Got it via Netflix this weekend and watched it. This is one I wish I'd seen in the theater, but for some reason or the other that never seemed to work out.
As I expected, those with whom I watched fell away before the story really got underway. First my mother-in-law called it a night, and then my wife fell asleep on the couch. I didn't really mind; it's not exactly the kind of movie I'd expect my mother-in-law to enjoy, and, even though my wife has excellent taste in movies, without any kind of idea of who these characters were or what this was about, she was almost guaranteed to be outlasted (the movie ran about 2.5 hours, I think).
My verdict: AWESOME! This is probably the best comic adaptation I have ever seen. I latched onto the comic when it first came out and was blown away. The recurring smiley, the story within a story (which they understandably didn't have time for in the movie), great characterization, loads of moral ambiguity, an epic theme. They took comics to the next level with this 12 issue masterpiece.
And it makes you think. I'm one of those who think that justice should be swift and sure. People who do vile things should be punished severely. Rorschach is that way, and even I was apalled at how violently he meted out justice. "Men get arrested. Dogs get put down."
Then you have Ozymandias, cold and calculating, for whom the ends are everything and must be attained by whatever means necessary. For the greater good of mankind, he sacrifices millions in order to save billions. These two characters are kind of at opposite ends of the spectrum, and yet both are brutal. But then even those characters who do see the shades of gray end up siding with Ozymandias because they realize they truly have no choice. As a result, there are no villains in this story. Just as there are no heroes. The heroes are the villains.
You don't exactly walk away with warm fuzzies, but it's a great film anyway. Watch it if you dare.
3 comments:
Have you watched the "Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter" companion DVD they put out. It has the Tale of the Black Freighter motion comic and a "documentary" about the "Under the Hood" book with the original Nite Owl. All done in character, etc. Very cool.
I was floored when I saw it. I wound up seeing it again in IMAX (I had the good fortune to pull a TAD to Vegas the second week it was out). Just an amazing experience, but the problem is that you pretty much have to be a fan of the comic to really enjoy it. A lot of action-film fans and comic-book film fans were let down because it didn't fit their pre-conceived notions of what an action/comic film should be. That's OK, I was happy with the end product, but I completely understand their complaints.
My few complaints:
1. Come on. Vary the fighting a bit, please. It bothered me greatly that Rorschach didn't use a real street brawling style.
2. Rorschach's death. Dude, the blood splatter on the ground was a bit too much.
3. Does Ozzy have a German accent or doesn't he?
4 (but this was corrected in the Director's DVD). They cut out Hollis' death scene. No bueno.
Minor, minor complaints for an otherwise fantastic film.
Haven't seen the companion DVD. Not sure if it was among the extras, since we put it back in the mail already.
I didn't really notice Rorschach's fighting style. Only that he was quick and vicious. But I do agree the bloody muck that was left of him was a bit much. Again, I didn't notice Oz's accent or lack thereof. Really, I was so caught up in the story that my internal critic kind of faded, which is rare for me.
It did bother me that some of Rorschach's internal monologue seemed a bit clunky. Some things read better than they actually sound out loud. Or maybe I was still young enough when I first read it that I wasn't as discerning and didn't notice.
Anyway, I found it just about flawless.
The Tales of the Black Freighter DVD was a separate release. You'll have put it in your Netflix queue separately. Very worthwhile though.
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