!!!

SOMEONE HAD TO ANIMATE THAT! GOOD GOD!

Good movie, though.

[Blacklight]

I just got back from seeing Watchmen. I thought the movie was good. It didn't rape the source material and pretty much followed the literature word for word. The guy who played Rorschach REALLY got the character down and looked just like I'd imagine he'd look, sound, and act.
The only comment I have on it is that they didn't really flesh out the world in any kind of depth and without that very rich background, the movie can be very confusing to your average movie-goer who hasn't ever encounterd the graphic novel. They also kind of glossed over a lot of Rorchach's past where it was VERY fleshed out in the graphic novel.
I kind of wish they had gone for three hours to flesh everything out instead of the 2.5 hours.
Once again, I urge those of you who havn't read it, pick up a copy (Most libraries have it), and read it. It's not a typical comic book. It's not an action story. It's just a good sci-fi/mystery story.

The only other thing that annoyed me had nothing to do with the movie. In the theater, there were a LOT of clueless parents who brought their young kids to see this movie. Needless to say, since this movie is NOT really a superhero movie, or an action movie, they were bored to death and got ANNOYING. Not to mention all the violence and graphic sex scenes. Obviously, some parents feel that a movie based on a comic book HAS to be for kids ! I mean.. hey ! It's got someone nammed Night Owl in it !! It's gotta be a kids movie.... a rated R kids movie with comic book heroes in it !!! :nope:

Comic books aren't for kids anymore.

[Onkel Neal]

How many times did he use the word "flesh" in that summary. Is he trying to tell us something? :O:

[Blacklight]

*counts*

Three !! :DL
Are we counting the nude scenes too ?

[owner20071963]

Here is a Movie that is close to
Shindlers List called
The Reader,
Not for Kids,
But beats Valkyrie hands down,
Check it Out,

[Rhodes]

Comic books aren't for kids anymore.

Many never were and are!:woot:

[Jimbuna]

Is this the sequal to 'Free Willy' :o

[SS107.9MHz]

POINT 1. Alan Moore is one of the most acomplished interesting and downwright genial writer's in comics/novels and performance acts. He's also quite a funny and preposterous guy at tat.
POINT 2. It is impossible to realistically adapt ANY of the major comic books Alan Moore ever wrote to film, nless producers are prepare to ingress in a major series of fims/sequels.
POINT 3.Any single film trying this will either fall short of the book it adapts (if it's good, wich hasn't be the case in any of them), or be a total mockery of the core of the written works (which is exactly wha happened with: "From Hell (the 2nd worst adaptation)","V for Vendetta"(a loosely based adaptation on a book of the same name...and also an entertaining, if hollow, film) and the just laughable LOEG movie adaptation, which isn't even worth talking about. And I don't even won't to remember "Swamp Thing" the movie, from the 80' (UGH...)

That said, bare in mind that seeing Watchmen might be the first movie that DOESN't make a complete hash of things, but also won't be anythin like the masterpiece that the graphic novel is...and it really is. It's just a compromise of fanboys and a big studio production cashconverter. Think of a "MAUS" adapted to cinema by Disney or Pixar... you'll get an idea.

Untill HBO ge's the rights to adapt even a single Moore book, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

PS:now reading "Voice in The Fire", it seems pretty good, but not my favourite, at least comparing with "Snakes & Ladders"... And "FROM HELL" is a mandatory piece of work.

[Max2147]

I saw the movie despite never having seen a single frame of the graphic novel. I thought it was decent. It certainly wasn't great, but I didn't feel like I wasted my money. I followed it well enough to get what was going on. And yes, Rorschash was a bada**. His "You're all locked in here with me" line in the prison was awesome.

My friend is a huge fan of the graphic novel, and ironically his overall opinion of the movie was similar to mine. He said it was as faithful to the novel as it could have possibly been, to the point that most of the lines were verbatim from the novel. In some ways that might have hurt it as a movie, since some things that work in a graphic novel don't work as well in a live action movie, but I think fans of the novel will be pleased at how faithful it was.

My only real gripe was the hideous sex scene. You know your sex scene is bad when half the audience is cringing and half the audience is laughing out loud at it. The end of the scene was legitimately funny though.

[Etienne]

My only real gripe was the hideous sex scene. You know your sex scene is bad when half the audience is cringing and half the audience is laughing out loud at it. The end of the scene was legitimately funny though.

I just saw it tonight, and I have to agree. That sex scene was just so out of the blue.

Also, the length of the thing. GAH! I'm sure there was a good movie somewhere in that miniserie! Seriously, the pace was just so plodding at time, I think it would have been better split into two movies... But then I suppose that would have caused variations from the source material.

It was okay for me, but it didn't make me a fan...

[SS107.9MHz]

G-ddamit had a huge post to add and my cat just jumped on the keyboard and sent me to my home page! ARGHHHHH!!

Well since _Idon't have the time or willingness to rewrite everything that I had I'lljust post a link for a review I found on one of my favourite music/movie review sites, Tiny Mix Tapes (http://www.tinymixtapes.com/Watchmen). Just to point out that I believe it's not a bad movie, it's just that it's impossible to acount for all the richness and complexity of the stories when in the movie the premise follows a simple A-to-B storyline. In the novel the maskmen killler plot is just a thread that allows for the character to be developed...for instance Rorschach in the movie,´is lke a antihero badass, kind of like another side of the Comedian... In the novel he's a pathetic shell of a man, who only lives thru the skin of his masked pesona, an allienated man who's only contact with humankind is through breaking and entering in his former colleague, a retired and depressed ex-superhero... Rorschach as resigned of his humanity, hes a bitter and cold man, because he was never loved, living in fantasy since his childhood, in order to escape the gruesomness of his own life... He's the most tragic of the character's, he is no man, just a mask, almost to the end...well and that's just a sample of the lackings of the adaptation...

So, if you liked the movie, buy the book! If you didn't...just another reason to buy it!:salute:

[SS107.9MHz]

Oh, and just to make it clear I found that review, AFTER I made the first post (just found it funny because only now I realised the guy who wrote it made a simlilar comment about how it could've been an HBO mini series eheheh:yeah: )

[Blacklight]

It was okay for me, but it didn't make me a fan...

Grab a copy of that graphic novel and you will be. It's well worth the read ! :yeah:

[Falkirion]

I knew about the graphic novel going in, hell I'd been on my friends back about giving me his copy to read on the train I take to work everyday for the past couple of months. But when I saw it last Thursday I was surprised at how violent and graphically the whole novel was portrayed on screen.

The things I didn't like about Watchmen. The violence, I understand that the novel is violent but violence on paper and violence on screen are totally different. That ate at me the whole film, did it really need to get like that? Although Rosarch in prison was hillarious, so badass it was awesome.

Blue wang galore annoyed me too, seemed like everytime we saw Manhattan he had to have his wang out. I understand why he did, clothing doesnt mean much to a guy who can see in the fourth dimension. Time flows differently and all.

I did enjoy the film, I just didn't think it was worth the 2.5 hours it cost me. Well thats only because I had work the next day and couldn't sleep till 1.

[kiwi_2005]

Here is a Movie that is close to
Shindlers List called
The Reader,
Not for Kids,
But beats Valkyrie hands down,
Check it Out,
The Reader. Yep that one is not for kids! :) Seen it but didn't think its close to Schindler's List. She deserved to win the academy for her role in this movie that's for sure, ''just following orders''. Good movie.

You might like "The boy in the stripped pajamas" about a german boy (who's father is commander of the concentration camp) befriends a Jewish boy from the camp. The story is brilliant two boys who don't hold a grudge against each other cause of there race all they wanna do is play. The ending is a shocker.

I aim to see Watchmen sometime this week.

[Sailor Steve]

Read the comic. Sorry, it wasn't composed as a graphic novel, but as a 12-issue comic back when. Didn't like it then. First, Moore wanted to use the old Charleton characters that DC had recently aquired. DC said no, so he invented his own rip-offs of the same characters and ran with them, and DC published it. I thought it was brilliant, but I didn't really like the story.

On thing Alan Moore doesn't understand at all is Americans. The set-up was preposterous from the start. Even if Manhattan and friends had ended the Vietnam war in a week, there is no way that would lead to the repeal of the 22nd Amendment and the multiple re-electing of the president in power at that time. But the story needed a reason to exist, so it got one.

Cut to the movie. I still didn't like the story, but it was well done. I liked all the actors, especially Carla Gugino who surprised me by playing the 67-year-old mom. I understand that one director who was considered said he'd only do it if he could make a miniseries.

The over-the-top violence didn't bother me, nor did the sex scene or even Manhattan's lack of inhibition. I thought it was kind of disjointed, and a lot of it needed to be either less, or more, depending on what you wanted to take out of it. I loved 'Archie', and the fact that they didn't even try to explain how 'he' worked. Very reminiscent of the Blue Beetle's 'Bug', and taken directly from it.

I liked a lot of little things they did with the movie, but on the whole I thought it was overdone and not worth the money. But then I felt the same way about Sin City and The Spirit. Maybe the Director's or even the Extended cut will be better.

[Wolfehunter]

I like this movie I give it my two thumbs up:yeah:

[Oberon]

Pretty good really, never read the graphic novel, but recognise Moores style, loved the alternate history approach, but then again I'm a sucker for that. The soundtrack was awesome, and the setting pretty spot on, there were times I thought I was watching a film shot in the 80s, although that could have been Dreiburgs glasses :haha:
Rorshach kicked ass, particularly in the prison cell, but reminded me a little too much of another character Moore used, the Invisible Man, but nevertheless well played.

As for the blue man wang group, I honestly didn't notice it that much, but that's just his character I guess, like Falkirion said, he doesn't see things the way others do.

All in all, a good film, the sex scene was a bit unecessary, although the flamethrower was humorous (that got those of you who ain't seen the film curious, eh? :haha: ), dark, gritty, humourous in places, worth a look even if you've never read the graphic novel. :yeah:

EDIT: One other thing, in the scene in Archimedes heading for Ozymandias's base, did anyone else expect to see Hueys flying to the soundtrack of Hendrix's cover of 'All along the watchtower'? It's just one of those songs that automatically makes you think of the Vietnam war.

[Max2147]

One thing I loved about the movie were all the Dr. Strangelove tidbits in the Nixon scenes.

[Oberon]

One thing I loved about the movie were all the Dr. Strangelove tidbits in the Nixon scenes.

I thought that set looked familiar!! :salute: :shucks: :shucks: :shucks: :shucks: :shucks:

[Etienne]

One thing I loved about the movie were all the Dr. Strangelove tidbits in the Nixon scenes.

Gigantic tidbits. They had all the subtlety of a runaway freight train.

[Rhodes]

Went to see the movie last night! Good one, great one. Possibly, until the date, the best adaptation of an alan moore comic. :salute:
IMHO the character that was not adapted was ozzymandias, the actor was too young and even if tried to give some "juice" to it, with was not a good choice.
I liked the sex scene, soft porn a la Zneyder (he did the same with 300, so any comic book with sex scenes that he is the director, he will put them in the movie. And if there isn't, he will put it anyway...), one can see the great shape of the body of silk spectre...:D :yeah: :o
I do not like the end of the comic, but the movie made me miss it. I understand the why and it was a good idea to the movie, that what triggers world peace was Doc.
Three months from now, the directors cut will premier, so more scenes to the movie and the DVDs will have more. At least more scenes with the Minutemen and probable Mars!:cool: