WATCHMEN - Movie Discussion and Grading (SPOILERS)

[Gojirob]

Despite my generally positive vibe for this film, one change confused me. When Rorschach does away with the girl's killer, why not keep that like in the book? I would think that leaving a man to choose between getting blown up or cutting off his own hand would be very cinematic, and take no more time than than the slicing they showed.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Despite my generally positive vibe for this film, one change confused me. When Rorschach does away with the girl's killer, why not keep that like in the book? I would think that leaving a man to choose between getting blown up or cutting off his own hand would be very cinematic, and take no more time than than the slicing they showed.

The reason was supposedly very specific: the folks making Watchmen felt that the success of the "Saw" movies undercut (so to speak) the visceral shock and effectiveness of the scene.

 

[nickyboy]

it was good but nothing I haven't seen before

 

[Davros]

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I will make the economic vote and buy a copy of this film when it comes out on DvD.

That said, I still do not like the change done to the ending. I would have stuck with blaming the same entity as the original book did.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I wasn't that impressed with Moore's plotted ending when I read this originally - only with the reactions of the various Watchmen to the enormity of the crime. In detail the scheme had a Rube Goldbergish-quality to it and the whole thing came out of left field.

Having re-read the graphic novel yesterday for the first time in some years, I'm coming around to liking Snyder's version better than Moore's. Among other things, it reinforces Dr. Manhattan's centrality to the whole moral and social shape of that world in a way that produces a nice thematic symmetry. Of course he's the fulcrum of Adrian's scheme.

 

[Gojirob]

Despite my generally positive vibe for this film, one change confused me. When Rorschach does away with the girl's killer, why not keep that like in the book? I would think that leaving a man to choose between getting blown up or cutting off his own hand would be very cinematic, and take no more time than than the slicing they showed.

The reason was supposedly very specific: the folks making Watchmen felt that the success of the "Saw" movies undercut (so to speak) the visceral shock and effectiveness of the scene.

Which actually makes perfect sense, because the first time I viewed a commercial for Saw 1, the scene with Rorschach snapped right to mind. I think he's going to continue to be for Moore what Lucifer was for Milton.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Which actually makes perfect sense, because the first time I viewed a commercial for Saw 1, the scene with Rorschach snapped right to mind. I think he's going to continue to be for Moore what Lucifer was for Milton.

It's funny - I loved "The Incredibles," but when I first saw it there were several points at which "Watchmen" jumped out at me - the novel has been influential in peculiar ways.

 

[Davros]

Despite my generally positive vibe for this film, one change confused me. When Rorschach does away with the girl's killer, why not keep that like in the book? I would think that leaving a man to choose between getting blown up or cutting off his own hand would be very cinematic, and take no more time than than the slicing they showed.

The reason was supposedly very specific: the folks making Watchmen felt that the success of the "Saw" movies undercut (so to speak) the visceral shock and effectiveness of the scene.

Mad Max did it before either.

 

[Gojirob]

Which actually makes perfect sense, because the first time I viewed a commercial for Saw 1, the scene with Rorschach snapped right to mind. I think he's going to continue to be for Moore what Lucifer was for Milton.

It's funny - I loved "The Incredibles," but when I first saw it there were several points at which "Watchmen" jumped out at me - the novel has been influential in peculiar ways.

I almost see The Incredibles as Watchmen done by Disney--in a good way. I think I posted elsewhere, that, when my brother saw Dollar Bill's fate in the opener, he leaned over and said 'No Capes Dahling'. Its honestly hard to tell how many now-common tropes either began with or became popularized by the novel. Although some instances are rather blatant and awkward. I remember 'Young Avengers' Cassie Lang's Mom going on about how, as a cop, Cassie's stepdad 'hated heroes' as though this was just a given in the MU that cops feel this way. The way I've always seen it, it was on a hero-by-hero basis. Cap was a given, Spidey so long as they weren't unloading armories of bullets on him, the Punisher not at all. Trying to shoehorn this view into an existing universe just didn't work, much like the story of the Lang family for the past seven years.

The masks in Watchmen all strike me as reckless and a little detached from the consequences of their actions, though the police strike confuses me a bit. There is no way this small group of mostly non-powered adventurers could have curtailed crime nationwide enough to make the police worry about employment.

 

[Mr Light]

One thing that really threw me... when Dan and Laurie were fighting the robbers in the alley... were they brutally murdering them all? At one point does Laurie stick a knife in the guy's neck? Wouldn't that make them exactly the same as Rorshach? I thought only Ror, the Comedian, and later Manhatten killed.

 

[Bad Bishop]

I will be honest and say that yes i thought that part was hilarious. I laughed out loud when he smashed her into the pool table. At this point i had figured out that everything was supposed to be comic-book and it was funny that the Comedian in his old age can withstand his head smashing through various objects like tables, glass, countertops etc (not pavement apparently) but in her prime Sally Jupiter is brought to her knees and defeated by a couple punches and a pool table?

It's not that simple. Blake entered the room and Sally protested. She made the mistake of trying to reason with Blake. And then she was clearly unprepared for the sheer savagery of his assault. That's why she was quickly subdued.

If you liked the assault of Sally Jupiter then you probably loved it when Blake murdered the young Vietnamese girl.

Loved it? No. But i did see it coming and i did laugh when he popped her one. The more over the top it got the funnier it was. I do not equate movies with reality in any way shape or form. I do not feel pity or horror or any disgust over what happens to fictional characters.

Oh, of course not. Instead, when a fictional character like Sally Jupiter is beaten to a pulp, you enjoy it--by your own admission.

 

[Gojirob]

One thing that really threw me... when Dan and Laurie were fighting the robbers in the alley... were they brutally murdering them all? At one point does Laurie stick a knife in the guy's neck? Wouldn't that make them exactly the same as Rorshach? I thought only Ror, the Comedian, and later Manhatten killed.

I would argue its less that they never killed, more that it wasn't their preference. The gangers were looking to have a good time at the expense of their lives and dignity, and perhaps they felt only brutality would turn them back. Whether that's true or not, once the gang's pride had been wounded, they were probably not going to stop coming. In RL? Probably just seeing a few members so easily hurt would scatter them. But movie gangs, like movie cops, operate by a physics that's hard to explain. I remember in Peter David's Batman Forever novelization, Dick wondering if the entire neighborhood's residents all belonged to this one gang (when he boosted the big car).

 

[TGTheodore]

Another thing that detracted from this film was that Comedian looked like Robert Downey Jr. on steroids, and Silk was a dead ringer for Lucy Lawless in her early Xena days but without the tan. I was waiting for her to go into a tongue yell at any second.

--Ted

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Since neither of those things were true from where I was sitting they didn't detract from the movie in any way.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Despite my generally positive vibe for this film, one change confused me. When Rorschach does away with the girl's killer, why not keep that like in the book? I would think that leaving a man to choose between getting blown up or cutting off his own hand would be very cinematic, and take no more time than than the slicing they showed.

I agree with what others have said--Saw and Mad Max, but I also think him killing the guy with the cleaver also really clearly shows how insane Rorschach is, how off his rocker he is, and that is the moment he snaps.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I agree with what others have said--Saw and Mad Max

One way to acknowledge that would have been for Rorschach to say to him something like "I saw this in a movie once". That would have been kind of funny.

 

[Ethros]

Speaking of Rorschach, I loved the way he delivered the responses to the rorschach tests, intercut with what he really saw
"A butterfly"
"Some pretty flowers"

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I agree with what others have said--Saw and Mad Max

One way to acknowledge that would have been for Rorschach to say to him something like "I saw this in a movie once". That would have been kind of funny.

Especially in 1985.

Speaking of Rorschach, I loved the way he delivered the responses to the rorschach tests, intercut with what he really saw
"A butterfly"
"Some pretty flowers"

I loved his parting line to the psychiatrist, as he pulled on his mask: "Tell me, what do you see?"

Not in the novel.

 

[TheBrew]

Some of the CGI was quite bad

Really? I thought the visuals were spot on throughout. Can't remember any shots that stood out as "bad" cgi.

Maybe the Mars scenes and the glass vessel, but then I didn't think it was bad cgi, just obvious cgi.

It was really only one shot that stood out as bad for me, quite early in the film I think it was with the city skyline and the things in the air (ad balloons?) they just looked very very bad CGI, which is strange cause in later shots they looked good.

To me, the worst CGI shot was Doc Manhattan getting dressed for his interview. The cloth simulation really stood out as poor, especially on the Doc himself who still looked great.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

To me, the worst CGI shot was Doc Manhattan getting dressed for his interview. The cloth simulation really stood out as poor...

Yeah, I noticed that too. The "plastic" shirt...