Watchmen

It's quite funny that one of the main criticisms of non-readers of the book is,"It was too long!" because one of the biggest criticisms fans have of it is, "It was too short!" Ha ha. That's obviously because us book fans are aware of all of bits that are missing though.

I definitely don't think it was too long. You cannot compress the story of Watchmen into less than 2 hours. Really, the time they gave it was not long enough. I do think however that there was some problem with the pacing.

The first hour was quite leisurely, with all of the flashbacks and lots of talking and exposition. And then the middle portion was somewhat rushed though. (E.g. Rorschach's talks with the psychiatrist in prison were cut down severely. They didn't even have him talking about how he made his mask.) And then the climax, was quite drawn-out.

I didn't mind the changed ending, but the aftermath of it was quite hollow, IMO. The GN's ending was much more emotional because...

The book ending, really hit home the devastation. The pages of pictures of the streets of NYC full of bodies, the buildings splattered in blood, the bloody clock, etc. And then when Laurie and Jon returned from Mars and she broke down it tears, at the sight of blood and death everywhere. Much better than the sight of a big hole in the ground and her unemotional reaction to it in the film.

Performances on the whole were good. Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Billy Crudup (Dr. Manhattan) and Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II) all nailed their characters. The women were perhaps a little iffy. And I wish Mathew Goode's Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt was a little more charismatic and charming, instead of cold and superior. I think Dr. Manhattan showed more emotion than him.
 
I posted the full bbfc advice on this thread. I don't think the naked blue man had much to do with it.
 
Yes, I don't understand what the bloke's problem is. Maybe all that research into magic had addled his brains, or something? There seems to be almost nothing creative coming out these days, from AM.

I could sympathise if, like the creators of Superman, he'd had to fight for years to get his fair share, but he hasn't. Similarly, if the movies made from his works were rubbish, but they're not. V For Vendetta was altered, because a movie where the hero is basically working against Thatcherism gone mad would not work today, but the essential spirit of the thing was intact. Watchmen, so far, looks visually stunning. The director has also stated that he is filming lots of stuff which won't make it into the film, (scenes from the comic, and other bits), with the intention of putting this on an extended DVD version. What more could Moore want?
 
Watched it at 12:01am today and personally I loved it.
However I have only read the first 33 pages of the graphic novel so cannot really call myself a fan by any means.

I'm not so sure about Jonathan Ross' review though. My friend IS a big fan, before news was heard of the film and says that the film completely misses the point.

Here are just a few things he wants to say....anyone agree? (obviously only those who have read the book AND seen the film should read this)

The whole power stations around the world blowing up scenario was the biggest change from the comic. Dan doesn't see Rorschach die either, and Dr. Manhatten leaves Earth of his own accord since he isn't the scapegoat. Dan and Laurie aren't so pissed off with Adrian either. And Rorschach didn't kill that guy with the meat cleaver, he set the place on fire. And he didn't have his mask on when he killed Big Figure. Lots of little things were missing that just took away the heart of the comic, in particular the lives of the ordinary people. I felt in the film I didn't care for them at all when they died, simply because they were hardly in it.
 
A lot of people are calling AM a bit of a hypocrite. Well, we all like to get paid for what we do. Also, there was a clause in the contract that would revert the rights from DC back to AM when the comics/graphic novels went out of print.

Guess what?

DC have never let Watchmen go out of print since it first came out.

BTW, my dad is mates with AM and I have met him on many an occasion.
 
I think the lesson here was don't expect to own the concept unless you write, draw, colour and publish yourself.

However, most creator-owned & self published stuff rarely lasts beyond issue 3 these days. Look at Techjacket by Robert Kirkman - 5 issues and that was it - and he writes Invincible and The Walking Dead...
 
Well I haven't read the book, but equally I didn't find it too long either. In fact, I was enjoying it so much I wouldn't allow myself to dash to the toilet until the credits, and woe betide anyone who'd got in my way! ;)
 
Alan Moore is well known for his 'bite the hand that feeRAB him' mentality. He was like than even before he started writing for US comics. He refused to write further Halo Jones stories for 2000AD - this was before he wrote Watchmen - because he didn't have ownership of the character but it was through working for 2000AD that DC saw his talent. Without 2000AD, it's doubtful Moore would have written Watchmen for DC.

My guess is:

A) He doesn't want his work adapted to film because he regarRAB his stories as written solely for the comics medium. It's possible he views film as an inferior medium to comics.

B) He would like to have total control over the films. I reckon if a studio paid him to write and direct Watchmen he would accept it and relish the challenge, assuming he thought he had the ability to direct a big Hollywood film.

He's a great comics writer but his petulance, negativity, and fragile ego do him a disservice. Still, I doubt he cares what people think of him and that tenRAB to be the best way to live a life. You can't worry too much what people think of you. And when you've been as successful as Moore, even more so! ;)
 
Saw the trailer at the cinema a few weeks back and was captivated by it. Never been one for graphic novels; if I'm really honest, I do think of them as comics.

Anyway, I downloaded the trailer to my ipod and watch it occasionally. Have played the Smashing Pumpkins song to death AND have ordered a copy of the original work from Amazon.

Hope this does get released, and I look forward to the DVD (or maybe Blu-ray by this time next year!).

I just hope it's not a case of the trailer being better than the film (Phantom Menace!) all over again.
 
The difference is you see violence on TV and Computer Games all day every day and parents are used to it

When you start seeing porn at 3pm on bbc1 parents will get used to porn too
 
Thats Insane that,Just got back from Manchester Imax,the screen still had a few seats left on the 11am showing(which i went to),but all other screenings today are sold out

Glasgow Imax must like throwing money away
 
I saw it on Sunday night - I think I liked it... I pretty much ruined it for myself by constantly anticipating scenes/dialogue and concentrating too much on spotting the differences between novel and film! I tried not to but couldn't help myself and so I do want to go see it again in a more relaxed mode! :o

Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson were an utter joy to watch though. :)
 
I'm not sure what I thought about it when I saw it last night. I didn't dislike it particularly, but it felt like there was very little story to speak out. If you took out all the flashbacks and irrelevant character development, you could've released it as a 30 minute TV episode without losing any coherence in the plot.

With that said, I have nothing against character development, and I do have a reasonable attention span. I just prefer my stories to have plot first, character development second... not character development first, violence second, great visuals third, sex fourth, plot fifth.
 
Ihave just ordered the graphic novel need to read this before seeing the film. I thought the trailer looked awesome i will probably see this at the IMAX it will suit that huge screen nicely.
 
Its ok i forgive you.


I wish i could sneak in but i don't really look 18, i do know a couple of nock off nigels so i may get it that way. ;)
 
Those are things that would only ever matter to a Watchmen fanboy. I love the source material and I think Snyder has done an amazing job in filming something regarded as 'unfilmable'. The original ending simply would not have worked on film.

I can't wait to see it again.
 
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