Watchmen
Back from seeing Watchmen.
Well, it didn't suck. And I think that, ignoring a few things, this was the best way to adapt it for the screen. That said, I don't think it was spectacular, either. I'd probably rate it around a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.
Honestly, I'd probably knock about a half point off of that rating if I hadn't read it beforehand. The movie felt somewhat disjointed at times, and if I hadn't already been familiar with the plot, I may have had trouble connecting the dots here and there.
Random thoughts:
First half was a lot better than second half, to me. Excellent job setting everything up, creating mood, etc. I felt things started going downhill a bit at about the point when Rorschach goes off to prison. Not seriously downhill, but not quite as good as the first hour and a half.
This film certainly earned its 'R' rating.
Not a fan of the graphic violence. More a personal quirk than a criticism of the film itself, as the novel is really just as bloody. The whole "cut the arms off of the inmate that Rorschach trapped" thing felt really unnecessary. I can handle print violence (even in image form) a lot better than I deal with onscreen bloodshed. See also: Laurie and Dan's fight against the muggers.
Of mixed opinion regarding the soundtrack. Felt needlessly heroic and bombastic at times. Also disagreed some of the choices made regarding insertion of recognizable music (like any of the songs recorded after 1990 or so). I loved "The times, they are a-changin'" as the music for the intro credits, though.
The Dan and Laurie sex scene was about a minute and a half too long. And I didn't like "Hallelujah" as the background music, either.
Re: Ending: it's about as good as they could've done. As much as I love the giant space squid, I have to agree with Zach Snider that it doesn't work that well for a movie, especially since all of the little clues didn't show up in the film (and didn't really need to, honestly). And if you're going to stick with the whole "unite mankind against a common enemy" plan, Dr. Manhattan is the only other outsider available.
I think a number of the people in the audience were amused at how often we got to observe the good Doctor's package.
I'm sort of ticked that they left out Hollis getting killed, and Dan's reaction to it. It admittedly doesn't really influence the plot, and the movie is long enough as is, but the scene in the bar afterwards was the one time we really get to see the angrier side of Dan. He's really too nice of a guy, willingness to kick ass at times notwithstanding.
Laurie's outfit really is ridiculous.
Well, it didn't suck. And I think that, ignoring a few things, this was the best way to adapt it for the screen. That said, I don't think it was spectacular, either. I'd probably rate it around a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.
Honestly, I'd probably knock about a half point off of that rating if I hadn't read it beforehand. The movie felt somewhat disjointed at times, and if I hadn't already been familiar with the plot, I may have had trouble connecting the dots here and there.
Random thoughts:
First half was a lot better than second half, to me. Excellent job setting everything up, creating mood, etc. I felt things started going downhill a bit at about the point when Rorschach goes off to prison. Not seriously downhill, but not quite as good as the first hour and a half.
This film certainly earned its 'R' rating.
Not a fan of the graphic violence. More a personal quirk than a criticism of the film itself, as the novel is really just as bloody. The whole "cut the arms off of the inmate that Rorschach trapped" thing felt really unnecessary. I can handle print violence (even in image form) a lot better than I deal with onscreen bloodshed. See also: Laurie and Dan's fight against the muggers.
Of mixed opinion regarding the soundtrack. Felt needlessly heroic and bombastic at times. Also disagreed some of the choices made regarding insertion of recognizable music (like any of the songs recorded after 1990 or so). I loved "The times, they are a-changin'" as the music for the intro credits, though.
The Dan and Laurie sex scene was about a minute and a half too long. And I didn't like "Hallelujah" as the background music, either.
Re: Ending: it's about as good as they could've done. As much as I love the giant space squid, I have to agree with Zach Snider that it doesn't work that well for a movie, especially since all of the little clues didn't show up in the film (and didn't really need to, honestly). And if you're going to stick with the whole "unite mankind against a common enemy" plan, Dr. Manhattan is the only other outsider available.
I think a number of the people in the audience were amused at how often we got to observe the good Doctor's package.
I'm sort of ticked that they left out Hollis getting killed, and Dan's reaction to it. It admittedly doesn't really influence the plot, and the movie is long enough as is, but the scene in the bar afterwards was the one time we really get to see the angrier side of Dan. He's really too nice of a guy, willingness to kick ass at times notwithstanding.
Laurie's outfit really is ridiculous.