Diana's Film Club
Hidden behind a cut for spoilers and general stuff:
Ooooooooooooooooh... Where to start?
Firstly, I'm glad that they opted to give this film an 18 certificate as anything less would have been an insult to the graphic novel and an insult to fans of said novel. It is brutal, bloody and downright nasty so the mere fact that they were flirting with a 15 certificate was cause for concern at the start of all this!
I sat through the opening 10 minutes in awe that they had finally brought Watchmen to the screen. It is an epic book and it would have been a mammoth task and I can do nothing but salute Zack Snyder for making it possible... Not that a few things didn't fall by the wayside but coming in at 162 minutes or whatever; I guess some of the minor details had to be left behind.
Anyway; it came as no surprise that the stand out characters of the film were my favourite characters from the book - Dr Manhattan and Rorschach. Kudos to the actors in both roles as they really managed to encompass everything about those specific characters that made them so awesome in print. Billy Crudup gave Dr Manhattan a coldness but with a hint of sadness that was spot on perfect and Jackie Earle Haley is just amazing as Rorschach. I can't fault the guy - his voice was perfect, some of my favourite lines from the book were there and he delivered them brilliantly. Wonderful.
Two surprises came my way - one, I hated Laurie in the book. Could not stand her. I found her weak and pathetic and just generally irritating but somehow, seeing her on-screen actually endeared her to me. Don't get me wrong - I'm not about to put her up there with Dr Manhattan and Rorschach but she was a lot easier to get along with on-screen than in print. Two; Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian... Man, oh man... Inspired casting. Inspired. He was brilliant. He was everything I expected and more. He really got to grips with the [frankly disgusting] character of The Comedian and showed that the guy was a cunt but he had a vulnerability to him... I really liked that.
The ending was SO much neater in the film which worked well seeing as they had to remove the whole by-line of Curse of the Black Freighter - they couldn't really have had the proper ending without shoe-horning those crazy pirates in there so... Yeah... My only problem was the sex scene - I know, right? Me not enjoying a sex scene but in all seriousness, it went on for WAY too long. Everyone in the cinema was fine at first but slowly, everyone was shifting uncomfortably in their seats and by the time Laurie and Dan climaxed [together, obviously], there was a tangible, nervous sigh of relief. I like to see naked folks going at it, I like to see orgasm faces and boobies as much as the next person but I like to see these things in the comfort of my own home with my boyfriend. I don't really want to share the experience with several hundred strangers and I got the distinct impression that a lot of the viewers would be on my side with that one.
So, all in all, fucking awesome. Not as good as the book but it was never going to be but as damn near perfect as you can get when the book is so crazy. Loved it. Highly recommend it. Even if you haven't read Watchmen, I think you'd still enjoy it. Ben hadn't even heard of Watchmen and he liked it so... Yeah... That's about it really!! :)
Ooooooooooooooooh... Where to start?
Firstly, I'm glad that they opted to give this film an 18 certificate as anything less would have been an insult to the graphic novel and an insult to fans of said novel. It is brutal, bloody and downright nasty so the mere fact that they were flirting with a 15 certificate was cause for concern at the start of all this!
I sat through the opening 10 minutes in awe that they had finally brought Watchmen to the screen. It is an epic book and it would have been a mammoth task and I can do nothing but salute Zack Snyder for making it possible... Not that a few things didn't fall by the wayside but coming in at 162 minutes or whatever; I guess some of the minor details had to be left behind.
Anyway; it came as no surprise that the stand out characters of the film were my favourite characters from the book - Dr Manhattan and Rorschach. Kudos to the actors in both roles as they really managed to encompass everything about those specific characters that made them so awesome in print. Billy Crudup gave Dr Manhattan a coldness but with a hint of sadness that was spot on perfect and Jackie Earle Haley is just amazing as Rorschach. I can't fault the guy - his voice was perfect, some of my favourite lines from the book were there and he delivered them brilliantly. Wonderful.
Two surprises came my way - one, I hated Laurie in the book. Could not stand her. I found her weak and pathetic and just generally irritating but somehow, seeing her on-screen actually endeared her to me. Don't get me wrong - I'm not about to put her up there with Dr Manhattan and Rorschach but she was a lot easier to get along with on-screen than in print. Two; Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian... Man, oh man... Inspired casting. Inspired. He was brilliant. He was everything I expected and more. He really got to grips with the [frankly disgusting] character of The Comedian and showed that the guy was a cunt but he had a vulnerability to him... I really liked that.
The ending was SO much neater in the film which worked well seeing as they had to remove the whole by-line of Curse of the Black Freighter - they couldn't really have had the proper ending without shoe-horning those crazy pirates in there so... Yeah... My only problem was the sex scene - I know, right? Me not enjoying a sex scene but in all seriousness, it went on for WAY too long. Everyone in the cinema was fine at first but slowly, everyone was shifting uncomfortably in their seats and by the time Laurie and Dan climaxed [together, obviously], there was a tangible, nervous sigh of relief. I like to see naked folks going at it, I like to see orgasm faces and boobies as much as the next person but I like to see these things in the comfort of my own home with my boyfriend. I don't really want to share the experience with several hundred strangers and I got the distinct impression that a lot of the viewers would be on my side with that one.
So, all in all, fucking awesome. Not as good as the book but it was never going to be but as damn near perfect as you can get when the book is so crazy. Loved it. Highly recommend it. Even if you haven't read Watchmen, I think you'd still enjoy it. Ben hadn't even heard of Watchmen and he liked it so... Yeah... That's about it really!! :)