Let me start by admitting that the only thing I know about the Watchmen brand is that it is a graphic novel of some popularity and that seeing genitals on the screen outside of porn still freaks me out a bit.
I didn’t like Watchmen too much.
But I’m having a hard time figuring out why.
The movie is very well filmed and directed. The actors, most of them relatively unknown (I know who Carla Gugino is as well as that midget in the jail, although his name eludes my memory – He was Kramer’s pal on Seinfeld and I probably saw him in Willow) did a great job; the story is complex and interesting and the setting yields great ideas and potential for future instalments.
Perhaps it was the structure of the script? I feel there could’ve been more time allotted to Rorshachs’s (I know, SP?) investigation of The Comedian’s murder and less given to a pointless and predictable love triangle that only serves to fill time. Most of the love story could’ve been reserved for the DVD/Blu Ray in my opinion.
The pacing is also very, very slow. The last ten to twenty minutes of the film are pretty good action sequences but the rest of the film serves as introductions to the characters but aside from Rorschach’s (his had me almost in tears) the intros are simple bla bla bla affairs that seem there only to again fill time. Also, there are no villains.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The viewer doesn’t need intro stories to enjoy their darkness and heavily flawed personalities. These are more than the teen angst of Peter Parker or the “fear of bats because of his father’s death” of Bruce Wayne. The guys and gals of Watchmen are mostly psychopaths who believe that justice can only be served by the violent death of its detractors.
I enjoyed that part. Superman’s goody goody attitude always bugged me. I am a strong believer that in order to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.
Watchmen probably shows us what could happen if ordinary people, today, would become Superheroes. I feel we do need them but because of this story I understand why they don’t and probably will never exist. It’s a hard life that of the hero and our time with it is hard enough as it is. Why spend it in fights with the scum of humanity?
I give Watchmen 7/10.
Oh and to Dr. Manhattan: Materialize yourself some frakking pants please!
6/10
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For me, even with its flaws, Watchmen is probably the first real adult superhero movie.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem: unlike the comic book, most of the actros are way too young for their parts.
They changed the ending, with like a few millions less deaths that in the comic book, minus the giant squid that grows through the city.
But it's an interesting movie, I think, and it tries really hard to be faithful to the source materiel, which is, by itself, not very mainstream.
I'm not sure why everyone is complaining about Dr. Manhattan's "part" but I seriously didn't notice this during the entire movie. I guess I had other things to watch :P Like the Citadin said about the actors' age, it's true that they seemed too young especially Night Owl 2 and Silk Spectre, I mean come on they're supposed to be 35 and over ! As for the fact that they were no vilains, well you see that Moloch guy but he's "retired", well with the ending, it kind of shows that those 'superheores' can also be vilain and that the one with the most "moral" in this is a socio/psychopath. The book though is much better. :)
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