I started reading the book last week and watched the movie this morning. There wasn't really anyone there. It was a 10:45 AM showing, but there was about 30 people max and this was opening day. I wasn't too surprised, but sort of surprised considering all the fan boy talk in this thread.
I think people who have read the book will enjoy it, at least for the fact of seeing how it does or does not live up to the book. I think the average person who has seen the commercials and trailers will think it's too long and kind of slow. That's just my impression. My wife was disappointed because the commercials really made it seem like an action movie.
I though the beginning half hour to hour was really good. I loved the shots and the feel of it. I enjoyed it overall, but wasn't completely in love with it.
I though the beginning half hour to hour was really good. I loved the shots and the feel of it. I enjoyed it overall, but wasn't completely in love with it.
I was also super happy to have re-read the book only a month before seeing this I was quite hazed flask in hand and i must say i enjoyed the adaptation aspect quite a bit but as a movie as a whole it is nowhere as complete as dark knight.
They tell the frame by frame story as best as they can and they have good shots but we miss a bit of the ambiance. The rioting crowds are almost only present at the beggining (we would have benefited from the mobbing death of the hollis mason)
so the story ends but there is not much of a larger struggle about humanity that is translated to the film
however this is good news
A DVD based on elements of the Watchmen universe will be released; it will include an animated adaptation of the comic Tales of the Black Freighter within the story, starring Gerard Butler, and the documentary Under the Hood, detailing the older generation of superheroes from the film's back-story. An extended edition of the film, with Tales of the Black Freighter interspersed through the main storyline in a manner reminiscent of the comic, is forthcoming.
Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic within the Watchmen comic, will be adapted as a direct-to-video animated feature from Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation, which will be released on March 24, 2009.[113] It was originally included in the script,[84] but was cut due to budget restrictions,[82] as the segment would have added $20 million to the budget, because Snyder wanted to film it in a stylized manner reminiscent of 300.[113] Snyder considered including the animated film in the final cut,[9] but the film was already approaching a three hour running time.[113] Gerard Butler, who starred in 300, voices the Captain in the film, having been promised a role in the film, which never materialized.[114] Jared Harris voices his deceased friend Ridley, whom the Captain hallucinates is talking to him. Snyder had Butler and Harris record their parts together.[115]
The Tales of the Black Freighter DVD will also include Under the Hood, a documentary detailing the characters' backstories, which takes its title from that of Hollis Mason's memoirs in the comic book.[113] Under the Hood is rated PG because of the friendly public image of the characters. The actors were allowed to improvise during filming interviews in character.[116] The film itself is scheduled to be released on DVD four months after Tales of the Black Freighter, and Warner Bros. will release a director's cut and the extended version in July 2009, with the animated film edited back into the main picture.[113][88] Snyder said if the film does well enough, the director's cut will be simultaneously theatrically released in New York and Los Angeles.[67] In addition, the Watchmen: Motion Comics, which appeared in digital video stores will also be released on DVD on March 3 and include an exclusive scene from the movie.[117]
to me, it was worth it to see certain scenes acted out, but all in all, it didn't really pull off the gravitas of the comic... also, every once in a while, there were some cornball cringeworthy moments... the kid from Bad News Bears was simply amazing as Rorscharch... practically magical... dude who played Nite Owl II nailed it as well... somehow it just did not all come together into some wonderful, sublime WHOLE the way the comic did...
i would have walked out half way through if i wasn't with someone. though i've known about it for about 20 years, i've never read the comic so maybe i will and find a better appreciation for the movie.
i would have walked out half way through if i wasn't with someone. though i've known about it for about 20 years, i've never read the comic so maybe i will and find a better appreciation for the movie.
So.... what didn't you like? (to maybe start a discussion)
I am encouraging my girl to read the book before we see the movie. I also envisage this being a movie that will sit better on the second or third viewing (much like Fight Club which I didn't enjoy so much the first time). It took me 3-4 readings of the Watchmen book to fully appreciate all the plot levels and characters.
i would have walked out half way through if i wasn't with someone. though i've known about it for about 20 years, i've never read the comic so maybe i will and find a better appreciation for the movie.
So.... what didn't you like? (to maybe start a discussion)
didn't much care for the music (though i like all the songs), i mean it took place in the 80's, but no 80's music? 60's music was popular in the 80's, so i guess i can see that, but most of the songs they used have been used to death in other movies.
the costumes reminded me alot of that horrible, but somehow enjoyable live action tv show based on the tick comics. it gave it kind of a cheesy feeling to me...
how did those dudes get a steel cutting saw into a prison?
i thought it was boring. i mean, even violence can get boring when there is so much of it. once i read the book and re-watch it, maybe i'll find something more enjoyable in it. its definitely the kind of movie that i would dig, but right now i can't imagine sitting though that thing again.
the costumes reminded me alot of that horrible, but somehow enjoyable live action tv show based on the tick comics. it gave it kind of a cheesy feeling to me...
Read the book. That's actually a part of the storyline - the silliness of a middle-aged masked man running around in the night wearing a weird outfit. There are several references to it.
the costumes reminded me alot of that horrible, but somehow enjoyable live action tv show based on the tick comics. it gave it kind of a cheesy feeling to me...
Read the book. That's actually a part of the storyline - the silliness of a middle-aged masked man running around in the night wearing a weird outfit. There are several references to it.
i'll definitely check it out. actually having the amount of friends i have who are comic heads and have been suggesting this book to me for 20 years now, it's odd that i haven't read it.
If the book needs to be read for cats to like this i dont know if it lives up to the hype. 2 different animals. Why judge by the same standards?
It's hard not to when Snyder seemed to be more in love with trying to stuff as many details from the book as possible than trying to reform the source material into something that worked as a single movie. Someone who hasn't read the comic would wonder a lot of nagging things like "Hey, why is there a CGI tiger beast running around for a hot minute?"
I dunno, I feel that once the director's cut comes out, it'll be about as good as a Watchmen movie could be if one takes a "treat the comic as a screenplay" approach.
didn't much care for the music (though i like all the songs), i mean it took place in the 80's, but no 80's music? 60's music was popular in the 80's, so i guess i can see that, but most of the songs they used have been used to death in other movies.
Well, this music is used in the book. Do they play "All Along the Watchtower?"
Having said that, there are definitely some songs I can't take in movies based on overuse, no doubt. No "White Rabbit" "For What It's Worth" or "Gimme Shelter" (looking at you, Scorcese!) plaese.
didn't much care for the music (though i like all the songs), i mean it took place in the 80's, but no 80's music? 60's music was popular in the 80's, so i guess i can see that, but most of the songs they used have been used to death in other movies.
Well, this music is used in the book. Do they play "All Along the Watchtower?" .
yes and when they did i was thinking "man, they should have used the Dylan version," but then the part came in w/ the backwards guitar or whatever and it was sort of sick, but yeah, the music selection kind of sucked... 99 luftballoons, lick my ballz...
So I watched this yesterday without having read the Graphic Novel or having any idea what the story was about. For me, it was by far the best comic/superhero movie I've seen to date. Anyhow, I completely understand why many people would hate Watchmen. It's not a brain dead action film like some may assume from the trailer. I'm guessing kids 20 or under will hate it because it's not cut from the same mold as most action films.
I wanted to know if there is any reason for me to read the graphic novel now? I don't doubt the book is deeper and has more information, but how much of this is important to the overall story? Also, I heard the ending was changed. Was the original ending a more bleak? Better? Worse?
So I watched this yesterday without having read the Graphic Novel or having any idea what the story was about. For me, it was by far the best comic/superhero movie I've seen to date. Anyhow, I completely understand why many people would hate Watchmen. It's not a brain dead action film like some may assume from the trailer. I'm guessing kids 20 or under will hate it because it's not cut from the same mold as most action films.
I wanted to know if there is any reason for me to read the graphic novel now? I don't doubt the book is deeper and has more information, but how much of this is important to the overall story? Also, I heard the ending was changed. Was the original ending a more bleak? Better? Worse?
I saw this last night w/ my Local Black Exp (usually mouthy) crowd and they were quiet throughout most of the movie.
Its not a classic action flick at all. And the book isnt a fisticuffs fest either.
I put it right up there w/ IronMan and Dark Knight. Dudes are finally getting it.
I caught Watchmen on Saturday on Imax and walked out thinking it was as good as it could have been. But I've found myself thinking about it constantly since seeing it; the imagery playing in my head over and over. And I've never been affected like that by a super hero movie. Maybe because it was the first time I'd seen a movie in Imax, or maybe because the cinematography was so unique. Everything is high-key and in sharp relief, even in the darkest scenes. I can't say the same about Dark Knight, which was at times frustratingly dark. I feel like I need to re-read the book and see it again. My girl hadn't read the book and didn't really know anything about the movie, so she got a fairly pure cinematic experience. She liked it a lot, was as affected by it as I was (we talked about it yesterday). She was lost on a few of the glossed-over details that built the narrative in the book (the Keene Act, for example), but I didn't get the impression it changed her understanding of the film. And I don't think she found the Comedian as repulsive as the character was written, which says a lot for casting.
There'd been a lot of "Watchmen is unfilmable" flap among hardcore devotees. But I think the story is/was very filmable; it is a comic book for chrissakes! Gibbons' art lays out panels like storyboards. What isn't filmable is the storytelling: the overlapping and parallel narratives, the depth of the back story (although the opening credit sequence handles it brilliantly).
I was thankful for the lack of squid but it also makes Veidt into a more conventional 'villain,' IMO.
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I think people who have read the book will enjoy it, at least for the fact of seeing how it does or does not live up to the book. I think the average person who has seen the commercials and trailers will think it's too long and kind of slow. That's just my impression. My wife was disappointed because the commercials really made it seem like an action movie.
I though the beginning half hour to hour was really good. I loved the shots and the feel of it. I enjoyed it overall, but wasn't completely in love with it.
I was also super happy to have re-read the book only a month before seeing this
I was quite hazed flask in hand and i must say i enjoyed the adaptation aspect quite a bit but as a movie as a whole it is nowhere as complete as dark knight.
They tell the frame by frame story as best as they can and they have good shots but we miss a bit of the ambiance. The rioting crowds are almost only present at the beggining (we would have benefited from the mobbing death of the hollis mason)
so the story ends but there is not much of a larger struggle about humanity that is translated to the film
however this is good news
exactly.
i would have walked out half way through if i wasn't with someone. though i've known about it for about 20 years, i've never read the comic so maybe i will and find a better appreciation for the movie.
So.... what didn't you like? (to maybe start a discussion)
It took me 3-4 readings of the Watchmen book to fully appreciate all the plot levels and characters.
didn't much care for the music (though i like all the songs), i mean it took place in the 80's, but no 80's music? 60's music was popular in the 80's, so i guess i can see that, but most of the songs they used have been used to death in other movies.
the costumes reminded me alot of that horrible, but somehow enjoyable live action tv show based on the tick comics. it gave it kind of a cheesy feeling to me...
how did those dudes get a steel cutting saw into a prison?
i thought it was boring. i mean, even violence can get boring when there is so much of it. once i read the book and re-watch it, maybe i'll find something more enjoyable in it. its definitely the kind of movie that i would dig, but right now i can't imagine sitting though that thing again.
Read the book. That's actually a part of the storyline - the silliness of a middle-aged masked man running around in the night wearing a weird outfit. There are several references to it.
i'll definitely check it out. actually having the amount of friends i have who are comic heads and have been suggesting this book to me for 20 years now, it's odd that i haven't read it.
It's hard not to when Snyder seemed to be more in love with trying to stuff as many details from the book as possible than trying to reform the source material into something that worked as a single movie. Someone who hasn't read the comic would wonder a lot of nagging things like "Hey, why is there a CGI tiger beast running around for a hot minute?"
I dunno, I feel that once the director's cut comes out, it'll be about as good as a Watchmen movie could be if one takes a "treat the comic as a screenplay" approach.
Well, this music is used in the book. Do they play "All Along the Watchtower?"
Having said that, there are definitely some songs I can't take in movies based on overuse, no doubt. No "White Rabbit" "For What It's Worth" or "Gimme Shelter" (looking at you, Scorcese!) plaese.
yes and when they did i was thinking "man, they should have used the Dylan version," but then the part came in w/ the backwards guitar or whatever and it was sort of sick, but yeah, the music selection kind of sucked... 99 luftballoons, lick my ballz...
Yes, I forgot about it. His choices in music were terrible. Especially the Simon and Garfunkel.
I wanted to know if there is any reason for me to read the graphic novel now? I don't doubt the book is deeper and has more information, but how much of this is important to the overall story? Also, I heard the ending was changed. Was the original ending a more bleak? Better? Worse?
I saw this last night w/ my Local Black Exp (usually mouthy) crowd and they were quiet throughout most of the movie.
Its not a classic action flick at all. And the book isnt a fisticuffs fest either.
I put it right up there w/ IronMan and Dark Knight. Dudes are finally getting it.
Maybe because it was the first time I'd seen a movie in Imax, or maybe because the cinematography was so unique. Everything is high-key and in sharp relief, even in the darkest scenes. I can't say the same about Dark Knight, which was at times frustratingly dark.
I feel like I need to re-read the book and see it again.
My girl hadn't read the book and didn't really know anything about the movie, so she got a fairly pure cinematic experience. She liked it a lot, was as affected by it as I was (we talked about it yesterday). She was lost on a few of the glossed-over details that built the narrative in the book (the Keene Act, for example), but I didn't get the impression it changed her understanding of the film. And I don't think she found the Comedian as repulsive as the character was written, which says a lot for casting.
There'd been a lot of "Watchmen is unfilmable" flap among hardcore devotees. But I think the story is/was very filmable; it is a comic book for chrissakes! Gibbons' art lays out panels like storyboards.
What isn't filmable is the storytelling: the overlapping and parallel narratives, the depth of the back story (although the opening credit sequence handles it brilliantly).
I was thankful for the lack of squid but it also makes Veidt into a more conventional 'villain,' IMO.
Director's cut should be really good...
I dont get this "comics are simple" idea?