"Watchmen" review
Okay, first of all, saw it on IMAX. Not necessary, not even a particularly special bonus, the way it was for, saw, Dark Knight (with extra IMAX-aspect sequences) or Superman Returns (with 3-D). No, all it served to do was to play up the worst parts of the movie, the parts that make this a movie and not a comic book: obvious audience-baiting action sequences.
Zack Snyder is an action movie director.
Let me say that again.
Zack Snyder is an action movie director, and "Watchmen" is not an action story. Gore and nipples work well for a Frank Miller movie ("300") because that's what the material is, but Alan Moore source material needs a finer scalpel. "Watchmen" is a mystery that has a handful of action elements, and Snyder uses any possible opportunity to expand fight sequences from a handful of panels in a comic book into a fight of several minutes. I can understand the business reason for this, because the studio thinks that comic fans want awesome fights. But this isn't just any old comic book, it's "Watchmen".
If, for example, a director left out from "Hamlet" the scene in which Hamlet addresses the skull of his former jester in favor of an extended and overly-violent murder of Polonius with herky-jerky fast/slow motion and gallons of blood splatter, you'd be pissed. Knowing the richness of the material and how many delicate and subtle plot points were even filmed before being cut, it seems inexcusable to give Silk Spectre II an extra five seconds to pose and look cool when busting through a roof in slow motion.
Additionally, the violence is out of character for some (neck-stabbings and broken bones jutting through skin when Nite Owl and Silk Spectre beat up some muggers?) and the overall saturation of violence lessens the impact when we should feel it the most - namely, the truly violent characters, Rorschach and The Comedian specifically.
Other things are simply laughable. Ok, so the soundtrack draws on the songs that are quoted in the ends of the chapters of the comic, that's fine - but "99 Luftballoons"? Come on, give me a break. There were plenty of songs in the 80's that can set the tone better and still place you in the correct period. The music was often inappropriate and occasionally inadvertently hilarious. And a straightforward (and what should have been somewhat triumphant) sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre shouldn't elicit giggles when an audience can watch a 200-foot glowing blue man's dong swing back and forth without so much as a peep.
Oddly enough, the ending was the least of my concerns with this film. It tightened up a plot by taking one existing thread - Dr. Manhattan's increasing detachment and sense of alienation - and carrying it over for the deus ex machina, one which in the comic is little more than a McGuffin, tacked on to make the plot move.
On the plus side, kudos to Billy Crudup for being so emotive through the admittedly goofy CGI process as Dr. Manhattan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the perfectly charming bastard fascist Comedian. Carla Gugino is better playing her character decades older than when she plays her closer to her own age. And Jackie Earl Haley steals the show left and right - it helps that his character is the most compelling, but he manages to act through the mask with an intimidating physical presence despite his small stature. His gravelly narration helps get you pissed off a this world. And when the mask comes off, his demeanor alternates between stone-cold poker face and utterly vicious rage. Best part of the whole damn flick.
I'll wait for the director's cut(s), but I'm glad I still have my copy of the comic.
Zack Snyder is an action movie director.
Let me say that again.
Zack Snyder is an action movie director, and "Watchmen" is not an action story. Gore and nipples work well for a Frank Miller movie ("300") because that's what the material is, but Alan Moore source material needs a finer scalpel. "Watchmen" is a mystery that has a handful of action elements, and Snyder uses any possible opportunity to expand fight sequences from a handful of panels in a comic book into a fight of several minutes. I can understand the business reason for this, because the studio thinks that comic fans want awesome fights. But this isn't just any old comic book, it's "Watchmen".
If, for example, a director left out from "Hamlet" the scene in which Hamlet addresses the skull of his former jester in favor of an extended and overly-violent murder of Polonius with herky-jerky fast/slow motion and gallons of blood splatter, you'd be pissed. Knowing the richness of the material and how many delicate and subtle plot points were even filmed before being cut, it seems inexcusable to give Silk Spectre II an extra five seconds to pose and look cool when busting through a roof in slow motion.
Additionally, the violence is out of character for some (neck-stabbings and broken bones jutting through skin when Nite Owl and Silk Spectre beat up some muggers?) and the overall saturation of violence lessens the impact when we should feel it the most - namely, the truly violent characters, Rorschach and The Comedian specifically.
Other things are simply laughable. Ok, so the soundtrack draws on the songs that are quoted in the ends of the chapters of the comic, that's fine - but "99 Luftballoons"? Come on, give me a break. There were plenty of songs in the 80's that can set the tone better and still place you in the correct period. The music was often inappropriate and occasionally inadvertently hilarious. And a straightforward (and what should have been somewhat triumphant) sex scene between Nite Owl and Silk Spectre shouldn't elicit giggles when an audience can watch a 200-foot glowing blue man's dong swing back and forth without so much as a peep.
Oddly enough, the ending was the least of my concerns with this film. It tightened up a plot by taking one existing thread - Dr. Manhattan's increasing detachment and sense of alienation - and carrying it over for the deus ex machina, one which in the comic is little more than a McGuffin, tacked on to make the plot move.
On the plus side, kudos to Billy Crudup for being so emotive through the admittedly goofy CGI process as Dr. Manhattan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the perfectly charming bastard fascist Comedian. Carla Gugino is better playing her character decades older than when she plays her closer to her own age. And Jackie Earl Haley steals the show left and right - it helps that his character is the most compelling, but he manages to act through the mask with an intimidating physical presence despite his small stature. His gravelly narration helps get you pissed off a this world. And when the mask comes off, his demeanor alternates between stone-cold poker face and utterly vicious rage. Best part of the whole damn flick.
I'll wait for the director's cut(s), but I'm glad I still have my copy of the comic.