I'm kind of approaching it the same way I did LotR. The requirements of the media involved are so different, that I'll be looking for the bits they managed to get right more than worrying too much about everything that changed.
I expect they'll be ditching most of the Golden Age hero material for time and characterization limitations. Hopefully, they'll keep the layering of material, where every time you read / watch it you catch something cool you missed the first time. The Matrix did that well, so it's certainly possible.
For me I just don't feel that invested - I liked it but I didn't like it so much that if they screw it up I'll be heartbroken. I read it once when I was like 12 and then just now.
I assume they will have to have a certain amount of golden age stuff, if for no other reason than they've featured the Comedian so prominently, but then maybe I have no idea what you mean.
I was concerned they'd make Dan Dreiberg too buff, and indeed, it looks like they have. He has a freaking paunch!
No, I think you understood what I meant, I was just saying we've got many characters to handle already.
Doc. Manhattan Ozymandias Rorschach Modern Age 'Silk' Spectre Modern Age Night Owl Comedian (in flashback, but still).
They all have very complicated stories - Rorschach's in particular forced me to close the book and do some heavy thinking for a while. Throw in some of the action I'm sure they'll demand, and how much time would they really have for the original Night Owl and Silk Spectre? (Admittedly, original S.S. is pretty important to modern S.S.'s character arc in the comic... do they have screen time for that?)
You have a point about Dreiberg. I guess Hollywood can't handle a paunchy superhero outside of a Pixar movie.
You have a point about Dreiberg. I guess Hollywood can't handle a paunchy superhero outside of a Pixar movie.
In my book that's a pretty big screwup! Alas, my book is so far off Hollywood's book that you can't see it from here.
I trust a good screenwriter & director can convey in a short amount of time what led to Rorschach; a bad one, however, could make a Lifetime movie out of it, so yeah, that one's gonna be tough.
my cousin's concernsyoshimiAugust 5 2008, 15:17:40 UTC
"it looked [from the trailer] like they modernized the costumes to make them look less ridiculous (which misses the point). and they definitely sexed up the female lead (not that she wasn't supposed to be sexy, but she HAS to be older)."
and
"the book doesn't judge the destruction of new york as right or wrong, the movie most certainly will have to. [in post 9/11 america,] there is no way they could take the same angle."
Re: my cousin's concernsexamorataAugust 5 2008, 16:45:36 UTC
The female lead is supposed to be very young, early 20s, I think? So that's fine.
I have read that the ending will be changed, not the effects or purpose of Ozymandias' plan, but it won't be the exact same execution. Maybe they will skirt the destroying-New-York issue?
One thing I really liked about the book was the portrayal of superheros as real people. Heroes age and eventually have to retire. The characters in Watchmen look back on their careers with a mix of pride and dismay, both in what they've done and what they've become. Some are ready to leave it all behind while some long to return to the "glory days". As was mentioned in previous comments, their back-stories are critical and, to me at least, one of the most interesting points of their character development. If the movie can keep a strong focus on the characters, I think it will be alright. If they make it all about the special effects and visuals, then it will really lose something.
I speculate the calamity has been shifted in nature, as film audiences would not react well to a teleporting psychic squid monster. It's very genre, and the film will almost certainly lack the subtle storyline connections and end-of-issue background materials.
Comments 41
I expect they'll be ditching most of the Golden Age hero material for time and characterization limitations. Hopefully, they'll keep the layering of material, where every time you read / watch it you catch something cool you missed the first time. The Matrix did that well, so it's certainly possible.
Reply
I assume they will have to have a certain amount of golden age stuff, if for no other reason than they've featured the Comedian so prominently, but then maybe I have no idea what you mean.
I was concerned they'd make Dan Dreiberg too buff, and indeed, it looks like they have. He has a freaking paunch!
Reply
Doc. Manhattan
Ozymandias
Rorschach
Modern Age 'Silk' Spectre
Modern Age Night Owl
Comedian (in flashback, but still).
They all have very complicated stories - Rorschach's in particular forced me to close the book and do some heavy thinking for a while. Throw in some of the action I'm sure they'll demand, and how much time would they really have for the original Night Owl and Silk Spectre? (Admittedly, original S.S. is pretty important to modern S.S.'s character arc in the comic... do they have screen time for that?)
You have a point about Dreiberg. I guess Hollywood can't handle a paunchy superhero outside of a Pixar movie.
Reply
In my book that's a pretty big screwup! Alas, my book is so far off Hollywood's book that you can't see it from here.
I trust a good screenwriter & director can convey in a short amount of time what led to Rorschach; a bad one, however, could make a Lifetime movie out of it, so yeah, that one's gonna be tough.
Reply
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and
"the book doesn't judge the destruction of new york as right or wrong, the movie most certainly will have to. [in post 9/11 america,] there is no way they could take the same angle."
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If they take that out, it would render the whole thing kinda pointless.
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I have read that the ending will be changed, not the effects or purpose of Ozymandias' plan, but it won't be the exact same execution. Maybe they will skirt the destroying-New-York issue?
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
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Reply
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