Who Watches, Indeed
With Little Bead visiting grandparents, Mr. Bead and I decided to redeem one of the vouchers we got for on-demand movies (Time-Warner's attempt to apologize for all their bumbling in upgrading our service). We decided on "Watchmen" (the director's cut).
We'd both read Watchmen the graphic novel, some years ago. I remembered the general story, but had forgotten some specifics. It's typical Alan Moore, often brilliant at storytelling and usually overindulgent in other facets.
The movie kept a grip on the comic as if it were a life-or-death situation. I think ultimately that was a poor choice script-wise. They could have gotten the atmosphere of the comic with the grandiose settings and excellent costuming, and tightened up the story quite a bit. I was also very unhappy with what I consider glorification of the violence and gore. Yes, there was a lot of violence in the comic. No, one did not have to shy away from that. But the sudden slo-mo focuses, just to see the bones pop out of the skin and the blood spatter, that was totally unnecessary.
I did think some of the casting choices were excellent, like for Rorschach, the Comedian, and the second Nite Owl. I remember a lot of complaints about the actress playing Laurie, but while I didn't think she was all that great, neither was she terrible. The actor playing Ozymandias didn't really click for me until toward the end, when he was in full superhero/costume mode, and then it worked beautifully.
I would be curious to hear the opinion of those who had not read the book first, although given how fast it faded at the box office, I'm willing to bet that there aren't that many of you around.
And now to bed. My head's pounding after nearly 3 1/2 hours of TV watching.
We'd both read Watchmen the graphic novel, some years ago. I remembered the general story, but had forgotten some specifics. It's typical Alan Moore, often brilliant at storytelling and usually overindulgent in other facets.
The movie kept a grip on the comic as if it were a life-or-death situation. I think ultimately that was a poor choice script-wise. They could have gotten the atmosphere of the comic with the grandiose settings and excellent costuming, and tightened up the story quite a bit. I was also very unhappy with what I consider glorification of the violence and gore. Yes, there was a lot of violence in the comic. No, one did not have to shy away from that. But the sudden slo-mo focuses, just to see the bones pop out of the skin and the blood spatter, that was totally unnecessary.
I did think some of the casting choices were excellent, like for Rorschach, the Comedian, and the second Nite Owl. I remember a lot of complaints about the actress playing Laurie, but while I didn't think she was all that great, neither was she terrible. The actor playing Ozymandias didn't really click for me until toward the end, when he was in full superhero/costume mode, and then it worked beautifully.
I would be curious to hear the opinion of those who had not read the book first, although given how fast it faded at the box office, I'm willing to bet that there aren't that many of you around.
And now to bed. My head's pounding after nearly 3 1/2 hours of TV watching.