"I'm Not Locked In Here With You! You're Locked In Here With ME!"
For my birthday, me and Debra went to see Watchmen, a film (much like Star Trek) that I've been waiting for with baited breath for - literally - years. And surprisingly enough, Debra likes it. She complains about it being a bit long and the plot being a bit nebulous, which are both fair comments, but I'm somewhat amazed that someone who has never read the comic can enjoy it and follow the storyline.
I think it's amazing, but for a couple of weeks in 2005, I immersed myself in the comic, borrowed from the library. I then went out and bought my own copy, which I am now slowly rereading, with specific reference to the movie.
Like I said, I loved it. It wasn't perfect (The Dark Knight and Superman: The Movie still trounce it as films) but what astonishes me is how faithful it is. There are a few token changes and that's it. In terms of being faithful to the source material, it even beats the first Spider-Man film into the ground. And, somewhat surprisingly, most critics who have given it a kicking (and several of them have) cite this faithfulness to the text to be a downfall. They would no doubt - had the film diverged from the comic - complained about how it would have been so much better if it had remained faithful. Sometimes you can't win.
The other sticking point, one which is fairer, is the relative lack of empathy for the characters. But again, that is a 'problem' which is dealt with in the context of the movie itself. None of the cast are 'good' people really - the Comedian (a fearless performance from perennial nice guy Jeffrey Dean Morgan) shoots a pregnant woman dead and attempts to rape one of his team mates, Rorshach is psychotic and even the ostensibly normal Nite Owl is bitter and misanthropic. In fact, Doctor Manhattan, the least human of the cast, is the only one the film allows us to empathise with.
I assume the irony was lost on most reviewers. My Blu-Ray is on order.
Peace out.
I think it's amazing, but for a couple of weeks in 2005, I immersed myself in the comic, borrowed from the library. I then went out and bought my own copy, which I am now slowly rereading, with specific reference to the movie.
Like I said, I loved it. It wasn't perfect (The Dark Knight and Superman: The Movie still trounce it as films) but what astonishes me is how faithful it is. There are a few token changes and that's it. In terms of being faithful to the source material, it even beats the first Spider-Man film into the ground. And, somewhat surprisingly, most critics who have given it a kicking (and several of them have) cite this faithfulness to the text to be a downfall. They would no doubt - had the film diverged from the comic - complained about how it would have been so much better if it had remained faithful. Sometimes you can't win.
The other sticking point, one which is fairer, is the relative lack of empathy for the characters. But again, that is a 'problem' which is dealt with in the context of the movie itself. None of the cast are 'good' people really - the Comedian (a fearless performance from perennial nice guy Jeffrey Dean Morgan) shoots a pregnant woman dead and attempts to rape one of his team mates, Rorshach is psychotic and even the ostensibly normal Nite Owl is bitter and misanthropic. In fact, Doctor Manhattan, the least human of the cast, is the only one the film allows us to empathise with.
I assume the irony was lost on most reviewers. My Blu-Ray is on order.
Peace out.
