This is not a movie review per se. Rather it is an analysis of the key differences between the comic and film with commentary on the positives and negatives of the transition.
In the immediate aftermath, I was mostly pleased. Upon reflection, the inevitable issues arise.
First the good...
Haley as Rorschach... Amazing. Crudup as Manhattan... Outstanding (the facial animation was MUCH better than anticipated). Morgan as Comedian... inspired (though his age make-up became distracting on the big screen). Wilson as Nite Owl... strong, though still a bit too fit to capture Dreiberg's middle aged "waist" land. Gugino was fine in her small role and Ackerman was frankly better than I expected.
Matthew Goode still stands out as a grossly miscast, but on balance the lead performances were quite good.
I was also impressed with how the story flow "felt" like the comic book. The note perfect passages were the Comedian's funeral (where the characters reflect on their encounters with the recently deceased) and the Rorschach jail stuff. Just fantastic. Jon's origin, played out on Mars was also great even without my favorite line of that chapter, "The light... The light is taking me to pieces."
Now the problems...
I was OK with the altered squid tragedy. Frankly, the American's "pocket God" backfiring on them is fine with me. The downside of the ending was that the squid subplot was replaced with the simply awful Adrian Veidt foreshadowing. He sauntered through his world, a bitchy, male Paris Hilton who has studied Nietzsche and has a God complex... I'm rich, smart and FAAAABULOUS in purple sharkskin! SIGH...
The hyper-violence was a mixed bag too. Of course, there were some "Ohhhhhhhhh" moments of bonecrushing entertainment. Rorschach's "hot oil treatment" was perfectly lifted from the comic; however, the Laurie/Dan mugging scene, Ozymandias' takedown of Nite Owl and Rorschach, even the Comedian's murder were so over the top that it suspended disbelief that these guys are "regular" humans.
In the comics, these scenes play out over a few panels, a few punks get smashed up and Laurie and Dan are exhilarated. In contrast, their film counterparts battle a seemingly endless stream of thugs who receive compound fractures, broken necks (or the bowie knife punctured variety), inverted knee caps, and bits of bone in the brain. Similarly, the completely invented (though somewhat more realistic) riot sequence has them marching (unscathed) through a sea of hardened criminals.
This is all pretty standard fare for action movies, but it lessens the clear comic book theme that the Minutemen (NOT Watchmen) are REGULAR people, albeit smarter, driven and with cooler gadgets. Seeing Rorschach leap 20 foot gaps... watching Veidt smash the Comedian's head through a granite countertop (while the latter punches through concrete fireplaces) rather misses the point.
I think Snyder effectively trimmed some of Moore's esoterica without damaging the overall story, but there were some odd decisions that muddled things by the end. Chief among these is Rorschach's obliteration. The sequence is a major deviation from the comic and of one of Snyder's worst choices.
In the comic, the rationalization for keeping quiet about the destruction of New York was mostly about the enormous moral questions of rekindling the recently doused threat of war. Further, it was partly attributable to the disconnect of the heroes with the victims. Laurie knew "no one" except her fellow "heroes" and her mom, who was safe in California. Daniel was a loner whose personal hero (Hollis Mason) had been murdered, leaving him alone. Veidt's dismissal of Rorschach's threat to the plan prompts Dan and Laurie to wander off consoling each other. Meanwhile, Jon kills Rorschach and later quietly observes Laurie and Dan, pleased that she has found happiness. They have no further contact.
After, Jon confronts Veidt in his sanctum. Veidt is clearly seeking absolution Dr. Manhattan, the one intellect he respects on Earth. Bemused, Manhattan denies his request for comfort and departs with a cryptic comment that leaves Veidt tormented and alone.
Snyder upends all these interactions by:
Another, a NY playwright, was intrigued by the dense material and dark themes. He wants to see the film again (good for Warner's).
My wife skimmed the TPB, but wasn't a real fan. She had a blast too.
As a real Watchmen fan, my critiques are mostly informed by my familiarity with the source material. I credit Snyder with his devotion and clear desire to do justice to the source. He captured a lot of really good stuff in this adaptation. In a movie that defies so many traditional superhero conventions, I wish he had chosen to hew closer to Moore and Gibbons bedrock themes instead of sacrificing them for slick production values and cheap thrills.
7 out of 10 stars.
In the immediate aftermath, I was mostly pleased. Upon reflection, the inevitable issues arise.
First the good...
Haley as Rorschach... Amazing. Crudup as Manhattan... Outstanding (the facial animation was MUCH better than anticipated). Morgan as Comedian... inspired (though his age make-up became distracting on the big screen). Wilson as Nite Owl... strong, though still a bit too fit to capture Dreiberg's middle aged "waist" land. Gugino was fine in her small role and Ackerman was frankly better than I expected.
Matthew Goode still stands out as a grossly miscast, but on balance the lead performances were quite good.
I was also impressed with how the story flow "felt" like the comic book. The note perfect passages were the Comedian's funeral (where the characters reflect on their encounters with the recently deceased) and the Rorschach jail stuff. Just fantastic. Jon's origin, played out on Mars was also great even without my favorite line of that chapter, "The light... The light is taking me to pieces."
Now the problems...
I was OK with the altered squid tragedy. Frankly, the American's "pocket God" backfiring on them is fine with me. The downside of the ending was that the squid subplot was replaced with the simply awful Adrian Veidt foreshadowing. He sauntered through his world, a bitchy, male Paris Hilton who has studied Nietzsche and has a God complex... I'm rich, smart and FAAAABULOUS in purple sharkskin! SIGH...
The hyper-violence was a mixed bag too. Of course, there were some "Ohhhhhhhhh" moments of bonecrushing entertainment. Rorschach's "hot oil treatment" was perfectly lifted from the comic; however, the Laurie/Dan mugging scene, Ozymandias' takedown of Nite Owl and Rorschach, even the Comedian's murder were so over the top that it suspended disbelief that these guys are "regular" humans.
In the comics, these scenes play out over a few panels, a few punks get smashed up and Laurie and Dan are exhilarated. In contrast, their film counterparts battle a seemingly endless stream of thugs who receive compound fractures, broken necks (or the bowie knife punctured variety), inverted knee caps, and bits of bone in the brain. Similarly, the completely invented (though somewhat more realistic) riot sequence has them marching (unscathed) through a sea of hardened criminals.
This is all pretty standard fare for action movies, but it lessens the clear comic book theme that the Minutemen (NOT Watchmen) are REGULAR people, albeit smarter, driven and with cooler gadgets. Seeing Rorschach leap 20 foot gaps... watching Veidt smash the Comedian's head through a granite countertop (while the latter punches through concrete fireplaces) rather misses the point.
I think Snyder effectively trimmed some of Moore's esoterica without damaging the overall story, but there were some odd decisions that muddled things by the end. Chief among these is Rorschach's obliteration. The sequence is a major deviation from the comic and of one of Snyder's worst choices.
In the comic, the rationalization for keeping quiet about the destruction of New York was mostly about the enormous moral questions of rekindling the recently doused threat of war. Further, it was partly attributable to the disconnect of the heroes with the victims. Laurie knew "no one" except her fellow "heroes" and her mom, who was safe in California. Daniel was a loner whose personal hero (Hollis Mason) had been murdered, leaving him alone. Veidt's dismissal of Rorschach's threat to the plan prompts Dan and Laurie to wander off consoling each other. Meanwhile, Jon kills Rorschach and later quietly observes Laurie and Dan, pleased that she has found happiness. They have no further contact.
After, Jon confronts Veidt in his sanctum. Veidt is clearly seeking absolution Dr. Manhattan, the one intellect he respects on Earth. Bemused, Manhattan denies his request for comfort and departs with a cryptic comment that leaves Veidt tormented and alone.
Snyder upends all these interactions by:
- Killing Rorschach in front of Dreiberg. Rorschach's death replaces Mason's as a moment of catharsis for Dan. But the timing is awful, resulting in...
- Dan's tirade and assault on Adrian. That attack simply would not have the same impact on Veidt as Manhattan's cryptic goodbye. Veidt ALLOWED Dan to hit him though he had mercilessly beaten his ass only moments before. The audience can only assume that he weathers the beating to "atone" for his action. The mental anguish of the comic was better.
- Jon's last words ("without condoning or condemning..." "think I'll create some..." are made to (or in front of) Laurie instead of privately to Adrian. Further, he kisses Laurie IN FRONT OF DAN right after he murdered Dan's best friend. Talk about impotent...
- Consequently, it is Laurie who leaves the audience (by way of Dan) with Jon's cryptic "Nothing ends. Nothing EVER ends." This message was meant for Adrian. It is lost on Dan.
- There was a REASON that Sally Jupiter was in California. Not the least of which is that it provided a rationale for Dan and Laurie's exodus from New York. Both would need to lay low after Rorschach's jail break, notwithstanding armegeddon. Ending with the couple back in New York, especially when the scale of the devastation is so unclear, is confusing at best.
- Not for nothing, Ackerman simply doesn't have the acting chops to carry a scene like that, especially following Haley's bravura performance before Rorschach's murder. In the comic, Sally is front and center with a starstruck Dan providing a little comic relief. Gugino is a stronger actress and the comic scene is better.
- The closing scene with the New Frontiersman was fine (the ketchup splash was perfect), but establishing Rorschach's relationship with the paper would have been helpful (and infinitely preferable to any number of Veidt's new scenes).
Another, a NY playwright, was intrigued by the dense material and dark themes. He wants to see the film again (good for Warner's).
My wife skimmed the TPB, but wasn't a real fan. She had a blast too.
As a real Watchmen fan, my critiques are mostly informed by my familiarity with the source material. I credit Snyder with his devotion and clear desire to do justice to the source. He captured a lot of really good stuff in this adaptation. In a movie that defies so many traditional superhero conventions, I wish he had chosen to hew closer to Moore and Gibbons bedrock themes instead of sacrificing them for slick production values and cheap thrills.
7 out of 10 stars.
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