And Jimbo said, "Let me see Watchmen," and He saw Watchmen.
Jimbo saw that Watchmen was good, and He separated the movie from the graphic novel.
Seriously, it was pretty good. I know I was pleasantly surprised. This was the first comic book movie I watched where I had actually read the book first. Sure, there were some differences in the minutiae, but otherwise it stuck to the story right up to the end. I mean that literally; the ending was where it broke from the original. To be perfectly honest, I did not like either of the endings. They were both so farfetched that I had to liberally apply palm to face. I suppose the movie ending made slightly more sense, but (SPOILER ALERT: highlight below to read)
| since it had Doc Wanghattan take up the blame, it became silly. He is just one character. I could understand the alien attack ending, where the world had another world to fight. This time, though, they only had one guy... with godlike powers. |
It was good to see all of the characters in action: Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Hooded Justice, The Comedian, Doc Wanghattan, Richard Nixon, and, my personal favorite, Rorschach. I rather wished they would cut out the creepy romance between the second incarnations of Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, but I suppose it was worth keeping it to stave off any super-geek non-canon ire (I know how much they require comic book accuracy). I really liked the idea where most of them were not actually gifted with super powers (with one exception). They just trained their bodies and minds until they became super strong. It almost motivates me to work out and take some fighting classes... almost.
Another trait of the movie that I liked was what should've been a subtitle: "Fuck censorship." This movie had it all: blood, violence, sex, Doc Wanghattan's enormous... feet. I was rather grateful for this shameless disregard to decency, considering the liberal bloodbath that was the graphic novel. It will also teach watchful parents to actually do some research before taking their young, impressionable children to the cinema.
One of my major gripes about the movie was the soundtrack. Well, let me rephrase that. I loved the soundtrack itself. From Simon & Garfunkel to Nena, it had some fun songs. The only problem was that they seemed to be arbitrarily placed into the scene. When I heard "The Sound of Silence," all I could think was, "wouldn't a funeral march make more sense?" Mr. Screenwriter (David Hayter... *swoon*), I'm marking you down for that.
I'm also marking this movie down for seemingly not appealing to women. Seriously, there was not a single woman in the theatre. Just a bunch of fanboys laughing and cheering throughout the movie. Granted, it was the first showing available and I was cheering right there with them, but that's no excuse. At least hire some hookers to watch the film at each showing.
I hesitate to give this movie a numerical score, since I am biased from having read the source material. I will, therefore, refrain from giving an arbitrary real number and just tell you all to see the movie, even if you are not interested. Just buy a ticket and throw it away. Support the industry, if nothing else.
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