Watchmen review [spoilers]
I saw Watchmen after work yesterday, I'll give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Spoilers below
I've read the graphic novel once, a couple of months ago. I don't have it memorized but I certainly know the basic plot outlines. It was visually gorgeous, bloody, violent, and it made me care about all of the characters but one. Rorschach and the Comedian was brilliant, Nite Owl II and Ozymandias were understated but good if you understand who the characters are supposed to be. Nite Owl's a superhero turned slob and he does a very good job at it, both in and out of costume. Ozymandias almost seemed likeable. He didn't quite come across as evil, just grim, arrogant, brilliant, and an incredible athlete. Just like in the novel. The bit players of Moloch and Nite Owl I were both great.I loved the fight scenes and the speed ramping didn't bother me at all. The sequence on Mars with Dr. Manhattan and Laurie was excellent and touching. Dr. Manhattan himself did a good job of someone still struggling to feel emotion. I loved his voice, I had always pictured him speaking in the voice of a God but having him sound like a normal human being humanizes him.
The ending. Yes, there's no squid. Yes, it's the same message, and just as shocking. I'll never forget Roschach's death, ever,
The morals and nihilism of the comics are all still here. You very much feel like the world is going to hell in a handbasket. It still asks the same questions: Is the world worth saving? Are there any absolute truths? Who watches the watchmen? Most of all, it feels real and plausible, Dr. Manhattan aside. They resisted the temptation of putting techno-wizardry in the movie and it very much felt like an alternate 1985.
Flaws? Yeah, the film had some. The jailbreak sequence was cut short, so were the sessions with the psychologist and Roschach. Silk Spectre I sucked and came across as utterly 1 dimensional. There was nothing likeable at all about her. I would've liked to have seen more about Rorschach's past, I'm not sure some people "got it". Some of the music was campy and overdone. Nixon's makeup was obviously fake.
Overall a brilliant, gorgeous, engaging, thrilling, thought provoking adaptation. I can't wait for the director's cut.
I've read the graphic novel once, a couple of months ago. I don't have it memorized but I certainly know the basic plot outlines. It was visually gorgeous, bloody, violent, and it made me care about all of the characters but one. Rorschach and the Comedian was brilliant, Nite Owl II and Ozymandias were understated but good if you understand who the characters are supposed to be. Nite Owl's a superhero turned slob and he does a very good job at it, both in and out of costume. Ozymandias almost seemed likeable. He didn't quite come across as evil, just grim, arrogant, brilliant, and an incredible athlete. Just like in the novel. The bit players of Moloch and Nite Owl I were both great.I loved the fight scenes and the speed ramping didn't bother me at all. The sequence on Mars with Dr. Manhattan and Laurie was excellent and touching. Dr. Manhattan himself did a good job of someone still struggling to feel emotion. I loved his voice, I had always pictured him speaking in the voice of a God but having him sound like a normal human being humanizes him.
The ending. Yes, there's no squid. Yes, it's the same message, and just as shocking. I'll never forget Roschach's death, ever,
The morals and nihilism of the comics are all still here. You very much feel like the world is going to hell in a handbasket. It still asks the same questions: Is the world worth saving? Are there any absolute truths? Who watches the watchmen? Most of all, it feels real and plausible, Dr. Manhattan aside. They resisted the temptation of putting techno-wizardry in the movie and it very much felt like an alternate 1985.
Flaws? Yeah, the film had some. The jailbreak sequence was cut short, so were the sessions with the psychologist and Roschach. Silk Spectre I sucked and came across as utterly 1 dimensional. There was nothing likeable at all about her. I would've liked to have seen more about Rorschach's past, I'm not sure some people "got it". Some of the music was campy and overdone. Nixon's makeup was obviously fake.
Overall a brilliant, gorgeous, engaging, thrilling, thought provoking adaptation. I can't wait for the director's cut.