Journal

I was wrong…

44 Comments

I was wrong. I didn’t think the “Watchmen” movie could do the book justice.

It did the book justice. It may have even improved on it in spite of (or perhaps thanks to) certain missing elements.

The absence of the pirate comic book? Not felt.
The absence of the pure text bits at the end of each episode of the comic? Not felt (or rolled into the story and therefore not absent.)
The absence of the giant squid? HUGE IMPROVEMENT.

The film had more emotional impact than the book did.

It earned its R rating on all counts. Not a film to take the kids to.

Also, it’s probably not a film that somebody unfamiliar with the culture of the late ’70s and early ’80s will fully appreciate. You twenty-somethings who mercilessly mock the decades of my youth… let me know how you liked the film. Oh, and PULL UP YOUR PANTS. Your decade is going to get its comeuppance, rest assured.

44 thoughts on “I was wrong…”

  1. I’m glad you liked it, Howard 🙂

    I am still a little suspicious. Because the book left an indelible mark on me when I first read it last year, and I kinda don’t want to see it because Alan Moore didn’t want them to make it. (Also, I really did like the “alien” at the end — it worked for me, though I’m aware that your mileage will really vary on that one). But so far my friends list seems to love it!

    By the way, did you see this?

    – JoSelle

  2. I’m glad you liked it, Howard 🙂

    I am still a little suspicious. Because the book left an indelible mark on me when I first read it last year, and I kinda don’t want to see it because Alan Moore didn’t want them to make it. (Also, I really did like the “alien” at the end — it worked for me, though I’m aware that your mileage will really vary on that one). But so far my friends list seems to love it!

    By the way, did you see this?

    – JoSelle

  3. i heard a rumor from a friend that they’re releasing the pirate comic book separately straight-to-DVD. i do not know if it’s true.

    i’m going to see the movie tonight. so very excited! there was not a midnight showing in my town last night.

    1. I hear “Tales of the Black Freighter” is going to be an extra on the special-edition release…. it was part of Zack Snyder’s requirements to direct. Kudos to him!

  4. i heard a rumor from a friend that they’re releasing the pirate comic book separately straight-to-DVD. i do not know if it’s true.

    i’m going to see the movie tonight. so very excited! there was not a midnight showing in my town last night.

    1. I hear “Tales of the Black Freighter” is going to be an extra on the special-edition release…. it was part of Zack Snyder’s requirements to direct. Kudos to him!

  7. My whole problem with the absence of the squid was: why did the Comedian have to die?

    I just find it unlikely that his researchers on the Island were *told* or given evidence in any way, that they were going to frame the most powerful being in history.

    Other than that nitpick, I’m with you on the movie in general: WOW. Must. See. Again.

    1. I’m with you there. I need to see it again, because the reveal on The Comedian didn’t stick for me. I’ve forgotten what exactly he found out, since in this case it WASN’T an island full of writers and artists.

  8. My whole problem with the absence of the squid was: why did the Comedian have to die?

    I just find it unlikely that his researchers on the Island were *told* or given evidence in any way, that they were going to frame the most powerful being in history.

    Other than that nitpick, I’m with you on the movie in general: WOW. Must. See. Again.

    1. I’m with you there. I need to see it again, because the reveal on The Comedian didn’t stick for me. I’ve forgotten what exactly he found out, since in this case it WASN’T an island full of writers and artists.

  9. The movie was pretty good.

    I’m 21. I was well aware that there were things that were passing completely over my head due to my lack of knowledge of the ’70s and ’80s – for example, I had heard the name Lee Iacocca in passing before, but I had to consult Wikipedia when I got home to know just who he was. And I only recognized Kissinger because Nixon kept calling him “Henry”; if I had more knowledge of Nixon’s reign I might have recognized more people around him.

    On the other hand, I am of the opinion that “malevolent aliens from another dimension are now aware of us and an invasion could be imminent” is a more credible (and long-lasting) deception than “the dude we’ve known all along and on whom we have a comprehensive psychological profile suddenly went berserk and killed millions of people and then stopped killing them for some reason but he could start again at any moment”.

    Also: the ubiquitous blue wang. I don’t mind that they included it, but I do mind that they made it way bigger than it needed to be, way bigger than it was in the comic. That thing was halfway down Doc’s leg. It hogged every scene it was in.

    My biggest problem, though, was one that you might think would be little: after Manhattan kersplodes Kovacs, it cut inexplicably to a Big No from Dreiberg instead of keeping on the same shot of human bean juice slowly settling to the snow. For that matter, having Dreiberg there at all, and having him go berserk, just disrupts the whole sequence, in my opinion.

  10. The movie was pretty good.

    I’m 21. I was well aware that there were things that were passing completely over my head due to my lack of knowledge of the ’70s and ’80s – for example, I had heard the name Lee Iacocca in passing before, but I had to consult Wikipedia when I got home to know just who he was. And I only recognized Kissinger because Nixon kept calling him “Henry”; if I had more knowledge of Nixon’s reign I might have recognized more people around him.

    On the other hand, I am of the opinion that “malevolent aliens from another dimension are now aware of us and an invasion could be imminent” is a more credible (and long-lasting) deception than “the dude we’ve known all along and on whom we have a comprehensive psychological profile suddenly went berserk and killed millions of people and then stopped killing them for some reason but he could start again at any moment”.

    Also: the ubiquitous blue wang. I don’t mind that they included it, but I do mind that they made it way bigger than it needed to be, way bigger than it was in the comic. That thing was halfway down Doc’s leg. It hogged every scene it was in.

    My biggest problem, though, was one that you might think would be little: after Manhattan kersplodes Kovacs, it cut inexplicably to a Big No from Dreiberg instead of keeping on the same shot of human bean juice slowly settling to the snow. For that matter, having Dreiberg there at all, and having him go berserk, just disrupts the whole sequence, in my opinion.

  11. I loved it. I could feel some things missing, so I can’t wait for the extended cut on DVD. Snyder filmed pretty much the entire comic and ended up with a 4.5 hour movie that he had to cut down. The DVD will be enormously long and likely awesome. Think the extended cuts of Lord of the Rings.

    And, to answer your minor query, I was pretty sure I got most of the cultural touchstones, but I’m fairly well-versed in both the history and the popular culture of America, even before my time.

  12. I loved it. I could feel some things missing, so I can’t wait for the extended cut on DVD. Snyder filmed pretty much the entire comic and ended up with a 4.5 hour movie that he had to cut down. The DVD will be enormously long and likely awesome. Think the extended cuts of Lord of the Rings.

    And, to answer your minor query, I was pretty sure I got most of the cultural touchstones, but I’m fairly well-versed in both the history and the popular culture of America, even before my time.

  13. They’re not getting off your lawn, Gramps.

    What? No squid? You know, that was the best part of the whole COMIC. A giant telepathic alien Squid-Thing that projected Lovecraftian nightmares into the minds of millions around the globe.

    This was the CORE of the bad guy’s plan. How can you get RID of it?

    1. Wasn’t exactly gotten rid of… just redirected. To be honest, the new ending kinda makes more sense. It’s essentially the same ending, but slightly differently applied.

  14. They’re not getting off your lawn, Gramps.

    What? No squid? You know, that was the best part of the whole COMIC. A giant telepathic alien Squid-Thing that projected Lovecraftian nightmares into the minds of millions around the globe.

    This was the CORE of the bad guy’s plan. How can you get RID of it?

    1. Wasn’t exactly gotten rid of… just redirected. To be honest, the new ending kinda makes more sense. It’s essentially the same ending, but slightly differently applied.

  15. I was just talking about this with a friend.

    My only real complaint is that extra 5-10 minutes of crap thrown in at the end. It softens the blow, it leaves the audience with a bit less of a visceral impact from the enormity of the sacrifice so many of them made… And the treatment of the last scene also made me just a bit unhappy. The reporter was shown as a buffoon, rather than someone you might credibly think would be capable of digging up everything, exposing the deception, and making all the sacrifices meaningless.

    I feel like the movie did everything it needed to to be a great movie, up until the end. Then someone in the production chain lost their nerve, and refused to let their huge superhero action movie make people leave feeling miserable about what just happened.

    It’s a good movie, but to have it get so close to greatness, and then pull away… That’s also disappointing.

    1. That last scene was almost verbatim from the book. The New Frontiersman papers were a running theme in the book — wingnut wackjob journal full of conspiracy theory. The only place the paper was really mentioned in the film was at the end.

  16. I was just talking about this with a friend.

    My only real complaint is that extra 5-10 minutes of crap thrown in at the end. It softens the blow, it leaves the audience with a bit less of a visceral impact from the enormity of the sacrifice so many of them made… And the treatment of the last scene also made me just a bit unhappy. The reporter was shown as a buffoon, rather than someone you might credibly think would be capable of digging up everything, exposing the deception, and making all the sacrifices meaningless.

    I feel like the movie did everything it needed to to be a great movie, up until the end. Then someone in the production chain lost their nerve, and refused to let their huge superhero action movie make people leave feeling miserable about what just happened.

    It’s a good movie, but to have it get so close to greatness, and then pull away… That’s also disappointing.

    1. That last scene was almost verbatim from the book. The New Frontiersman papers were a running theme in the book — wingnut wackjob journal full of conspiracy theory. The only place the paper was really mentioned in the film was at the end.

  17. The comic book version ends with a “reporter”, so to speak, getting a hold or Rorschach’s notebook. But the “reporter” in question IS a buffoon on the staff of a fringe “newspaper”. So are you saying they followed that part, or that they changed it to a heroic reporter? Your post’s a bit fuzzy.

    Not that I need the answer now, I’ll be seeing the film soon, but I found the way you described the problem… vague.

    (Also, I think in the end scenes of Watchmen, the implication is that even buffoons sometimes do the right thing, if only by pure luck and chance.)

  18. The comic book version ends with a “reporter”, so to speak, getting a hold or Rorschach’s notebook. But the “reporter” in question IS a buffoon on the staff of a fringe “newspaper”. So are you saying they followed that part, or that they changed it to a heroic reporter? Your post’s a bit fuzzy.

    Not that I need the answer now, I’ll be seeing the film soon, but I found the way you described the problem… vague.

    (Also, I think in the end scenes of Watchmen, the implication is that even buffoons sometimes do the right thing, if only by pure luck and chance.)

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