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[Thermite]

Or completely loved it like I did after having recently read the GN for the first time.

Same here. I just read the graphic novel a couple weeks ago for the first time, and saw the movie last night, and absolutely loved it. Not once was I bored, or felt like the movie dragged on for too long. I actually wish it was longer. (Can't wait for the 3+ hour DVD!)

 

[Kastro]

yup
kastro stop posting opinion as fact.
thanks

sorry I forgot the "IMO"

I just think now, as much as I bitch about things being different from the GN, it wasn't different enough. I feel like it doesn't add anything to the comic other than it being a living version of it, and admittedly Snyder succeeded in that aspect. But I just feel like you're getting a lesser version of the story you got in the comic, instead of it adding anything interesting.

The opening is a great example of this. Not at all what you got in the comic but still awesome.

 

[EviLore]

Re: director choices, Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mama Tambien) was my ideal hypothetical pick. Would nail the characters & relationships, and has shown skill with adaptations.

 

[Keylime]

sorry I forgot the "IMO"

I just think now, as much as I bitch about things being different from the GN, it wasn't different enough. I feel like it doesn't add anything to the comic other than it being a living version of it, and admittedly Snyder succeeded in that aspect. But I just feel like you're getting a lesser version of the story you got in the comic, instead of it adding anything interesting.

The opening is a great example of this. Not at all what you got in the comic but still awesome.

If nothing else it raises awareness of the GN, opening it up to a new generation of people.

Before TDK trailer, I had no idea what Watchmen was and didn't care, but I know I liked the trailer a lot, and enough hype for the movie made me read the GN.

 

[JCX]

i thought the fight scenes made it seem as if they all had super strength. I understand that they're supposed to be well-trained, but still the scenes felt a bit over-the-top.

 

[Dabanton]

Re: director choices, Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mama Tambien) was my ideal hypothetical pick. Would nailed the characters & relationships, and has shown skill with adaptations.

Yeah he would have been an interesting choice.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Re: director choices, Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mama Tambien) was my ideal hypothetical pick. Would nailed the characters & relationships, and has shown skill with adaptations.

Yeah, he was basically who I was thinking of. He's shown the range of all kinds of different tones in his films and I am sure Children Of Men didn't have the most enormous budget and he still made it look phenomenal. And yeah, Azkaban was the best HP movie, and deftly consolidated a long work into a fantastic film experience with its own voice.

 

[UpperCaseN]

i thought the fight scenes made it seem as if they all had super strength. I understand that they're supposed to be well-trained, but still the scenes felt a bit over-the-top.

yeah, they're not only supposed to be a very realistic take on crime fighting (average person + costume + some training, and no more) but they're supposed to be rusty/washed up/out of shape too.

Only Jon and arguably Adrian should have been portrayed with super strength, but Laurie? seriously?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

yeah, they're not only supposed to be a very realistic take on crime fighting (average person + costume + some training, and no more) but they're supposed to be rusty/washed up/out of shape too.

Only Jon and arguably Adrian should have been portrayed with super strength, but Laurie? seriously?

Well, Dan and Laurie do beat the shit out of those KnotTops in the book. Wasn't even a close fight.

 

[Dabanton]

i thought the fight scenes made it seem as if they all had super strength. I understand that they're supposed to be well-trained, but still the scenes felt a bit over-the-top.

I loved the fight scenes the first one with the Comedian and 'mystery intruder' was brilliant as was the alley way fight scene.

 

[EviLore]

sorry I forgot the "IMO"

No, you didn't. You made an inherently subjective statement and should not have been accosted for "stating opinion as fact." He's in the wrong.

 

[Blader]

i thought the fight scenes made it seem as if they all had super strength. I understand that they're supposed to be well-trained, but still the scenes felt a bit over-the-top.

Maybe so. At the same time, I think it shows something that Moore really overlooked in the comic:

If the Crimebusters really were just average people dressing up in costumes, how the hell were they not killed on day 1?

Snyder may have exaggerated the action a bit, but I think it makes sense that they at least know how to fight.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Maybe so. At the same time, I think it shows something that Moore really overlooked in the comic:

If the Crimebusters really were just average people dressing up in costumes, how the hell were they not killed on day 1?

Snyder may have exaggerated the action a bit, but I think it makes sense that they at least know how to fight.

Hollis goes into that in Under The Hood. He, and by extension the implication the rest of the Minutemen, trained extensively after Hooded Justice showed up and before starting patrols as Nite Owl. He talks about staying in the Police gym after hours.

 

[Ad Infinitum]

Agree. But it would be hard to find a drama orientated director that WB would have faith and who has solid box office to helm it without them slicing the budget, maybe Fincher would had been a good fit or Aronofsky.

I'm sure Aronofsky was attached to direct at one point.

Haven't seen the film yet, got tickets for an imax showing on Thursday, I'm really looking forward to it despite some of the mixed reviews.

 

[RobbieNick]

This movie gave me "big, blue penis" envy.

 

[Manics]

It doesn't matter who made the movie, if Alan Moore had signed off on it, what have you. There will ALWAYS be people who hate it. You can't please everyone, especially when adapting a book / graphic novel to the screen. Everyone has a different reaction which is uniquely their own when experiencing something. This includes books and movies. What's good for one person could shit for another.

 

[Prime crotch]

Maybe so. At the same time, I think it shows something that Moore really overlooked in the comic:

If the Crimebusters really were just average people dressing up in costumes, how the hell were they not killed on day 1?

Snyder may have exaggerated the action a bit, but I think it makes sense that they at least know how to fight.

The few action sequences on the comic were very brutal and believable, especially due to Rorschach's pragmatic violence, it's no surprise then that the best fights of the movie are the ones that stay close to the comic's structure. Snyder is 300's director and it's no wonder he shoot his movie scenes like that.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

It's weird. I would give the film 9/10, personally, and I think I would have loved it as much even if I'd never read the graphic novel. I totally understand, though, why some people would not like it. It's not like The Dark Knight where someone says they think it sucked and I think to myself, "How could you think that?" With Watchmen, I understand it, even if I disagree with them and could give my own refutation to almost any criticism (with the sex scene being the one stain on the movie, for me).

Regarding the fight scenes: the comic and the supplemental material establish that these people are not superhuman, but they do put themselves on a particularly rigorous training regimen that makes them have superior strength and fighting ability to just about any regular person. The thing that made Ozy special was that he took it a step further and pushed himself into the realm of nearly superhuman strength and speed, and it was his intelligence and complete understanding of the human body that allowed him to overcome most of the hurdles that held back the other costumed adventurers.

People say Dr. Manhattan is the only superhuman one in Watchmen, but I think that he's more than superhuman. He's not even human, really, though he does have humanity. Ozy is the superhuman, and everybody else are just amazing fighters in peak physical condition (but even when they're out of shape, like Dan, they still have their amazing fighting ability).

 

[Manics]

It's weird. I would give the film 9/10, personally, and I think I would have loved it as much even if I'd never read the graphic novel. I totally understand, though, why some people would not like it. It's not like The Dark Knight where someone says they think it sucked and I think to myself, "How could you think that?" With Watchmen, I understand it, even if I disagree with them and could give my own refutation to almost any criticism (with the sex scene being the one stain on the movie, for me).

Admit it, you'll be beating off to the sex scene once you get this movie on DVD. :lol

 

[LCfiner]

I thought the sex scene was awesome.

when people earlier in this thread were saying it was "explicit" I thought there would be more than just boobs and ass.

goes to show that the definition of "explicit" isn't the same for everyone.

 

[Keylime]

I thought the sex scene was awesome.

when people earlier in this thread were saying it was "explicit" I thought there would be more than just boobs and ass.

goes to show that the definition of "explicit" isn't the same for everyone.

I'd have rather had the Jon/Spectre scene be explicit than the Owl/Spectre scene.

DP with blue cocks in a dark room with blue glowy men and an unsuspecting woman versus vanilla sex from two consenting adults.

...I mean honestly :lol

 

[mrkgoo]

i thought the fight scenes made it seem as if they all had super strength. I understand that they're supposed to be well-trained, but still the scenes felt a bit over-the-top.

To be fair, I think every action movie has the main characters seem like they have super strength. Things like punching out a car window aren't as easy as it looks in movies. They're fictional stories and this one is a fantasy at that no matter how realistically it's portrayed. Besides, I think it's important to show what makes them super heroes - why, as someone put it, they wouldn't be killed day one even with extra hours training.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I thought the sex scene was awesome.

when people earlier in this thread were saying it was "explicit" I thought there would be more than just boobs and ass.

goes to show that the definition of "explicit" isn't the same for everyone.

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

 

[Jamesfrom818]

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

Considering whats normally in your average American movie, I can see how some would say its explicit. I've been in the dark on this movie so it was just a pleasant surprise for me.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Considering whats normally in your average American movie, I can see how some would say its explicit. I've been in the dark on this movie so it was just a pleasant surprise for me.

The same actress had more explicit scenes in The Heartbreak Kid which I mentioned a few pages back, and it's a Ben Stiller comedy.

 

[LCfiner]

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

blew my mind. Everyone I've ever met had seen that kind of stuff on Saturday night "blue" movies or on skinemax by the time we were 13-14.

@RubxQub. I like the way you think :lol

 

[Keylime]

The same actress had more explicit scenes in The Heartbreak Kid which I mentioned a few pages back, and it's a Ben Stiller comedy.

But who can get off on something like that with Ben Stiller in the frame.

I had to watch that scene on mute with my hand up to cover his face to even get some blood flowing.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

But who can get off on something like that with Ben Stiller in the frame.

I had to watch that scene on mute with my hand up to cover his face to even get some blood flowing.

:lol
Fair enough. She made up for the Stiller though.

 

[JayDubya]

:lol
Fair enough. She made up for the Stiller though.

I don't think anything made up for just how bad Heartbreak Kid was. And they tried really hard to make her more scary than attractive.

 

[dmshaposv]

I'am getting more and more of a feeling from this thread that people are rating Snyder's ambition to realize the comic book on film rather than film itself. You know this could've been so much more.

As it is, the movie will at least get some people interested to check out the novel. As one of the critics said, the film is a great introduction to the book.

 

[AlexMogil]

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

The explicitness didn't bother me, it was the fact that it felt like is lasted 20 minutes.

Edit: And did they *really* have to cut that guy's arms off? Did the Tig Welder not work?

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

It was explicit in the fact that it was practically a soft core pron scene:lol Patrick Wilson's ass thrusting madly is not comfortable entertainment.

 

[Justin Bailey]

People in this day and age thought that the sex scene was explicit? Really? :lol

Not really explicit, just drawn-out, akward, and unnecessary. Think about the scene in the comic: it's like one page of panels and a funny joke with the ship discharging the flamethrower. In the movie it feels like a 5 minute softcore porn music video of "hallelujah!" and the flamethrower discharge, rather than being a quick jolt of humorous imagery, cements it as a parody of itself.

 

[Auron_Kale]

Just got back from my weekend trip to Disneyland, but I saw Watchmen on IMAX at midnight on Friday morning. So here are a few thoughts:

Only the Harry Potter trailer was attached to the screening I went to, nothing else.

Having re-read the book shortly before watching the movie, I absolutely loved the film. Of course there were a few things that bugged me (lack of the Black Freighter, less scenes with the prison shrink and Rorschach, and some of the dialogue between Dr. Manhattan & Ozymandias), but overall I thought that the film conveyed the main points of the GN in such a way that both fans and non-fans could enjoy it.

Also, the reworking of the ending, especially with Dan's confrontation with Adrian was something that I really appreciated. Sure, I can understand that there are a few people who didn't care much for the scene, but for me, I thought it worked even better than what was in the book because Dan always seemed to be the 'every-man hero' and I was always kinda disappointed with the way he just readily accepted what Adrian had done in the book. But by having him not only witness Rorschach's demise, but also start attacking Adrian because of the situation, you can feel his hopelessness because even though they saved the world - you still can't save everyone. Nite Owl II was always my favorite character as he seemed the most realistic to me and seeing his reaction against Adrian brought it home for me in the movie.

The film is very dense, and I'll probably go watch it again on the regular screen sometime this week, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. Can't wait to see full director's cut later this year.

PS - I also liked how the sex scene was handled, but at the same time while I was watching it, I kept thinking how the scene would play out if they had used Jeff Buckley's version instead.

For the record, I first read the book when I was 12 (I'm 27 now) and made it a point to re-read the book every year afterwards. When I first read the book, I didn't care for most of the characters (Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, and the Comedian were the exceptions) and I hated the ending. It took me years to come to grips with the choices made in the end and I had a whole new appreciation for the characters that I had neglected during my earlier readings of the book.

 

[mrkgoo]

Just got back from my weekend trip to Disneyland, but I saw Watchmen on IMAX at midnight on Friday morning. So here are a few thoughts:

Only the Harry Potter trailer was attached to the screening I went to, nothing else.

Having re-read the book shortly before watching the movie, I absolutely loved the film. Of course there were a few things that bugged me (lack of the Black Freighter, less scenes with the prison shrink and Rorschach, and some of the dialogue between Dr. Manhattan & Ozymandias), but overall I thought that the film conveyed the main points of the GN in such a way that both fans and non-fans could enjoy it.

Also, the reworking of the ending, especially with Dan's confrontation with Adrian was something that I really appreciated. Sure, I can understand that there are a few people who didn't care much for the scene, but for me, I thought it worked even better than what was in the book because Dan always seemed to be the 'every-man hero' and I was always kinda disappointed with the way he just readily accepted what Adrian had done in the book. But by having him not only witness Rorschach's demise, but also start attacking Adrian because of the situation, you can feel his hopelessness because even though they saved the world - you still can't save everyone. Nite Owl II was always my favorite character as he seemed the most realistic to me and seeing his reaction against Adrian brought it home for me in the movie.

The film is very dense, and I'll probably go watch it again on the regular screen sometime this week, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. Can't wait to see full director's cut later this year.

PS - I also liked how the sex scene was handled, but at the same time while I was watching it, I kept thinking how the scene would play out if they had used Jeff Buckley's version instead.

For the record, I first read the book when I was 12 (I'm 27 now) and made it a point to re-read the book every year afterwards. When I first read the book, I didn't care for most of the characters (Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, and the Comedian were the exceptions) and I hated the ending. It took me years to come to grips with the choices made in the end and I had a whole new appreciation for the characters that I had neglected during my earlier readings of the book.

The only part I didn't get from the movie (granted, I skim-read the book and totally missed it there too), was the concept that Dan needed his Nite Owl costume/persona so much it extended to his sex life. I wish this was more apparent.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Sidenote, I've never seen a film's merit compared to the book discussed so heatedly before. It's rather bizarre. Shit like this didn't happen with Children of Men or w/e.

 

[Dark Octave]

I just got off the phone with a co-worker (kind of a movie buff) who said the movie didn't do it for him.

His complaints were that at 2.5 hours, it was way too long and he wanted it to end.

Something about silly sex scenes.

He said the violence reminded him of a Saw movie (which I don't really have a problem with).

Not really clear who the badguys are.

What else...He said it was slow in parts, picked up, then got slow again.

I'm most likley going to see it this week. I wonder how much of what he says is true.

 

[AndresON777]

Not really explicit, just drawn-out, akward, and unnecessary. Think about the scene in the comic: it's like one page of panels and a funny joke with the ship discharging the flamethrower. In the movie it feels like a 5 minute softcore porn music video of "hallelujah!" and the flamethrower discharge, rather than being a quick jolt of humorous imagery, cements it as a parody of itself.

that was the best part of the movie

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Not really explicit, just drawn-out, akward, and unnecessary. Think about the scene in the comic: it's like one page of panels and a funny joke with the ship discharging the flamethrower. In the movie it feels like a 5 minute softcore porn music video of "hallelujah!" and the flamethrower discharge, rather than being a quick jolt of humorous imagery, cements it as a parody of itself.

I didn't really see it as all that akward, but perhaps a bit drawn out and unnecessary. I can agree to some of that, but hardly explicit as some have suggested I guess.

 

[Flynn]

Like how kids nowadays thing the newer Star Wars are all good, people who grew with the source material have built up the franchise to a point where no one can be happy with any attempt to recreate or continue the material.

It's not our expectations that made the new Star Wars movies suck. It's how they sucked that made them so sucky.

 

[NYR]

Not really clear who the badguys are.

That's the point. :\

 

[Hellion]

Some people will never be pleased and cant tune out details that weren't in the comic.

 

[Auron_Kale]

The only part I didn't get from the movie (granted, I skim-read the book and totally missed it there too), was the concept that Dan needed his Nite Owl costume/persona so much it extended to his sex life. I wish this was more apparent.

It took me a while too, but it was his little speech to Laurie while he was standing in front of his costume naked (loved the imagery in that scene in both the book and movie) that it clicked in my head. It's because Dan knows what to do as Nite Owl - fight the bad guys, have the cool gadgets, get recognized for his deeds - because he wanted to follow in Hollis' footsteps.

Dan felt that there needed to be heroes to save people and maintain some form of peace, but the real factor was probably that Dan felt more liberated and comfortable as Nite Owl and not as Dan Dreiberg, ex-super hero and occasional writer for scientific journals. After the Keane Act, Dan basically had to re-learn how to live a normal life without the costume - something he identified with for years - and he felt so ordinary and, well, impotent since there was nothing really in his 'old' life to fall back on (unlike Adrian and Jon) to feel that sense of accomplishment and empowerment that the costume gave him.

 

[mrkgoo]

It took me a while too, but it was his little speech to Laurie while he was standing in front of his costume naked (loved the imagery in that scene in both the book and movie) that it clicked in my head. It's because Dan knows what to do as Nite Owl - fight the bad guys, have the cool gadgets, get recognized for his deeds - because he wanted to follow in Hollis' footsteps.

Dan felt that there needed to be heroes to save people and maintain some form of peace, but the real factor was probably that Dan felt more liberated and comfortable as Nite Owl and not as Dan Dreiberg, ex-super hero and occasional writer for scientific journals. After the Keane Act, Dan basically had to re-learn how to live a normal life without the costume - something he identified with for years - and he felt so ordinary and, well, impotent since there was nothing really in his 'old' life to fall back on (unlike Adrian and Jon) to feel that sense of accomplishment and empowerment that the costume gave him.

Yeah, I get that now. It's just that in the movie, and it's the same thing that plagues the rest, it has no time to develop. One instance of impotence doesn't convey the idea strongly enough.

 

[Keylime]

It's not our expectations that made the new Star Wars movies suck. It's how they sucked that made them so sucky.

My friend pointed out to me why my Star Wars analogy wasn't exactly a good one...but you know what I mean! :lol

 

[Tobor]

This really, really should have been an HBO or Showtime miniseries. There was just no way to get the major points across properly in time. Maybe in a decade or two, someone will take another swing at it.

 

[mrkgoo]

This really, really should have been an HBO or Showtime miniseries. There was just no way to get the major points across properly in time. Maybe in a decade or two, someone will take another swing at it.

For the record, what are some book to movie adaptions that people are happy about? I think why watchmen is getting extra criticism is because it lies in the realm of comic geekery.

 

[Auron_Kale]

Yeah, I get that now. It's just that in the movie, and it's the same thing that plagues the rest, it has no time to develop. One instance of impotence doesn't convey the idea strongly enough.

Agreed, but if we had to develop everything, then the movie would've been too long. It's hard to satisfy both the fans and general public and I agree that perhaps someone should take another stab at this story and turn it into a miniseries sometime in the future. But for now, I'm happy with the fact that once people see this movie and have never read the book will be inclined to read it and see the developments in proper.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

For the record, what are some book to movie adaptions that people are happy about? I think why watchmen is getting extra criticism is because it lies in the realm of comic geekery.

Or because it's really locked into its medium of origin.

Fantastic adaptations:
a) Prisoner Of Azkaban
b) Fight Club
c) 2001: A Space Odyssey
d) No Country For Old Men

I think it's silly to claim that there's some kind of bias against this movie that would open it up to "extra criticism". It's not the realm of "comic geekery" that named it one of the finest novels ever written.

It was Time Magazine.

 

[mrkgoo]

Or because it's really locked into its medium of origin.

Fantastic adaptations:
a) Prisoner Of Azkaban
b) Fight Club
c) 2001: A Space Odyssey
d) No Country For Old Men

I think it's silly to claim that there's some kind of bias against this movie that would open it up to "extra criticism". It's not the realm of "comic geekery" that named it one of the finest novels ever written.

It was Time Magazine.

No, for sure, I understand. I'm just referring to the extra critiism it's getting here on gaf, the extra discussion. There's simply more fans and readers of the book here than there are of many other books. Hence, more discussion. I'm not trying to criticize the book nor movie here. I'm not saying there's a bias just because it's a comic book.