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[AkuMifune]

Finally got to see it last night. So awesome.

I agree with some of the complaints listed here though, there were some pacing issues and there were some scenes that didn't play as well as they could have due to the poor acting of The Comedian (I liked the casting, but the scene in the bar was laughable he played it so dryly) and the miscasting of Adrian, but overall I really loved this film. And surprisingly, loved the new ending more than I thought I would. My only complaint is that if they took the liberty to alter the ending to better suit the context of the film, there were a few other areas the same treatment would have helped as well, like they all kicked unreal amounts of ass and it is strange Adrian is both the smartest and fastest man alive. But I can easily overlook those to be honest.

Agreed. IIRC the film only showed him (Rorschach) holding a sign up close once, right? He was there in the high shot at the beginning, but only briefly.

You can clearly see him at least twice more, he watches Dan and Laurie go into the alley, and he can be seen outside the funeral. At least once Dan turns back as if he recognizes the guy, then turns away.

So many little touches I loved in this film, like the elevator music in the Adrian assassination scene is Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Nice.

I think I was more proud that my skeptical girlfriend wanted to walk home instead of taking a taxi to discuss the ending.

Spoiler

She saw Viedt as a hero, like Truman, just doing what he had to to stop a nuclear holocaust. I see things like Rorschach though, black and white.

I never, like ever, go to see a movie in a theater twice. I can't wait to see this again.

 

[Mike Works]

just saw it tonight. i was aware that Watchmen was generally regarded as the best comic book (or graphic novel or whatever) of all time

i actively avoided not only reading the graphic novel, but also hearing anything about the book/movie

i really enjoyed the movie a ton and can't wait for the blu-ray release.

quick question that i know was explained in the movie:

Spoiler

why was dr. manhattan building those bombs? what was the pretense again?

as an aside, i actually noticed one of those small developer nods which i almost NEVER notice in movies.

Spoiler

in the scene right before the new york disaster, when it shows the black pyschologist guy holding his briefcase, when the explosion goes off and his briefcase opens and all of those rorschach test papers fly out... right before the briefcase opens, you can see the combination on the briefcase latch is 300.

i NEVER notice those things in movies, so i almost shouted HEY in the theatre when i saw it :lol

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

just saw it tonight. i was aware that Watchmen was generally regarded as the best comic book (or graphic novel or whatever) of all time

i actively avoided not only reading the graphic novel, but also hearing anything about the book/movie

i really enjoyed the movie a ton and can't wait for the blu-ray release.

quick question that i know was explained in the movie:

Spoiler

why was dr. manhattan building those bombs? what was the pretense again?

Spoiler

Dr. Manhattan was actually building a device that would create free energy for the world to use as electricity and whatnot. Veidt used it for a different purpose though.

I'm glad you liked it. NO, I DID NOT NOTICE WHAT YOU NOTICED! Will do it again!

Oh and to give you another reason to see the movie again,

Spoiler

Rorschach was the guy carrying "The End is Nigh" sign!

 

[Uncle]

quick question that i know was explained in the movie:

Spoiler

why was dr. manhattan building those bombs? what was the pretense again?

A new renewable energy source. Free energy for all and so on. That's why the oil company dudes were trying to bully Veidt.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

quick question that i know was explained in the movie:

Spoiler

why was dr. manhattan building those bombs? what was the pretense again?

Alternative energy source. Remember the scene where Ozymandias is telling off

Spoiler

Lee Iacocca?

I saw this the other day - for the life of me, I can't figure out why critics have been so harsh on it. They all seem to take issue with how reverent it is to the graphic novel, for my part I think that's what's interesting about it. It's introducing a different type of cinematic language. If nothing else, it means that the compositions and framing are impeccable right off the bat.

I only had a couple of issues with it - I thought the Comedian and Silk Spectre II were terrible. So many of their lines were flatly delivered or outright fumbled. Crudup as Dr, Manhattan wasn't a great choice either - he sounded too wimpy and wishy washy to convey they otherworldly Buddha-vision deity he's supposed to be, but I guess that's subjective. I also didn't like the in-your-face compound-fracture fight scenes. The joy they get out of it makes them come off as sadists - particularly Silk Spectre putting a knife through a guy's neck, did that happen in the original? Either way, it compromises the pro/anti-fascist dialectic that makes up the subtext of the story.

The first third of the film didn't really work for me after the title sequence; I'm wondering if half the reviewers looked at their watches, said "three more hours of this?" and walked out - and yes, professional reviewers do that all the time.

But as soon as the movie got to the Dr. Manhattan story, I thought it really kicked into gear and stayed there. I really enjoyed it from thereon out. Haley absolutely nailed Rorschach - that character could have easily come across as corny but he pulled it off.

All in all, it's not better than the graphic novel, a lot of detail and nuance are lost with the way the story needs to be truncated for theatres, but I think an extended director's cut that restores the Black Freighter etc. to the narrative (though with the changed ending it becomes less important to the plot) would improve it. Still one of the better Hollywood movies I've seen in quite some time though. Definitely worth going to see.

 

[Mike Works]

man, i can't believe i forgot about the renewable energy part. i totally understood that throughout the entire film, but i just flat out forgot about what they were originally meant for once they went off

 

[Blablurn]

watched it yesterday and i really really liked it. did not read the graphic novels, but im glad the film wasnt handled as a "summer-blockbuster" 90 minutes action movie.

blue man penis was a bit annoying, why cant he just wear clothes when he is flying around.

the opening fight was really awesome. i, too, loved the music. great film, will watch again

 

[sableholic]

finally saw it on thursday and really enjoyed it (aside from the blue penis throughout the movie, I don't remember that happening in the novel that much). I think the ending to the movie was actually better than the one in the novel, or at least better fit for a movie. The movie itself was a little long in parts and dragged a little bit, but overall I enjoyed it a lot, was kinda worried after seeing all the mixed reviews.

One thing I wasn't a fan of was

Spoiler

the scene with the little girl murderer and Rorschach. Maybe I'm wrong but I definitely don't remember it being so definitive that the guy did it in the novel (or am I just remembering it wrong?) and I feel like it changed his character or at least how people react to his character.

 

[MNC]

Am I the only one who thought the ending was portrayed really good.
Jackie Earle Haley is so fucking amazing as Rorschach.

Spoiler

I have to say the NOOOOOOOOO sequence in this movie was pretty good. It doesn't have the comical Vaderno in it, thank God. Rorschach got blown up, Dan screams a big No, it just is really strong the way it was put in. I don't think the GN had him screaming no, did it?

 

[Zoe]

Saw this last night and really liked it. The length of the movie didn't bother me, but I don't think everybody I know would be able to sit through it. It could have worked well as a mini-series.

So what was the deal with Viedt's cat?

 

[sableholic]

Saw this last night and really liked it. The length of the movie didn't bother me, but I don't think everybody I know would be able to sit through it. It could have worked well as a mini-series.

So what was the deal with Viedt's cat?

genetically engineered lynx:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubastis

http://watchmen.wikia.com/wiki/Bubastis

don't think they cover that at all in the movie, i know everyone around me who hadn't read the novel were just like wtf is that thing

 

[SiegfriedFM]

Am I the only one who thought the ending was portrayed really good.
Jackie Earle Haley is so fucking amazing as Rorschach.

Spoiler

I have to say the NOOOOOOOOO sequence in this movie was pretty good. It doesn't have the comical Vaderno in it, thank God. Rorschach got blown up, Dan screams a big No, it just is really strong the way it was put in. I don't think the GN had him screaming no, did it?

Spoiler

Nite Owl wasn't around for that scene (and neither was Nite Owl 1 for the rape scene) originally, I guess they were added to get the "neutral" perspective. In the GN, Nite Owl was busy in a fairly misplaced sex scene at that point.

 

[Zoe]

genetically engineered lynx:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubastis

http://watchmen.wikia.com/wiki/Bubastis

don't think they cover that at all in the movie, i know everyone around me who hadn't read the novel were just like wtf is that thing

Wasn't it named Carol in the movie? :lol

 

[Kastro]

You can clearly see him at least twice more, he watches Dan and Laurie go into the alley, and he can be seen outside the funeral. At least once Dan turns back as if he recognizes the guy, then turns away.

the movie made it glaringly obvious I thought at the funeral scene. The comic book had me not even catch until the second time I read it.

 

[Xenomiggs]

the movie made it glaringly obvious I thought at the funeral scene. The comic book had me not even catch until the second time I read it.

Yeah, the same happened to me when I finished the book. But isn't it hard to NOT NOW in this case, considering that many people know who Haley is?

 

[Zoe]

Yeah, the same happened to me when I finished the book. But isn't it hard to NOT NOW in this case, considering that many people know who Haley is?

I had never heard of the guy. And he certainly doesn't look like his IMDB photos in the movie.

That being said, I immediately knew the guy was Rorschach once I noticed he had red hair like the kid in the intro.

 

[JayDubya]

Am I the only one who thought the ending was portrayed really good.
Jackie Earle Haley is so fucking amazing as Rorschach.

Spoiler

I have to say the NOOOOOOOOO sequence in this movie was pretty good. It doesn't have the comical Vaderno in it, thank God. Rorschach got blown up, Dan screams a big No, it just is really strong the way it was put in. I don't think the GN had him screaming no, did it?

That was one change I strongly approved of.

Dan's behavior at the end of the GN made me loathe him.

 

[RoboPlato]

Wasn't it named Carol in the movie? :lol

I think he says, "Forgive me, girl" and you just heard it as Carol. I don't think they say it's name at all.

 

[StoOgE]

Spoiler

Oh and to give you another reason to see the movie again,

Spoiler

Rorschach was the guy carrying "The End is Nigh" sign!

Spoiler

Spoiler

this isn't really an easter egg. Rorschach without the mask on holding that sign is all over the graphic novel. Most of the scenes where he is dressed like that got cut from the theatrical release. You will likely see more of it in the directors cut

 

[StoOgE]

I think he says, "Forgive me, girl" and you just heard it as Carol. I don't think they say it's name at all.

Yeah, they never call it Bubastis in the movie. If the scene where Manhattan and Silk Spectre go to visit Ozy makes the directors cut they could throw it in there.

Actually, I think Bubastis should have been cut. My friends who had not read the graphic novel wanted to know why the hell there was a blue cat at the end of it. It does just come out of nowhere in the movie :lol

 

[Fafalada]

It does just come out of nowhere in the movie :lol

It's also horrendously bad CG compared to the rest of the movie. Fanservice at its worst.

 

[ZephyrFate]

Veidt mentions Bubastis as they're walking around his fortress. I can't remember the specific part but I swear I heard the name mentioned.

 

[op_ivy]

Veidt mentions Bubastis as they're walking around his fortress. I can't remember the specific part but I swear I heard the name mentioned.

yeah, at least once

 

[ourumov]

Well, not only I read the novel but also consider it one of my favourite books ever; and I say book because Watchmen is in another league when it comes to stories in comics.

The movie is too long and despite it, it doesn't come close at all to the comic in terms of depth. Not only this but also the fact that the pace is completely wrong. Probably because they considered that the original material was not enough good for the masses and hence decide to make longer certain scenes...
Acting is pretty bland imho, except for night owl.

To me the movie is a 4.

 

[StoOgE]

the pacing has problems because of the source pacing.

The novel starts off as a mystery in the first act. Then it becomes nothing but backstory and charachter development for the middle section before the story picks up again at the end.

Works well for a serial comic book. Not so much for a movie.

The pacing problems are a result of being too true to the comic, not changing it.

 

[MC Safety]

Yeah, they never call it Bubastis in the movie. If the scene where Manhattan and Silk Spectre go to visit Ozy makes the directors cut they could throw it in there.

Actually, I think Bubastis should have been cut. My friends who had not read the graphic novel wanted to know why the hell there was a blue cat at the end of it. It does just come out of nowhere in the movie :lol

I think it adds a nice touch when Ozymandias sacrifices it.

And, honestly, it doesn't matter if Bubastis isn't named or explained. It's just an ultra-cool pet the crazy rich guy has.

 

[StoOgE]

I think it adds a nice touch when Ozymandias sacrifices it.

And, honestly, it doesn't matter if Bubastis isn't named or explained. It's just an ultra-cool pet the crazy rich guy has.

I got mad he killed her the first time I read the novel

 

[MNC]

I don't think anybody got mad in the movie since it got introduced so late in the movie nobody got really attached to 'her'.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Yeah, they never call it Bubastis in the movie. If the scene where Manhattan and Silk Spectre go to visit Ozy makes the directors cut they could throw it in there.

Actually, I think Bubastis should have been cut. My friends who had not read the graphic novel wanted to know why the hell there was a blue cat at the end of it. It does just come out of nowhere in the movie :lol

I know I'm beaten but he says "Bubastis, come" during the Karnak scene when it's first introduced.

Oh and concerning Rorschach, it isn't an easter egg but everyone misses it the first time!

 

[Struct09]

You definitely do hear Bubastis' name in the movie

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

2 mil yesterday
should hit 100 by monday/tuesday

 

[Zoe]

I think he says, "Forgive me, girl" and you just heard it as Carol. I don't think they say it's name at all.

Haha, ok, that makes more sense :lol;

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

By the way, people complaining how it was "reveal" in the movie that Adrian is in Antarctica via TV Screen when Dr. Manhattan teleports the free energy reactor... I re-read the comic and yes, everyone knows it in the comic that he is in Antarctica (Doug Roth interviews him in Antarctica).

 

[my name is ed]

From talking to people who havent read the comic but watched the movie, it seems most people really liked it. Also, I've now convinced some of these people that comics are much better than people think they are and I've even managed to get some interested in Sandman. This movie has done wonders for comics in terms of better exposure.

 

[Cheebs]

2 mil yesterday
should hit 100 by monday/tuesday

it dropped to 5th on friday, it has the legs of a horror flick. Seems to be topping out between 110-115.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I think it adds a nice touch when Ozymandias sacrifices it.

And, honestly, it doesn't matter if Bubastis isn't named or explained. It's just an ultra-cool pet the crazy rich guy has.

Well, it's just kind of unnecessary to have in the movie, since its whole existence was based off of

Spoiler

genetic manipulation used to create the squid

.

 

[Mike Works]

a few questions for those who have read the GN:

1. do they explain why there aren't more dr. manhattan's? surely there are other watchmakers in the world.

2. do they explain how certain people are able to have super strength and speed, and the ability to catch a bullet?

3. was it a bigger "reveal" in the GN that

Spoiler

the comedian was silk spectre's father?

4. why did

Spoiler

the comedian kill JFK? was he hired by Nixon to end a potential threat to his office?

5. do they explain in the GN why they changed the term rule in their universe? was Nixon just that popular thanks to winning the Vietnam war or something?

6. what do you guys think rorschach did to

Spoiler

that midget villain in jail?

i think those are all the questions i can remember

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

a few questions for those who have read the GN:

Honestly, do yourself a favour and drop the $15 to check it out. It's very much its own experience distinct from the movie. There are a bunch of things that just weren't feasible due to the difference in media involved.

1. do they explain why there aren't more dr. manhattan's? surely there are other watchmakers in the world.

Not any more than they do in the film - some things are just billion to one impossibilities.

2. do they explain how certain people are able to have super strength and speed, and the ability to catch a bullet?

Nobody has super anything. Except for Dr. Manhattan, everybody in Watchmen's world is a normal human being who has become who they are through training. The hyper-violent Matrix fights were the director's inclusion.

3. was it a bigger "reveal" in the GN that

Spoiler

the comedian was silk spectre's father?

All I'll say is, that whole family relationship is handled differently in the GN. Different feel imo, and there's a key scene that's left out of the movie.

4. why did

Spoiler

the comedian kill JFK? was he hired by Nixon to end a potential threat to his office?

Yep. He killed

Spoiler

Woodward & Bernstein

too.

5. do they explain in the GN why they changed the term rule in their universe? was Nixon just that popular thanks to winning the Vietnam war or something?

Yeah, they go into it. There's a ton of background info in the graphic novel - excerpts from books, newspaper & magazine articles, even another comic; all these things play into and/or parallel the narrative. That's why everybody said Watchmen is unfilmable.

6. what do you guys think rorschach did to

Spoiler

that midget villain in jail?

Spoiler

Shoved him as far as he could down a toilet? He mentions how he likes the irony of disposing of refuse with a toilet.

 

[Mike Works]

Honestly, do yourself a favour and drop the $15 to check it out. It's very much its own experience distinct from the movie. There are a bunch of things that just weren't feasible due to the difference in media involved.

i'm going to be completely upfront and honest and say that i do not like graphic novels at all. i just can't appreciate them.

one more question i just thought of:

in the GN, the ultimate weapon used is

Spoiler

the squid. in the movie, it was Dr. Manhattan's reactors, which i assume caused the distortion in time in the past in reading the future... ie Dr. Manhattan couldn't see the future because of the impending explosions (which he assumed would be nuclear warheads). what was the reason as to why he couldn't see the future in the comic strip, given that it was just a giant killer squid wrecking shit?

 

[Zoe]

1. do they explain why there aren't more dr. manhattan's? surely there are other watchmakers in the world.

But watchmakers who were caught in the same kind of field?

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

2. do they explain how certain people are able to have super strength and speed, and the ability to catch a bullet?

5. do they explain in the GN why they changed the term rule in their universe? was Nixon just that popular thanks to winning the Vietnam war or something?

2.

Spoiler

Beside Dr. Manhattan, Adrian Veidt is the only one who has an ability i.e. catching a bullet. Even he didn't know it would work for he hadn't practiced it before until the very end when Laurie shoots him. To answer certain things:

A. Rorschach - He had no ability beside the shape-shifting mask. Even that itself is the ability of the cloth, no Rorschach. After Dr. Manhattan's existence, the vast advancement in technology lead to the creation of that fabric.

B. Nite Owl II- He had no ability (other than being impotent lol). He is the Bruce Wayne of Watchmen: Rich bachelor with loads of time to kill. Once Nite Owl retired, he asked him if he can take over the mantel.

C. Silk Spectre - No abilities. Just hot

D. The Comedian - Guns, lots of guns!

5. Nixon changed a few laws which would allow him to run as president more than 5 years. He was indeed popular for he was bullying the rest of the government with Dr. Manhattan on their side. Once

Spoiler

the world peace kicked in, you could see in the newsstand that Ronald Reagan was running for president in 88', which might be the end of Nixon's reign since his services are no longer required in a peaceful world.

 

[Mike Works]

But watchmakers who were caught in the same kind of field?

well i assumed that they tried to re-create the experiment

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

i'm going to be completely upfront and honest and say that i do not like graphic novels at all. i just can't appreciate them.

I think if you can appreciate film, you can appreciate the GN format. Movies are made from storyboards that are essential just comics. The same rules of composition and visual language apply. Graphic novels are different in the way they handle voice and time; in one sense they're superior in that way - cinema scholars have to constantly pause a movie to get as much out of the mise en scene. A graphic novel can communicate as much information as the reader decides to absorb, and the flow of time doesn't have to be linear.

one more question i just thought of:

in the GN, the ultimate weapon used is

Spoiler

the squid. in the movie, it was Dr. Manhattan's reactors, which i assume caused the distortion in time in the past in reading the future... ie Dr. Manhattan couldn't see the future because of the impending explosions (which he assumed would be nuclear warheads). what was the reason as to why he couldn't see the future in the comic strip, given that it was just a giant killer squid wrecking shit?

No,

Spoiler

Ozymandias created a separate device to block his vision, both in the GN and film.

 

[birdman]

in the GN, the ultimate weapon used is

Spoiler

the squid. in the movie, it was Dr. Manhattan's reactors, which i assume caused the distortion in time in the past in reading the future... ie Dr. Manhattan couldn't see the future because of the impending explosions (which he assumed would be nuclear warheads). what was the reason as to why he couldn't see the future in the comic strip, given that it was just a giant killer squid wrecking shit?

Spoiler

Adrian said in the movie he dumped billions of dollars into tachyon research to distort Dr. Manhattan's view on the future. Dr. Manhattan says during the movie that he cannot see into his future perfectly if there is a buildup of tachyons.

 

[GDJustin]

the pacing has problems because of the source pacing.

The novel starts off as a mystery in the first act. Then it becomes nothing but backstory and charachter development for the middle section before the story picks up again at the end.

Works well for a serial comic book. Not so much for a movie.

The pacing problems are a result of being too true to the comic, not changing it.

Agreed. For people that haven't read the book, you have to live with these characters for a loooooong time in the film before you find out anything about them.

It's... offputting.

 

[sableholic]

in the GN, the ultimate weapon used is

Spoiler

the squid.

it wasn't really a

Spoiler

giant squid, it was just a fake alien monster that adrian had a bunch of artists and other people work on on a island. It's just to give humans a common enemy (some random alien species) and unite them.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Just saw it yesterday.
I never read the comics and I knew really nothing about the plot but I walked out of the theater pretty disappointed. One of the first movies in a very long time that I actually checked my watch. Pacing was terrible and outside of Rorschach and the Comedian I didn't care or identify with anyone else in the movie. Rorschach almost did save it for me though.

Oh and that was a lot of otter pop dick.

 

[Mike Works]

One of the first movies in a very long time that I actually checked my watch.

ironyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[birdman]

Just saw it yesterday.
I never read the comics and I knew really nothing about the plot but I walked out of the theater pretty disappointed. One of the first movies in a very long time that I actually checked my watch. Pacing was terrible and outside of Rorschach and the Comedian I didn't care or identify with anyone else in the movie. Rorschach almost did save it for me though.

Oh and that was a lot of otter pop dick.

So you watched your watch, man?

 

[Mike Works]

oh, thought of another question:

what was with that glass thing manhattan created on mars? can't he fly?