Watchmen

[Zarniwoop]

Ok just sat through this film.. I went in with no preconceptions having never read the graphic novel.

I did not hate it but I am not totally blown away either.

The visuals were fantastic, acting very good. The story itself is extremely dark and violent which I guess is in keeping with the time in which it is set.

It's just weird, the pacing is strange but I guess thats because its in keeping with the graphic novel. I just can not seem to fully 'get it'. I understand the backdrop of imminent global disaster, after all I was alive during some of the cold war era, I get the concept that the 'heroes' are flawed and not entirely altruistic. I am just left wondering what it was all about, where was this going, and  ultimately I come out from watching this numb and a little bit confused.

[Dat]

**Possibly wrong spoiler**
From what i remember, the 'where is this all going' was about finding out who killed The Comedian. Many diversions happen on the way, and towards the end we find out it is Ozzymandias who has a plan to sort out humans once and for all. To conclude, i understand why you would be confused, the story moves all over the place.

[carldjcross]

I would honestly have read the book first, which you can still do since the ending is different and there is enough material necessarily missed out by the film to still make the comic an interesting and surprising read. It will certainly make sense of the montages and other stuff that flashed past at 110mph in the film.

Doc Manhatten’s “Who makes the world” is the quote used by Gibbons to sum it all up. If we had real superheroes where does that leave the rest of us? Adrian Viedt’s coup might have been successful but there are hints in the film and especially in the comic that he might not have been as successful as he thought he was. “Look on my works ye might and despair…”

Re-reading the comic again before the film was a bitter sweet experience for me. Yes, it’s good and at the time it was revolutionary but in places it’s starting to show its age and it flirts outrageously with pretension. But like all good works of art it can still make itself relevant. Back in 1985 we had to imagine a partisan superhero to make geopolitics uni-polar when all it actually took was the fall of the Berlin Wall, at least for a while.

I still prefer V and I quite like the film version of that too.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

So, I managed to slip out and see the movie whilst it is still at the cinema after all. (Over-all, I'd say you missed out on not joining me, Dat, but hey. Still time.)

Anyway, I mostly agree with the above. I will say I found it a largely excellent movie, but I am very, very glad I'd read the graphic novel, as it really doesn't go out of it's way to make itself overly 'accessible' in the way many other comic book movies do. (Not entirely unlike the Graphic Novel in that sense, in many ways. It gets away with that though, on account of there's just so much more in it, both sub-plots and stylistic jaunts, such as the not infrequent newspaper/book/magazine pages inserted, giving much richer background flavour. It's worth noting that neither film nor book even pretends to go out of it's way to explain the world it creates, really, the novel just has more time to hint).

I am slightly disappointed they didn't use the same ending as the Novel, but I fully understand why. For what it's worth, I did enjoy the movie version of events. Given the requirements of the medium, it's much tidier than it would have been should they try to follow the original version.

Nice soundtrack, too. Aha, credits song. Very Good Leonard Cohen, very funny.

Those who watched and didn't dislike, I would very much reccommend getting your hands on the graphic novel if you have the time. Paul, if you're not feeling spendy, I do have a copy lying around under some junk some-where. Just let me know, and I'm quite happy to bring it along for a lend.

[Dat]

Coincidentally, my sister just lent me a copy of V for Vendetta yesterday (out of the blue). Anyhoo, i'm not all that sad about not seeing the film adaptation. Call me ignorant...and pessimistic...and some other stuff.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

You're not so much ignorant and pessimistic as a deliberate Film-Heathen, and you know it, mr 'Hasn't Seen Indiana Jones or Star Wars'. 

[carldjcross]

Frog and myself were talking about the forthcoming "Watchmen: Ultimate Edition" and blimey it's not kidding.

It looks like you get the original film with the Black Freighter at the places it was in the comic (looks like they are keeping Under the Hood separate), you also get a bucket load of extras including the original motion comics (slightly animated reading of the comic - more entertaining than it sounds). You get all this for just under $60 which I'm sure will translate as £60 in the UK.

Looks like the one to go for if you're going to go for any.

[CrazyFrog]

 

Me going shopping  

However I dont think its that expensive unless I'm looking at the wrong versions  

Amazon £18 approx

Play.com £19

HMV £19

If the versions are right I'm pre-ordering before the prices go up.

Release date 30th Nov 2009

[Dat]

i dont see the words 'ultimate' or 'edition' on any of those, just 'directors' and 'cut'. I think you should wait for a version with 'ultimate edition' written on it specifically. 

[CrazyFrog]

Good call,

Just a quick bit of Surfing, there's a directors cut,  then an Ultimate Collectors Ed, which I can find details of but not who's stocking it and cost.

How many version's of a movie can you do, it's like Blade Runner all over again 

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Good call,

Just a quick bit of Surfing, there's a directors cut,  then an Ultimate Collectors Ed, which I can find details of but not who's stocking it and cost.

How many version's of a movie can you do, it's like Blade Runner all over again 

Probably just early days yet, my good amphibian. Sit back, wait, buy a single edition,

[EvilGinger]

or do the usual and buy all of them 

 Ginger

[Hard Rain]

The Comic was very cool but not as good as V for Vendetta but I generally avoid films of this type as I have found that they tend to disappoint

[carldjcross]

The Comic was very cool but not as good as V for Vendetta but I generally avoid films of this type as I have found that they tend to disappoint

I know what you mean (I'm still mentally scarred by the execrable Judge Dredd) but these two are actually pretty good. Both mess with the endings though.

[Hard Rain]

I agree about Judge Dread I saw it and thought that it was frankly an appalling vehicle for Stallone's inability to articulate let alone act.  I was quite a fan of 2000ad as a kid to the point of stealing and reading my brothers comics so very much cooler than the girly magazines I was supposed to be interested in.