Is it obligatory to begin a Watchmen review with my personal connection to the story? Let's err on the side of safety: All I've ever learned about Watchmen has been within the past year. I'd heard grumblings from the hyped-up film world (negative ones, to be sure) and the very first trailer preceding The Dark Knight. I'll be honest and say I picked up the book a few months before the film was released, but only to educate myself so I wouldn't be lost during the film (but I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who can say the same). I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and really tried to immerse myself in the little details. All the while, however, I was thinking about how certain scenes were going to play out in the movie. The book for me was, above all else, a primer.
Now that I've seen the film, I'd like to revisit the comic so I can truly appreciate it for what it is. I can really see why it's such a highly-regarded graphic novel; it took the film to make it obvious to me: It's deep, it's unique, and it's engaging. This is a double-edged statement, because there were sharp contrasts when it came to what the film featured, explored, and dramatized. Did I like it? Well...
Short answer (you won't get many of those from me) yes, I liked it. But I can't help recalling how my initial impression of Zack Snyder's previous film, 300, was quite similar. All it took was a second viewing and WHAM, it stood as the most elegant piece of shit I'd seen in ages. I'm hoping something similar doesn't happen with this one.
The reasons I liked the film are relatively basic: Immersive universe, characters that act as exaggerated versions of real people, and an unsurpassed loyalty to the source material. Even as a one-time reader I was still struck with moments that synced up PERFECTLY in the film. That is a huge compliment I have to pay to the filmmakers; they went beyond just directly stealing the dialogue and shot compositions in certain scenes. There were moments where it truly felt like a fleshed-out version of the comic, emotion and all. Case in point, the section dealing with Dr. Manhattan's back story felt tragic and tense, just like the book. Any time I felt my emotions were matched from my reading experience, I was happy.
Not only that, but I came to greatly appreciate any new elements Snyder added to the mix. The most obvious example is the opening credits sequence. I make no exaggerations when I say my perceptions of Bob Dylan's “The Times, They Are a-Changin'” are much more layered. Hearing a song like that over such an intense sound system reminds you of how powerful it can be. I was most immersed during this opening, which features scenes laid out as if they were photographs. In about 6 minutes, Snyder manages to bring us up to speed on the history of the superheroes and details of the alternate universe they occupy. I’d pay my biggest compliment to this opening scene. It seemed like a gimmick, too, but they managed to really create something memorable. A bit or tragedy leaked through the celluloid in those scenes, mostly due to the soundtrack I’m sure.
Beyond this montage, I was content with the film overall. The same excitement over “which character’s back story will they be focusing on next?” kept cropping up. Any time you can get me excited about future scenes, you’ve done your job, Mr. Snyder.
That being said, there were a few issues I had. It seems there’s no such thing as the perfect Watchmen review. Even the apologists will be complaining about the awkward sex scene or the abrupt and shallow ending. I am no exception. I had problems with those scenes, the ending specifically. I’m being truthful when I say I’ve never had my jaw dropped by a comic before or since the climax of Watchmen. Seeing the full-page, dialogue-free illustrations of a decimated New York City littered with bloody corpses was enough to elicit an “Oh my God!” However, the film really didn’t sell me on the weight of Adrian’s actions. That might be the most frustrating part of watching a film; you can clearly SEE what they’re going for, but no amount of denial in the world is going to get your emotions to change.
Luckily my time wasn’t bogged down with nitpicking what they left and what they kept. As I said, I’m not a devotee to the graphic novel, and any choice they made to keep or remove something was fine by me. Hell, I loved the Lord of the Rings films and they’re significantly different than their source material.
In the end, I believe the film could have fallen on one or two sides: A lavishly devoted but soulless copy of the comic, or a significantly-altered story with the same ideas that can only be passively referred to as “Watchmen”. Obviously, the filmmakers went for the first idea, and the film excels and suffers because of that choice. I do believe it was the correct choice in this situation, since Watchmen isn’t something that would be easily respected in an altered format. Snyder stayed faithful, and I can appreciate his efforts.
Better Than: 300
Worse Than: The Dark Knight
Until Next Time.
Watchmen Review (The Tolerant One)
Is it obligatory to begin a Watchmen review with my personal connection to the story? Let's err on the side of safety: All I've ever learned about Watchmen has been within the past year. I'd heard grumblings from the hyped-up film world (negative ones, to be sure) and the very first trailer preceding The Dark Knight. I'll be honest and say I picked up the book a few months before the film was released, but only to educate myself so I wouldn't be lost during the film (but I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who can say the same). I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and really tried to immerse myself in the little details. All the while, however, I was thinking about how certain scenes were going to play out in the movie. The book for me was, above all else, a primer.
Now that I've seen the film, I'd like to revisit the comic so I can truly appreciate it for what it is. I can really see why it's such a highly-regarded graphic novel; it took the film to make it obvious to me: It's deep, it's unique, and it's engaging. This is a double-edged statement, because there were sharp contrasts when it came to what the film featured, explored, and dramatized. Did I like it? Well...
Short answer (you won't get many of those from me) yes, I liked it. But I can't help recalling how my initial impression of Zack Snyder's previous film, 300, was quite similar. All it took was a second viewing and WHAM, it stood as the most elegant piece of shit I'd seen in ages. I'm hoping something similar doesn't happen with this one.
The reasons I liked the film are relatively basic: Immersive universe, characters that act as exaggerated versions of real people, and an unsurpassed loyalty to the source material. Even as a one-time reader I was still struck with moments that synced up PERFECTLY in the film. That is a huge compliment I have to pay to the filmmakers; they went beyond just directly stealing the dialogue and shot compositions in certain scenes. There were moments where it truly felt like a fleshed-out version of the comic, emotion and all. Case in point, the section dealing with Dr. Manhattan's back story felt tragic and tense, just like the book. Any time I felt my emotions were matched from my reading experience, I was happy.
Not only that, but I came to greatly appreciate any new elements Snyder added to the mix. The most obvious example is the opening credits sequence. I make no exaggerations when I say my perceptions of Bob Dylan's “The Times, They Are a-Changin'” are much more layered. Hearing a song like that over such an intense sound system reminds you of how powerful it can be. I was most immersed during this opening, which features scenes laid out as if they were photographs. In about 6 minutes, Snyder manages to bring us up to speed on the history of the superheroes and details of the alternate universe they occupy. I’d pay my biggest compliment to this opening scene. It seemed like a gimmick, too, but they managed to really create something memorable. A bit or tragedy leaked through the celluloid in those scenes, mostly due to the soundtrack I’m sure.
Beyond this montage, I was content with the film overall. The same excitement over “which character’s back story will they be focusing on next?” kept cropping up. Any time you can get me excited about future scenes, you’ve done your job, Mr. Snyder.
That being said, there were a few issues I had. It seems there’s no such thing as the perfect Watchmen review. Even the apologists will be complaining about the awkward sex scene or the abrupt and shallow ending. I am no exception. I had problems with those scenes, the ending specifically. I’m being truthful when I say I’ve never had my jaw dropped by a comic before or since the climax of Watchmen. Seeing the full-page, dialogue-free illustrations of a decimated New York City littered with bloody corpses was enough to elicit an “Oh my God!” However, the film really didn’t sell me on the weight of Adrian’s actions. That might be the most frustrating part of watching a film; you can clearly SEE what they’re going for, but no amount of denial in the world is going to get your emotions to change.
Luckily my time wasn’t bogged down with nitpicking what they left and what they kept. As I said, I’m not a devotee to the graphic novel, and any choice they made to keep or remove something was fine by me. Hell, I loved the Lord of the Rings films and they’re significantly different than their source material.
In the end, I believe the film could have fallen on one or two sides: A lavishly devoted but soulless copy of the comic, or a significantly-altered story with the same ideas that can only be passively referred to as “Watchmen”. Obviously, the filmmakers went for the first idea, and the film excels and suffers because of that choice. I do believe it was the correct choice in this situation, since Watchmen isn’t something that would be easily respected in an altered format. Snyder stayed faithful, and I can appreciate his efforts.
Better Than: 300
Worse Than: The Dark Knight
Until Next Time.
Posted by thegreatredhope