ground floor, coming up.

[solipsistnation]

So, that's probably the best possible Watchmen movie we could get. Yes, it's not perfect. Yes, lots of the subtext and the interlaced story bits that aren't about the Watchmen themselves aren't in there. (And I totally fail to see the point of making a separate movie of the Black Freighter stuff. It's a metaphor, guys. Come on.) The violence seemed a little amped up, or at least very... Okay, probably realistic. I guess that fits with what the original point of the book was-- superheroes in a more realistic context, including what beating the crap out of people does to them. So okay, I can live with that.

Switching out the Giant Psychic Space Squid plot for "Frame Dr Manhattan" was, I think, a good choice. Honestly, I never quite bought the Psychic Space Squid thing in the book either. Heck, the whole ending has always felt a little off to me... "Kill lots of people, unite the world against a greater threat?" Hm. I guess. I think that if you have somebody who is effectively all-powerful, framing him for blowing up cities is probably a less effective method of bringing about world peace than the Miracleman method-- that is, just friggin' MAKE them be peaceful, and watch over them from your high castle while your army of superpowerful offspring patrol the world. Heck, you don't even have to figure out how to breed more superhumans-- Dr Manhattan could do the "and now it's an orgy of me and I still get my homework done" trick and be everywhere all at once. I guess you're trying to push people to use their free will to make the choice themselves, but maybe I don't think that, even given a global threat, the US and the USSR would throw aside the Big Red Buttons and get all huggy.

Anyway, that's a complaint I've had since the original book, and the movie? It's definitely a gorgeous film. The original book was cinematic to start with (even in that occasionally claustrophobic 3x3 layout) and although the movie isn't as deep as the book, it's true to the look. For this book, that's probably a good thing.

There are details that were off, and lines that didn't feel right, and you know, Alan Moore's name is nowhere near it. ("Based on the graphic novel co-created by Dave Gibbons!") The music was generally good, although using "All Along The Watchtower" as the Owl and Rorschach walked across the snow toward Ozymandias' giant temple thing was a little silly.

Eh, I don't know if I can add much more to it than anyone else has said anywhere else. I did note a couple of kids in the lobby afterward saying "Man, that was so cliched!" Well, yeah. It is NOW. In 1986, there had been almost nothing else like it.

Comments

[brynndragon.livejournal.com]

I thought the soundtrack was an awesome way of breaking excessive tension as well as building atmosphere - I laughed when All Along the Watchtower showed up because it was just so over the top, and I also laughed at the more subtle use of Everybody Wants to Rule the World.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't even catch Everybody Wants To Rule The World... When was that?

[brynndragon.livejournal.com]

It was playing in the background as elevator music in the lobby area when Ozymandias was meeting with "heads of industry".

[prowler1971.livejournal.com]

although using "All Along The Watchtower" as the Owl and Rorschach walked across the snow toward Ozymandias' giant temple

I was personally surprised to find out they were Cylons.

[mysterysquid.livejournal.com]

Yeah, liked it. Thought the soundtrack was great, for the most part.

[pir.livejournal.com]

I was very entertained in the credits to hear "First we take Manhattan... then we take Berlin".

[meranthi.livejournal.com]

Alan Moore's name is nowhere near it

Alan Moore doesn't *want* his name anyway near it. Unfortunately....

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Nope, I know. I just thought it was interesting to see the sort of elaborate credit they came up with for Dave Gibbons...