Official Watchmen movie thread

[xanis]

I saw it the other night and really liked it. I haven't read the graphic novel, but I didn't think the movie was that hard to follow or understand. My only complaint was that it was a little too long. I feel like they could have shaved a good 45 minutes to an hour off of the movie and still kept it good.

 

[imported_Asianman]

They certainly could have made it shorter. But, as it stands, it is a brilliant film. The additional time is spent wisely on building a greater sense of character, all except for the space ship scene (you know which one I'm talking about), where I unfortunately sat next to a minor. (in Australia, the movie is rated MA15+, so minors could watch it with parental guidance.) Still, Rorscharch is awesome. and Nite Owl is a dork

 

[geno]

Awesome flick, saw it last night There was a lot of refreshing stuff in there, almost anti-Hollywood, and I loved that. The opening "credits" for the studio (WB, Paramount, etc) was as basic as can be. Awesome, cut to the chase. It was raw as hell, there was really no compromise when it came to goriness or gruesomeness. The dialogue was well written, too, Rorschach's narration was descriptive and moody, Dr. Manhattan's dialogue was ominous and just had a great presence, it was all great

 

[TheShiz]

thought the movie was ok. my first exposure to watchmen was the motion comic, which I still prefer. in the film a lot of depth is lost, lot of dialog is cut short or changed to different scenes. the music in the film does not fit the atmosphere for the most part. It was fun to see the characters on the big screen though. The motion comic had much more of an impact for me. I'm reading the GN now.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I liked most of the movie except was vetry bored when they took the 30 minute tangent on Mars...totally ruined the pace.

Loved the music and cinemetography though..

 

[deepred98]

Loved the film though i agree with many of the reviews. Making a movie in essentially a comic strip formula doesn't really work cuz it is too jarring and transitionless but the story was fun and the explosions were awesome lol

 

[hans030390]

I liked it, overall. Here's some comments

1. MUSIC - I HATED how they didn't just stick with a completely original soundtrack. I hated how they stuck other/popular songs in there. It felt like they'd throw in a song simply because it had one word in it that matched the current theme, went along with the quotations in the graphic novel, or took place in the 80's. I think the worst thing they did was throw in "Ride of the Valkyries" (spelling?) while Dr. Manhattan is blowing up Vietnamese soldiers. It turned a serious scene into something I LAUGHED at. Whether that was intended or not, it should NOT have been like that. I have no problem with the music itself, but how they used the music...as in, I really wish it was just all original (like LotR, for example). It really can make or break the movie...or at least make things feel weird.

2. Fighting - Everyone seemed to have super strength...it needed to be toned down.

3. Acting - Some of the acting was great, some was just borderline decent.

4. Blunt - The movie is blunt. All subtleties are gone...

5. Ending - I really preferred the movie's ending to the graphic novel's. I honestly hated the graphic novel's ending.

6. Change - They changed some things that really didn't make it any cooler...or make sense. Archie now comes out through the river...what? That added nothing, and it makes more sense for it to come out of a local abandoned warehouse (I believe that's what it was).

7. Sex scene - Yes, it was originally there, along with accidentally hitting the flamethrower. But this was just too awkward.

8. Intro - Music ties into this...the intro was cool, but won't really help clear anything up for anyone who hasn't read the GN.

9. Backstory - Lacking...Also, it's hard to pick up on the story if you haven't read it (general consensus).

10. Penis - I don't see why everyone is complaining about it. It's never the center of attention. That's how it always was in the GN.

I can't think of anything else in particular. I know those are all mostly negative comments, but assume I enjoyed everything else.

I don't see why people dislike it so much, outside of not having read the GN. I can see why that'd cause problems. I personally would have enjoyed it much more if they had just stuck with an original soundtrack.

 

[Jadow]

It'd have been better if they just did Rorshack the Movie, with 2 hours of him solving crimes and mutilating bad guys.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

The Ride of the Valkyries was the most amazing scene ever.

 

[lizardth]

OMG BLUE GLOWING PENIS!

That is all.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13
The Ride of the Valkyries was the most amazing scene ever.

I thought it ruined it...completely. The scene, that is. It ruined the scene.

 

[andylawcc]

loved the story-telling, excellent character development.
loved the intro, it provided enough backstory to understand what's going on.
liked the music, it's unique and blended in real well with great contrast.
hated the sex scene, kinda pointless, makes Nite Owl looks even more noobage than he is, the spit fire thing is just lame.
loved the fight scene, total redeemed Nite Owl. He's bad ass in the prison break.
loved Rorschach. Period.
loved the dark, gloomy storyline. Makes The Dark Knight looks like The Teletubbies.

and no, I didn't read the graphic novel

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Oceandevi

Originally posted by: Kev
what the hell was that thing they were floating around in on mars?

A ford focus. duh

best reply!

 

[tc5984]

Wasn't "Ride of the Valkyries" the song that was playing in the Auto Shop in the one of the excerpts from "Behind the Cowl?" I immediately made the connection when it started playing, but perhaps I'm mistaken. Either way the song seemed woefully out of place during that scene of the movie, but if I'm right that it's a reference to the auto shop scene in the comic that would be enough consolation for me.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: tc5984
Wasn't "Ride of the Valkyries" the song that was playing in the Auto Shop in the one of the excerpts from "Behind the Cowl?" I immediately made the connection when it started playing, but perhaps I'm mistaken. Either way the song seemed woefully out of place during that scene of the movie, but if I'm right that it's a reference to the auto shop scene in the comic that would be enough consolation for me.

That's correct, it was. How did you think it was woefully out of place? I thought it was great and almost added an Apocalypse Now feel to the scene.

KT

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Sedition

Originally posted by: captains
i enjoyed the movie until they kept showing a blue dong hanging all over the screen

Grow up. This has been the lamest issue thus far. If you are uncomfortable with penises move to Utah and join the Mormons or something. It is just a cock. Deal with it.

I agree with you completely. Apparently some people just can't stand the sight of flaming blue penis.

(Note that in the original Unreal Tournament (1999) game, the pulse rifle secondary fire (lightening stream that can be wielded) was sometimes referred to as flaming green penis. In fact there was a mod where, if you killed three people in a row that way, a message would flash across everyone's screen saying, "<player name> likes flaming green penis.")

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Jadow
It'd have been better if they just did Rorshack the Movie, with 2 hours of him solving crimes and mutilating bad guys.

The sequel to the movie might be: Rorshach: Origins

 

[WhipperSnapper]

My brief review:

I loved the movie but I'm not sure exactly why yet. It seems to have struck an emotional chord with me for some reason.

I have not read the graphic novel but had done enough Internet research before seeing the movie to more or less know what the story is about and how it ends, etc. I first learned about the existence of the Watchmen story when I saw the teaser trailer that was shown with The Dark Knight last year and I became intrigued. I dug up the teaser trailer on YouTube and watched it a couple times, thinking that it was very cool.

I regard the movie as art but I'm not sure exactly why I'm placing it in that category. I guess I liked the portrayal of the characters though I thought the plot development was weak. (The timing and selection of the background music songs was horrible.) At root, the movie still contains some basic elements of a superhero movie--humanity might be rotten but virtuous, moral people can survive and prevail. Of course they didn't avert Ozymandius's questionable actions, but Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II seemed to be thriving and rejuvenated.

My wife liked the movie too and she knew almost nothing about it coming into the theater.

 

[lyssword]

I have watched this movie, I connected with the characters, their philosophy. I have also understood dr. Manhattan timetravel thing, because I've read "slaughterhouse 5".

better than dark knight for me. 10/10

 

[nerdress]

I saw the movie after I read the comic, and I thought it was brilliant. What happened to Rorschach at the end...my roommate and I both welled up. We saw it like, three times in the theater...got us every time. :sigh: What a great damn movie.

 

[Mo0o]

Movie felt too long, probably because it stayed too close to the comic. THe voice over narrative was ridiculous and over the top to teh point of being a cliche of itself. The fighting didnt make a lot of sense either. They aren't suppose to have any superpowers yet they seem to be able to fight large groups of people all they want. Dr. Manhattan is the only real superhero and everyone else is playing dress up. Fighting was really boring, should hvae gotten a better fight choregrapher.

The philosophy etc was ok, but nothing earth shattering

I dunno, overall i thought the movie took itself too seriously and just became a self-parody

 

[Joemonkey]

+1 for not starting your own thread! great movie, but i don't recommend getting the black freighter on Blu-Ray or DVD, it wasn't that great

can't WAIT for Watchmen on Blu-Ray