I read the book. I saw the movie. I read reviews online.
Alan Moore refused to staple his name to the film. Apparently, half the world had high expectations for this movie since TIMES called it one of the 100 greatest books of all time and Moore said his graphic novel is un-filmable. While I do agree with him, isn’t this true about almost every book? Ever notice that a lot of movies aren’t exactly the same as the book? This is because a film and a novel are two different forms of expression. If a writer wanted anything to be on film, they would have written a screenplay and not a book. However, I have to give credit to those who attempt to make a good novel into a good movie. Watchmen is a good novel and movie. Here is why.
10. The film was as faithful as it could possibly be. I was surprised to see how much of the book was in the movie. Every time I saw a scene, I was able to remember a specific chapter. It helped that the graphic novel was used as the storyboard.
9. The exclusion of Tales of the Black Freighter. A comic book inside a comic book. Honestly, I hated this part of the novel. I thought it got in the way of the main story and wasn’t necessary as Moore’s other elements like excerpt of Under The Hood and Rorschach’s journal.
8. Opening montage. One of the first things I was wondering was how in the world will Mason’s book, Under The Hood, be seen in the film as I thought it gave a lot of important background stories about past mask heroes. Job well done.
7. The costumes. The outfits were identical to Dave Gibbon’s illustrations with the exception of Silk Spectre I and II, which I thought was a lot better in the film.
6. Set design. Honestly, the Mars ship looked extremely beautiful when I saw the film. In addition, I did like watching the dirty streets of New York during the 80’s with the prostitutes and porn shops.
5. The 300 effect. Granted, there was more action in the 300 movie than in Watchmen but this is why we like movies anyway. The slow motion of The Comedian being tossed out the window and the fire rescue was an entertaining effect for those not familiar with the book.
4. The funeral scene. This is almost a 100% duplicate of chapter 2 of Watchmen with the exception of Laurie being teleported to her mother’s home. Every flashback was in it’s place and you get to know a little bit about each superhero. Nicely done.
3. Necessary changes. The book did have flaws and I’m glad Zack Snyder had an opportunity to fix them. For instance, I never heard of the average person keeping a rough draft and final journal. The prison riot gave a good enough reason for Rochschach to get his items back as oppose to have a spare of everything. Also, the whole alien invasion was so ridiculous for a graphic novel that claims it wanted to be more real than fantasy. An extraterrestrial attacking the planet is not what I call realistic.
2. Rorschach. Jackie Earle Haley played this character very well. Not only was Rorschach my favorite in the graphic novel but his mystery, loyalty, psychotic way of caring about people (and lack thereof) was definitely carried over to the film. His deep voice added that extra intensity that the film needed.
1. The Comedian. If Watchmen wanted to convey human qualities in superheroes, it is done through The Comedian. He raped, beat, and killed women. He was ruthless, uncaring and selfish and yet he was a superhero. Watchmen wanted to let people know that superheroes were merely humans with both good and bad traits. The Comedian is a perfect example of this.
There were some aspects of the movie that wasn’t a hit such as the cheesy sex scene and the uninteresting characters of Laurie Jupiter, Dan Dreiberg and Adrian Veidt (though, this wasn’t Snyder’s fault. They were pretty much boring in the book too). But overall, Watchmen is good movie and I highly recommend it.
Did you see the movie? What did you think about it? What was working against or for the film?
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Hey great review, I love the movie, I’m comic artist and I have just one question, what think the people that don’t know the novel thinks about the movie?
I went to see the movie with my husband who is not familiar with the graphic novel and he enjoyed it. The movie was changed to make it easier for viewers who didn’t read the book or know any of its characters and it did a very good job conveying that.
Tight work, well said.
I still miss the original ending with the squid:
http://fullbodytransplant.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/watchmen-squid-the-real-ending/
Good times.
Personally, I felt the film sagged in the middle section, but that’s my only major criticism.
Ozymandias was a little bland. Silk Specter 2 (Laurie) was okay but really didn’t have the range to pull off her more emotional scenes towards the end. Otherwise I felt all the characters were spot on. I disagree with you about Dan. I felt he was perfect as a slightly over-the-hill, somewhat liberal ex-hero gone flabby and left feeling redundant without his alter ego.
There were other very minor flaws but, overall, the movie was still excellent. I expected to resent the new ending but, for me, it worked well. The decision to cut out The Black Freighter was definitely correct. Like you, I’ve always found it more of a distraction from (rather than than an enhancement to) the main plot. It can be compared to Peter Jackson’s decision to cut Tom Bombadil from Lord of the Rings.
As for people who are not familiar with the book … My wife hates comic books, would far rather watch Mamma Mia!, Titanic or Shirley Valentine than anything featuring super heroes and yet she really enjoyed this movie. Despite what certain reviews would have you believe, she had no trouble following the plot and overall awarded it 8/10.
Belkis, I pretty much agree 100% with your review. I just want to add to the praise, basically. I was actually relieved that Snyder altered his”300 style” approach on the fighting. If you remember, in 300 there was a lot of total stop and slow rev up again. Drove me crazy. In Watchmen, it was a definite improvement where he slowed down some shots but never did the stop and start gimmick and I was very appreciative. The new ending was also great because it gave those of us who knew the story backwards and forwards something NEW and something more logical as well. A beautifully filmed, acted and produced film. Jackie Earl Haley, last seen in movies (by me anyway) in Bad News Bears over 30 years ago, the man did an EXCELLENT job and let’s face it, he could give Bale some serious lessons about how to do the menacing barky voice. I’m admire Haley quite a bit for pulling off such a character and doing it so brilliantly. I swear, half the time I was watching this film, I thought I was staring at gibbons artwork. Dave should be proud. So should Alan but I know that’s a bit much too ask. -Rick
Both works are flawed and both help each other. However as a film, I feel that Snyder failed to pull the viewer into the film, that a half of the acting was poor, (which George Lucas proved can be tied to a bad director… even Sam Jackson was bad in Star Wars.) and the wigs and make up/costumes were poorly done. Some of those decisions I will never understand. Kudos to Crudup for putting some thought into voicing Manhattan.
real life Dr. Manhattan situation: http://www.thinkartificial.org/films-and-literature/real-life-doctor-manhattan/
Well for me, the film was everything that I expected to be. I didn’t care much about the story, even though I m a huge fan, because I already knew what Watchmen was about. I did not need to see the movie to understand that. I was just glad to see all the detail and wonderful cinematic effects of the movie. It was great to see the characters in something other than an illustration. Although it was not the greatest thing in the world and will not replace the graphic novel at all.
People need to take it for what it is. A (cult)movie.
Derrick,
I totally agree that people do need to take it for what it is. Just enjoy it. It’s a movie and movies are suppose to be entertaining.
Rick,
You are right with the TOTAL stop and slow thing. Thanks for reminding me. Big improvement.
DAJB,
My husband is in the same boat with your wife. He cares less about comic books but he really enjoyed this one.
I was fearful going into the theater, but left VERY impressed with how faithful the movie was to the story, particularly given the time constraints. Kudos to the film’s editors!
Let me tell you…without doubt my No.1 performer right now. What a great presence. Just fabulous!