Earning my geek chic bonafides here with a few Watchmen comments. If you know nothing and want to enjoy the movie completely "fresh," stop reading...
First, I have been stoking the fires of the forthcoming movie release with the Warner "motion comics," currently available on iTunes and coming soon as a stand alone disc.
The most compelling aspect of the motion comics is that Gibbons' artwork is used. The frontpiece and endpiece quotes are also included (which will likely not survive the movie adaptation). Another excellent choice is the inclusion of the speech bubbles. Moore's text has delightful little nuances that can only be appreciated in the READING of the text. For the most part, the voice over exactly matches, but there are some VERY minor exclusions that must have been trimmed for timing.
There simply is no other way to experience the visual "harmonies" employed in the comic book in a live action movie. Zach Snyder is passionate, but he's already taken quite a few liberties with his production design. Ozymandias is horribly miscast (too bad, Jude Law didn't work out).
A perfect example is the iconic blood splash on the Comedian's "smiley" button. That splash motif is echoed throughout the 12 issues, effectively bookending the whole series. Snyder has "a" splash, but not "the" splash.
The voice work is initially off-putting, but he's a good actor, and his performance pulls you into the story. The background music sets the mood without overwhelming. I'm champing at the bit to see the new episodes as they unfold.
Despite the loss of Moore's chapter addenda ("Under the Hood" excerpts, Rorschach's psych eval and Journal entries, etc.), I like to think that he would enjoy these motion comics... at least a little. I'm confident that most fans of the comic will feel the same.
First, I have been stoking the fires of the forthcoming movie release with the Warner "motion comics," currently available on iTunes and coming soon as a stand alone disc.
The most compelling aspect of the motion comics is that Gibbons' artwork is used. The frontpiece and endpiece quotes are also included (which will likely not survive the movie adaptation). Another excellent choice is the inclusion of the speech bubbles. Moore's text has delightful little nuances that can only be appreciated in the READING of the text. For the most part, the voice over exactly matches, but there are some VERY minor exclusions that must have been trimmed for timing.
There simply is no other way to experience the visual "harmonies" employed in the comic book in a live action movie. Zach Snyder is passionate, but he's already taken quite a few liberties with his production design. Ozymandias is horribly miscast (too bad, Jude Law didn't work out).
A perfect example is the iconic blood splash on the Comedian's "smiley" button. That splash motif is echoed throughout the 12 issues, effectively bookending the whole series. Snyder has "a" splash, but not "the" splash.
The voice work is initially off-putting, but he's a good actor, and his performance pulls you into the story. The background music sets the mood without overwhelming. I'm champing at the bit to see the new episodes as they unfold.
Despite the loss of Moore's chapter addenda ("Under the Hood" excerpts, Rorschach's psych eval and Journal entries, etc.), I like to think that he would enjoy these motion comics... at least a little. I'm confident that most fans of the comic will feel the same.
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