As a whole (regarding the technical aspects of the film), I thought the movie was beautiful, well shot and put together well. As an adaptation, it was good but I think for those not familiar with the source material may get lost or not have as much emotional attachment as those who’ve read the book. My wife is usually my filter for things like this (as she vehemently insists she’s anti-geek, despite owning Elfquest HC Vol. #1) and when asked what she thought, she said “it was too long” (though she’s not a fan of seeing movies at theaters, as she’s spoiled by TiVo and the ability to pause whenever she wants) and she felt like stuff was missing from the film (she’s never read the book). Myself, I’d almost wished “I had not read the book going in…” so I could view it as a film rather than having my brain constantly refer tot the minutia of detail from the book while trying to watch it (as mentioned in the Geek Show Podcast Mini-Cast Watchmen review available now at Geekshowpodcast.com or for download on iTunes).
What I liked about the movie was its Rockstar-movie kind of feel, purists may not agree with it, but I loved the “glossy-pop” style from the costumes to the fights to the glamour shots. Without it I think the movie would have suffered if it was made with a more low-key gritty realism (like the book) that would not have worked in a film. Everyone was big, sexy, atomic post-human excitement, despite the lack of powers (are super-kung-fu moves a superpower?). Just like the brief Andy Warhol cameo, Watchmen the film is very much so Watchmen’s “fifteen minutes of fame” (as coined by Wharhol) blasting your senses for 163 minutes (though there is an extended version of the film its self coming out on DVD and Blue-Ray, in addition to “Tales of the Black Freighter” DVD featuring the Black Freighter comic as an animated feature in addition to the Hollis Mason/ Nite-Owl I penned “Under the Hood” Mocumentry based on the book of the same name + a supercut version with the two features edited in).
As a story, as I said prior I had both problems and enjoyment from reading the book prior to viewing Watchmen. It added to the parts missing and also distracted simultaneously. Some of the minor changes I was pleased with and enjoyed, such as the costumes (Comedians more hard-core looking military gear, Silk Spectre II’s hot and sexy latex sex suit, Nite-Owl II’s Batman-esque body armor and slick goggles, even Ozymandias’ muscle suit complete with nipples and faux-Bowie “Thin White Duke” look), the set dressing and style (hyper-realized “stagey” look) and elements of the “Psycho-Squidless” ending featuring the “Deus Ex Machina” quite literally.
The not so much so good (not flat out bad), flat acting in some parts, lines taken out of context or omissions of lines of dialogue completely (in some cases dialogue given to other characters completely, losing the impact of the lines wholesale and totally), and the 9-11 green movement liberal-democratic message delivered with the elegance and precision of that of a razor-sharp brick delivered to your head with the speed of a pro-ball pitcher (don’t get me wrong, I voted liberal across the board last election and am pro-electric-car-green-energy let’s-all-be swell-to out neighbors, foreign and domestic kind of guy). In a post 9-11 world where everything’s gone to shit thanks to republican agendas, corporate interests (or rather the bottomless greed of a bottom line never low enough) mucking about with your income and politics, and a general screw you to the American public, I’d imagine it’s hard not to try and draw parallels and drive them home when able to (just look at another Alan Moore adaptation for film, V for Vendetta where the message of “Anarchy” and individual freedom was changed to “Democracy” as freedom for the masses). I had less of a problem with the ending featuring the Dr. Manhattan energy signature neutron bomb effect (Sub Quantum Unifying Intrinsic Device or S.Q.U.I.D. for those paying attention) rather than the “Alien Psycho-Squid” (giant genetically engineered alien life-form that kills everyone with psychic- style mental powers like Professor X or Jean Grey) than the ending featuring electric cars, free power, Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre I) living on the outskirts of New York (causing a loss of a line in the “…It rains on the just an’ the unjust alike..* early on in the film), and as stated before the liberal hammer message. Also curiously omitted it the identity changes (and “blond bleaching” of hair and newly mustached Dan) of Laurie (Silk Spectre II) and Dan Drieberg (Nite-Owl II) to Sandra and Sam Hollis (in memory of the deceased friend and mentor to Dan, Hollis Mason) as the two are assumed “Dead”. I can only assume it was missing and changed simply for running time as explanations would be needed to the uninitiated and in context of the movie was not a necessary piece of pie to complete the meal. Also, I’m being nit picky here, but the only thing I didn’t like about the sex scene was the fact that Dan was not in fact wearing his goggles while giving Laurie the “business time” sexytime explosion. It really is an important part of the character flaws of Dan and Laurie that’s not really intimately explored in the film, they get off on being superheroes. They don’t just dress up and fight crime to help people or do it to do right by people, they’re adrenaline junkies addicted to their masks and the hotness of fighting and screwing like beasts, in costumes. Other than that, I loved the sex scene and can only hope there’s an extended cut of said scene, cuz I just want’s me more of superhero sexytime!
As I said (again), it’s a good film and I enjoyed quite a bit it for the most part, despite the small things. And I can’t really complain or fault it as it’s brilliant for what it is, a film adaptation of Watchmen. I loved Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach (Walter Kovacs), he steals the scenes he’s in and brings a child like wonder and heart to the roll despite being a hard, republican, take no prisoners, bastard of a man. If cast wrong, the character could have been a terrible joke but JEH brings everything to the table needed to not only make Rorschach believable, but also makes you chare about him despite not being a nice person or even a decent human being.
And on that note, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake (the Comedian) also pulled the proper amount of sympathy out of a downright unrepentant bastard. True, the Comedian is unlikable at best in both the film and the book (well none of the characters are nearly as altruistic as your standard superhero, even in comparison to Marvel superheroes these damaged individuals go far beyond the pale), but in both mediums there’s a level of sympathy looking back at Blake and the performance of Morgan brings it shining through.
Also, the fight scenes were quite masterful and hyper-kinetic while being vulgar and brutal. From the beginning murder of the Comedian (of which my wife guessed the “murderer” early on but stated had forgotten about it at the end due to the film’s length) and it’s superhuman battle, to the alley fight with broken bodies, to the “fryer” incident in prison followed by the prison breakout, the fight scenes were over the top and glorious in their excess. Beauty in brutality, poetry in pugilism, celebration in crippling, magic in mangling and spectacular in spectacle. I however hope in one of the “missing” scenes (cut for length, featured in the DVD/ Blue-Ray) featuring the death of Hollis Mason we get to see him go old time boxing-style (like Wildcat from JSA as Jeff Vice put it) on the gang of Top-Knots who home invasion Hollis and end up crushing in his skull with his own brass statuette.
Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan (Jon Osterman) beams with childlike delight one moment then a complete disconnect from humanity the next. His emotional filter is cracked and comes through the combined actor/ CGI performance.
Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter (Silk Spectre II) was serviceable, but no where as strong as the other performances (though I wonder if it had anything to do with stripping the character of her “weight of damage” and baggage lacking in the characters story, motivation, and personality). She provided a counter point and delicious bag of eye candy but not much else, especially in her delivery of the final lines to Ozymandias (in the book, the final dialogue is between Veidt and Manhattan and is much heavier than the throw away line Laurie utters).
Matthew Goode portraying Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) does an excellent job despite being far too sinister in moments throughout the film. He’s possibly as disconnected if not more than Manhattan when it comes to humanity, and comes off without any warmth whatsoever. I do have to say again I love the nippled-muscle suit (in a totally non-gay way, not that there’s anything wrong with it) as an almost homage to Batman Forever/ Batman and Robin as a more “Modern” look at the pervert-suit.**
For better or for worse, I don’t think a better film could be made (not counting the extended cut I’m salivating for as I was worried I would upon seeing the movie in theaters for the first time) out of the material. Zack Snyder manages to be intamatly close to the material enough (as most fans are) to respect and replicate the source as needed, but also has enough of a sensibility as a filmmaker and human being to take liberties when needed and push things forward to an audience that may not only have not read the source, or could really not care about it. Some things needed to be altered for running time, some for story compression, some just to be palatable for a mainstream audience (including comic fans and fans of the Watchmen trade-paperback/ graphic novel).
Regarding what I’m sure will in fact be a backlash of translation to film (IE minute details and including everything from the book, hell I’ve nit-picked parts of the film and haven’t given every single nit) the reality of a direct translation of every inch of material to that of a film in wholly impossible in the fact Watchmen is a deconstructionist comic while maintaining trappings of the genre and celebrating it all at the same time! From romance to horror, superheroes to war comics, hell even pirate/ adventure comics it’s all in the Watchmen! Watchmen is comics, its something very few have come close to replicating (the only thing that springs to mind even remotely comparable is the magnificent Planetary by Warren Ellis published by Wildstorm DC, fingers crossed that the final issue comes out this year!), as its density is immense and has many of the last words on comics. As an adaptation, even if spun into a TV mini-series on HBO or Showtime (as it would be needed with all the cussin’, smokin’ and sexin’), you’d still be missing parts of the story as the book is truly interactive fiction. Barring those comparisons, I’m curious to see and hear what mainstream audiences think of the film version of Watchmen, in addition to those unfamiliar with the works of Moore.
As a final note, I’m probably speaking heresy here, but I could in fact go for a prequel or prequels of Watchmen if everyone involved returned (though the actors have already said they wouldn’t return). Don’t get me wrong, they covered the majority of material, but I’d really like to see a Minutemen movie with the original heroes as I think there’s material in the book and film that could still be mined for a prequel (though I may change my mind once viewing Under the Hood). Plus, who wouldn’t want to see a solo Rorschach movie (featuring Nite-Owl and cameos by others) as he descends into the grimy depths of humanity, perhaps even leading up to the incident with the murdered girl? Honestly, the farther out from the viewing of the movie the more I like it and want more since it did in fact evoke the spirit of the book while making a film that is extremely watchable.
Who watches the Watchmen? We do, for better or for worse.
* The full line in the book is “Yeah? Well, things are tough all over, cupcake, An’ it rains on the just and unjust alike… except in California.” As Sally lives in a retirement home somewhere in the mythical sunny southern California (or is alluded to rather), not unlike an aging starlet put out to pasture in her twilight years, reflecting upon the golden years of youth and stardom long gone.
** Pervert-Suit is a term coined by Warren Ellis (of Planetary, Transmetropolitan, and recently Astonishing X-Men fame) referencing the superhero’s penchant for tight spandex (or latex, or leather, or whatever). As superheroes have an underling theme of adolescent power fantasy, heightened by another underling layer of beautiful people wearing “supertight” leotards in a sexually charged “fantasy” underneath the “union suits” worn in the name of disguise.