WATCHMEN!
Ah, midnight shows! I just love them. The energy in a midnight showing of a geek-tacular movie is just one of my favorite things evar. Especially during the incredibly geekie movie previews before the movie. The new Transformers, Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation... people were hooting and clapping at the previews. I love that. :)
So I'm going to start off with my general impression of the movie. And really, I had as much fun watching this movie for the first time as I did reading the graphic novel! That's what I wanted more than anything, because I was so engrossed with reading the GN that I wanted to replicate that feeling in the theater. And when I walked out of the movie, I was pleased.
It wasn't perfect, and I am afraid that super picky GN fans will hate it because of that. There was a lot left out because of necessity, and there were two changes that I have already seen people shriek over on lj communities. But for me, I didn't mind the changes at all.
THE GOOD
~It's beautiful. There is so much to look at!
~The fight scenes are awesome! The slow motion is so cool, and they used it perfectly.
~Dr. Manhattan looks so cool. He looked really believable. And I loved how the actor portrayed him. The voice is so meek compared to his godlike form, and I really liked that.
~They were able to stick all of that non-linear plot in there, and I felt like it flowed well. I wonder what that was like to someone who didn't know the story before watching the movie...
~I loved the costumes! The old Minutemen's costumes were perfectly hokey, and the new ones were sleek and sexy.
~The music. I was torn, because at first when a song comes on, I thought it was out of place. But really, the whole 80's vibe and keeping the songs from the GN seemed to work. I liked "The Sound of Silence" during the funeral scene. It seems too upbeat at first, but the song is sad and fits the situation. "Hallelujia" during the sex scene was funny, and the whole theater was giggling like a bunch of 12 year olds, but that was okay with me.
~I don't really like Ozymadias to begin with, but I liked his portrayal in the movie. He looks more like a pansy, kinda gay, but that final scene when he totally kicks everybody's ass is like "ohshit"
THE BAD
~Newcomers will have a hard time following along. It's not impossible, but you gotta pay attention.
~I found the "subtle forshadowing" of The Comedian being Laurie's father to be way too obvious. I was a little pissed in the first scene of the movie, because there are fucking pictures of Sally and Laurie everywhere in The Comedian's apartment. When I read the GN I didn't know about Laurie's father until the moment she did. It was quite dramatic. I think it would have been more dramatic in the movie if it came more out of nowhere. Of course, maybe I just noticed all the pictures because I already knew... Eh, I still think they were too obvious.
~Richard Nixon's nose. Seriously, it's too long.
~I didn't like how they kept Ozymadias's cat thing in there. I thought it was a little weird even in the GN when they explained it's existence, I thought it was totally confusing in the movie. Dr. Manhattan looked totally real, yet the cat thing looked CGed. With the changes they already made, they could have easily nixed the cat thing.
~Although I liked the change to the ending (seriously, the squid is weird), when I thought about it, it was totally unbelievable that Nixon and the Russians would have recovered enough from the shock of 15 million deaths to join hands in peace about an hour after the annihilation of several of their cities. That is the biggest problem in the movie.
THE FUCKING AMAZING
~Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian. He was fucking perfect. I was so impressed with his portrayal, it was like he walked straight out of the comic book. Amazing.
~Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Never could there be a more perfect Rorschach. He was mesmerising, intense, and for some reason you totally love him even though he's a biggoted psychopath. His performance in his last scene was nothing short of brilliant. I wanted to cry far more than I did while reading the GN.
So I'm going to start off with my general impression of the movie. And really, I had as much fun watching this movie for the first time as I did reading the graphic novel! That's what I wanted more than anything, because I was so engrossed with reading the GN that I wanted to replicate that feeling in the theater. And when I walked out of the movie, I was pleased.
It wasn't perfect, and I am afraid that super picky GN fans will hate it because of that. There was a lot left out because of necessity, and there were two changes that I have already seen people shriek over on lj communities. But for me, I didn't mind the changes at all.
THE GOOD
~It's beautiful. There is so much to look at!
~The fight scenes are awesome! The slow motion is so cool, and they used it perfectly.
~Dr. Manhattan looks so cool. He looked really believable. And I loved how the actor portrayed him. The voice is so meek compared to his godlike form, and I really liked that.
~They were able to stick all of that non-linear plot in there, and I felt like it flowed well. I wonder what that was like to someone who didn't know the story before watching the movie...
~I loved the costumes! The old Minutemen's costumes were perfectly hokey, and the new ones were sleek and sexy.
~The music. I was torn, because at first when a song comes on, I thought it was out of place. But really, the whole 80's vibe and keeping the songs from the GN seemed to work. I liked "The Sound of Silence" during the funeral scene. It seems too upbeat at first, but the song is sad and fits the situation. "Hallelujia" during the sex scene was funny, and the whole theater was giggling like a bunch of 12 year olds, but that was okay with me.
~I don't really like Ozymadias to begin with, but I liked his portrayal in the movie. He looks more like a pansy, kinda gay, but that final scene when he totally kicks everybody's ass is like "ohshit"
THE BAD
~Newcomers will have a hard time following along. It's not impossible, but you gotta pay attention.
~I found the "subtle forshadowing" of The Comedian being Laurie's father to be way too obvious. I was a little pissed in the first scene of the movie, because there are fucking pictures of Sally and Laurie everywhere in The Comedian's apartment. When I read the GN I didn't know about Laurie's father until the moment she did. It was quite dramatic. I think it would have been more dramatic in the movie if it came more out of nowhere. Of course, maybe I just noticed all the pictures because I already knew... Eh, I still think they were too obvious.
~Richard Nixon's nose. Seriously, it's too long.
~I didn't like how they kept Ozymadias's cat thing in there. I thought it was a little weird even in the GN when they explained it's existence, I thought it was totally confusing in the movie. Dr. Manhattan looked totally real, yet the cat thing looked CGed. With the changes they already made, they could have easily nixed the cat thing.
~Although I liked the change to the ending (seriously, the squid is weird), when I thought about it, it was totally unbelievable that Nixon and the Russians would have recovered enough from the shock of 15 million deaths to join hands in peace about an hour after the annihilation of several of their cities. That is the biggest problem in the movie.
THE FUCKING AMAZING
~Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian. He was fucking perfect. I was so impressed with his portrayal, it was like he walked straight out of the comic book. Amazing.
~Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Never could there be a more perfect Rorschach. He was mesmerising, intense, and for some reason you totally love him even though he's a biggoted psychopath. His performance in his last scene was nothing short of brilliant. I wanted to cry far more than I did while reading the GN.