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Watchmen movie opening title sequence: best ever?

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Salvor.Hardin said:
That change I can understand. But what I thought was really dumb was Night Owl raging out against Ozymandias after he revealed his plan and execution. It was antithetical to the ending of Watchmen in so many ways, where the heroes quietly assent and understand. Having them pack up their bags and leave Ozy alone was a ridiculous choice, especially when the comic's end was perfectly cinematic.

And having Laurie say Manhattan's final lines again made no sense whatsoever.
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I never liked how the ending played out in the comic. Having Night Owl witness Rorshach's death followed by raging on Ozy felt great. Consistent with my feelings of anger for what they did, but ultimately accepting it because perhaps the ends do justify the means.
 
spandexmonkey said:
I never liked how the ending played out in the comic. Having Night Owl witness Rorshach's death followed by raging on Ozy felt great. Consistent with my feelings of anger for what they did, but ultimately accepting it because perhaps the ends do justify the means.
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Except that Night Owl doesn't witness Rorschach's death in the comic. The movie flipped the isolation of Rorschach's final moments into a cop buddy plot.
 
I hated the movie. I loved the book. That being said the opening of the movie was brilliant because it covered a lot of the history in the book convincingly and quick. Movies adapted from books often have a lot of trouble condensing things and often cut out too much back story, but the opening of Watchmen did a good job.
 
Salvor.Hardin said:
That change I can understand. But what I thought was really dumb was Night Owl raging out against Ozymandias after he revealed his plan and execution. It was antithetical to the ending of Watchmen in so many ways, where the heroes quietly assent and understand. Having them pack up their bags and leave Ozy alone was a ridiculous choice, especially when the comic's end was perfectly cinematic.

And having Laurie say Manhattan's final lines again made no sense whatsoever.
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This.

And changing Rorschach's origin story (to be less ambiguous and more violent...which was also much less disturbing) are the two greatest sins in my mind.

The wire-fu is a very close 3rd.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
- Ozymandias is transformed from seemingly efete and wishy-washy bleeding heart into some razor-sharp eveil-seeming guy, making the revelation seem obvious
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That's not how I'd describe the comic's Ozymandias at all. He was a chisel-jawed all-American quarterback and a shameless yet affable businessman. The very ideal of the Reagan-era man. While the movie version was a scheming little nothing.
 
Shig said:
That's not how I'd describe the comic's Ozymandias at all. He was a chisel-jawed all-American quarterback and a shameless yet affable businessman. The very ideal of the Reagan-era man. While the movie version was a scheming little nothing.
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He's shown as so impotent through the first half of the book though. When Rorschach calls him "soft" you tend to agree, and slowly over the course of the book they reveal what a badass he actually is.
 
Honestly, the more I get away from this movie, the more it strikes me as both pointless and poorly-made. Even things that I thought were well-done when I saw it in the theatres, like the opening credit sequence, just seem kinda gimmicky now. I mean, is doing Forrest Gump with Watchmen characters really THAT cool?

The movie's faithful to the comic in certain respects, but the changes that were made (extended sex scene between Laurie and Dan, forced and on-the-nose soundtrack, Rorschach continuing to speak in the Bat-voice even after being captured, Manhattan being the scapegoat at the end, Night Owl screaming at Rorschach's death, having Laurie say Manhattan's last words at the end, probably many others) completely missed the point of the comic, which would be fine except that the movie doesn't carve any kind of identity for itself. It takes a comic that is very much about the LACK of style and grace that you'd find in a situation with real-life superheroes and turns it into an overstylized mess with questionable acting from several of the main characters and no real soul. It may be one of the only comic book adaptations that's actually significantly MORE ridiculous and over-the-top than its comic-book counterpart. Granted, Watchmen itself has a lot of on-the-nose, navel-gazing moments, but the book handles those moments with a lot more class by conveying them in a medium that strangely sells the whole thing.
 
It's certainly great. But the opening sequence of "Sucker Punch" is awesome as well.
Zack Snyder knows how to start a movie.

I like most of his movies, and absolutely love the Director's Cut of "Watchmen".
 
The Ozymandias casting was dreadful and I really wish that Tom Cruise would have accepted the role (it was rumored that he was offered the part). With his Scientology background, sex symbol status, charisma, etc. he would have been perfect.
 
My favourite scene in the movie (and section in the graphic novel) is the Oxygen in to Gold miracle part. Billy Crudup delivered it perfectly.

Miracles. Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold. I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that in human coupling, millions upon millions of cells compete to create life, for generation after generation until, finally, your mother loves a man, Edward Blake, the Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate, and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds, it's you - only you - that emerged. To distill so specific a form, from all that chaos. It's like turning air into gold. A miracle. And so... I was wrong. Now dry your eyes, and let's go home.
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jambo said:
My favourite scene in the movie (and section in the graphic novel) is the Oxygen in to Gold miracle part. Billy Crudup delivered it perfectly.

"Miracles. Events with astronomical odds of occurring, like oxygen turning into gold. I've longed to witness such an event, and yet I neglect that in human coupling, millions upon millions of cells compete to create life, for generation after generation until, finally, your mother loves a man, Edward Blake, the Comedian, a man she has every reason to hate, and out of that contradiction, against unfathomable odds, it's you - only you - that emerged. To distill so specific a form, from all that chaos. It's like turning air into gold. A miracle. And so... I was wrong. Now dry your eyes, and let's go home."
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Crudup is ridiculously talented. He needs to be better recognized.
 
I really liked that scene. I can't remember what it was, but someone in the Watchmen thread way back said that some TV show had similar, but better executed scene.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
Oh so wrong.

First, a frame-by-frame adaptation doesn't work since so much of the book is about the comic book for, flipping back-and-forth, looking at a whole page

Second, some of the changes they made lose the point of the comic
- The wire-fu makes the characters more-than-human, rather than just being fairly ordinary in a lot of ways
- The fight at the beginning makes the Comedian's death out to be a valiant struggle, rather than an old man being murdered-- which sets you up to see him as a victim, which is then later messed with when you realize he's scum
- Why would Rorschach make a slam on Nixon? If anything, he'd have been making excuses for him
- Ozymandias is transformed from seemingly efete and wishy-washy bleeding heart into some razor-sharp eveil-seeming guy, making the revelation seem obvious

I like the movie, but with serious reservations.
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Not to mention the whole ending is different. And the theatrical cut has no Black Freighter. Actually, aside from a few moneyshots that are taken directly from Gibbons' artwork (like the Comedian's badge falling), it's nothing like the book.
 
jambo said:
My favourite scene in the movie (and section in the graphic novel) is the Oxygen in to Gold miracle part. Billy Crudup delivered it perfectly.
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That whole chapeter-- and the mirror chapter 4-- are amazing, and to me, the point of the book's existence.

One thing the movie could not really capture is the symmetrical nature of the book, paired characters, and contrasting themes.
 
ThisWreckage said:
The Ozymandias casting was dreadful and I really wish that Tom Cruise would have accepted the role (it was rumored that he was offered the part). With his Scientology background, sex symbol status, charisma, etc. he would have been perfect.
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he seems a little small to be tossing the comedian around

not that matthew goode was much more convincing

god the fight scenes in this movie were dumb
 
Salvor.Hardin said:
And having Laurie say Manhattan's final lines again made no sense whatsoever.
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This. I do not understand how Snyder made a movie so painstakingly close to the book screw this up. I mean down to the last detail on to the book and he gave one of the best scenes in the book to Laurie. I really really want to ask why.
 
Definitely a great opening. The song, the direction, etc. are just all really well done in my opinion. How anyone can be disappointed in how this movie turned out is beyond me. It could have been so much worse.
 
I can't forgive Snyder & Co. for the wire-fu, that sex scene and giving the "nothing ever ends" line to Laurie. It just didn't make any sense at all.

The rest, I can forgive (in various degrees).

That said, I haven't seen the movie in years (except for the opening credits and the Dr. Manhattan story).
 
MrHicks said:
why does the guy who made the comic hate the movie?

its an almost frame by frame recreation
incredibly true to the source
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Not really no. For one it could never capture the watchman in its entirety because of the sheer length of it. The main reason though is Moore specifically set out to make something that could not be recreated on the silver screen. He wanted to make something that was unique and made full use of the medium. When asked how he would do it he replied, "I wouldn't". The reason being he believed it wouldn't work as a movie.

Mark Kermode sums it up pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8l0q4rgcg
 
I remember hearing bad things about The Watchmen movie but then being pleasently suprized after watching it. I really enjoyed it (though I never read the book).
The buzzsaw in the prison scene made me feel really queezy though. I like a bit of violence in my movies, but that was hard to watch (though I wouldnt have changed it).
 
jambo said:
My favourite scene in the movie (and section in the graphic novel) is the Oxygen in to Gold miracle part. Billy Crudup delivered it perfectly.
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Agree.

One of the very few times i had actual goosebumps during a scene. And then when All along the watchtower came up. That scene and delivery is pure perfection to me.
 
Watchmen will always be one of my favorite movies (even if they did change the ending).

I loved reading the graphic Novel, and I loved the movie.

But to the OP yes the Alternate History opening credits and the Birth of Dr. Manhattan (One of the best sequences ever IMO). Is Fantastic.

This is why it has a permanent place on my Blu-Ray Shelf.
 
Tesseract said:
c'mon son.

i was talking to someone about this movie the other day. we both realized we've been shamed into thinking it stinks. it's does not stink. watchmen is fucking fantastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Afk_onUh_s
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It is. I heard a lot of bad stuff about the Watchmen movie, but when I finally saw it I LOVED it. It's true to the style and themes of the comic series, the characters are spot on, it looks incredible, the action scenes are riveting... IMO it was one of the best movies of the year (9/10).
 
The Watchmen intro is one of my favorites. Gotta watch that again sometime.

&Divius said:
Good? Yes. Best ever? Probably not.

Raging Bull
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Ok, I believe there is a good reason why you would think this is really great but I'm not seeing it. All I'm seeing is a dude warming up in an empty ring in slow motion. What am I missing? I haven't seen the movie but I've been meaning to for a long time.
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
I omitted that, since at very least, I thought scapegoating manhattan made more sense. I agree that the final confrontation was all wrong, especially Laurie saying Jon's line, and Dan witnessing Rorschach's death.
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This is the sort of nitpicking that gives comic fans a bad name.

I like Laurie saying Manhattan's line. It makes the ending a lot less definitive. Manhattan can see into the future and is likely implying what will happen when the New Frontiersman realizes it has Rorshach's journal.

And complaining about Nite Owl rushing out to see Rorshach's end is just silly. Nite Owl is Rorshach's only friend, and it's not beyond belief he'd want to see what happened to him, or maybe try to talk him down or whatever.
 
I think the major error Snyder did was make the other Watchmen seem more than humans The entire point of Watchmen was that besides Manhattan and Ozy, in being able to catch the bullet, the rest were ordinary people.

I've watched the movie with various other people and, if they haven't read the comic, they always wonder why Ozy catching the bullet was such a big deal when the other Watchmen, and Rorschach especially, look superhuman the entire movie.
 
Kusagari said:
I think the major error Snyder did was make the other Watchmen seem more than humans The entire point of Watchmen was that besides Manhattan and Ozy, in being able to catch the bullet, the rest were ordinary people.

I've watched the movie with various other people and, if they haven't read the comic, they always wonder why Ozy catching the bullet was such a big deal when the other Watchmen, and Rorschach especially, look superhuman the entire movie.
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The fight scenese are ridiculously over the top, but Snyder wouldn't have been picked to direct this if they weren't meant to be.

It's hard to believe this movie ever happened in the current Hollywood climate. The director had almost free reign to go about making a movie based on one of the most famous comic book properties of all time, one that could have easily been a sure cash cow had it not been rated R.
 
I'm surprised more people don't point at Dan & Laurie's thwarted mugging scene. That was far and away the worst reinterpretation in the movie to me, the characters go from teaching their would-be attackers a lesson to getting off on violently crippling people.
 
leadbelly said:
Not really no. For one it could never capture the watchman in its entirety because of the sheer length of it. The main reason though is Moore specifically set out to make something that could not be recreated on the silver screen. He wanted to make something that was unique and made full use of the medium. When asked how he would do it he replied, "I wouldn't". The reason being he believed it wouldn't work as a movie.

Mark Kermode sums it up pretty well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8l0q4rgcg
Click to expand...

Yeah, I felt pretty much the same about the film.

It was like Snyder took the graphic novel and fed it through a film adaptation machine. The machine took the visual makeup of the graphic novel along with some choice bits of dialog and key scenes, stripped out all of the subtext, satire, and depth of the original story, and spat out the nearly three-hour-long disaster that was Watchmen the movie.

The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking to myself, "Would any of this even remotely make sense or be interesting to someone who didn't read the book?"
 
Shig said:
I'm surprised more people don't point at Dan & Laurie's thwarted mugging scene. That was far and away the worst reinterpretation in the movie to me, the characters go from teaching their would-be attackers a lesson to getting off on violently crippling people.
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That scene is poorly done and excessive.

But it does foreshadow the return to the costumes. Dan's impotent without his Nite Owl costume, and his brief exercise in violence gets him, ah, worked up.
 
Shig said:
I'm surprised more people don't point at Dan & Laurie's thwarted mugging scene. That was far and away the worst reinterpretation in the movie to me, the characters go from teaching their would-be attackers a lesson to getting off on violently crippling people.
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Um... getting off on violently crippling people is heavily implied in that scene in the comic.
 
Pazuzu9 said:
Um... getting off on violently crippling people is heavily implied in that scene in the comic.
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The getting off part, sure.

But there's a big difference between beating up someone and making them a paraplegic. The movie fight is borderline murder porn.
 
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