Review: WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD
So via On Demand, I just rented the WATCHMEN tie-in DVD, TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD. Anyone interested in having a real WATCHMEN viewing experience needs to see this, for it's well, well worth the rent (don't buy it, though; save your money for the super-extended WATCHMEN DVD this Fall). UNDER THE HOOD itself significantly improves the actual film experience, and will address some of the complaints I've heard over this past month.
One of the problems that many people have with WATCHMEN (the movie) is that Zack Snyder and company have emphasized the superheroic aspects of the characters, when the comic was really about flawed human beings who played dress-up for messed-up psychological reasons. A perfect example of how Snyder "missed the point": in the comic, Rorschach slowly scales the building to get to Blake's apartment, climbing up over the balcony. In the movie, he gets a Batman-like reeling up and lands, flawlessly, on the balcony's railing. The former is human, the latter is superhuman. And then you have the fight sequences...
All this bothered me too, I must admit. But the thing is, Snyder doesn't miss the point all the time. The pitch-perfect opening credits sequence is proof of this, especially in the bits where they pose for the group photos. There's a wonderful awkwardness to those shots, capturing the goofy yet earnest attitudes of the characters, and the result for me was... well, I got chills. Now, while I very much liked the rest of WATCHMEN, I wish it had maintained sequence's spirit throughout. Sadly, so much of the book's down-to-earth humanity (especially in the supporting characters like the news vendor and Rorschach's psychiatrist) was lost in the inevitable need to streamline the story to two and a half hours.
Now, I've been reserving judgment on criticisms like this until I've seen the final 302 minute long WATCHMEN cut, because I feel like Snyder's earned my trust with all he did succeed in pulling off. I feel like people are too busy nitpicking WATCHMEN (and it's a film that can and should be nitpicked, to a degree) that they don't give Snyder credits for his many seriously amazing accomplishments, and the sheer existence of TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD is testament to this. That he managed to convince WB to make and sell this in the first place is amazing. The fact that he pulls both off both tie-ins with aplomb is astounding.
First off, I cannot wait to see BLACK FREIGHTER properly spliced back into the film, where both shall almost-certainly be enhanced mightily. It will especially add to Adrian's story and character, and further sell the complexity of his actions. Taken on its own, BLACK FREIGHTER is simply a cool diversion, a neato EC-style horror story brought to life with classic 2D hand-drawn cell animation (with added CGI effects). It's too short and too slight to be memorable, since it's meant to be seen in the greater context of WATCHMEN itself, so I greatly look forward to that.
UNDER THE HOOD, however, holds up excellently on its own. This mockumentary single-handedly restores a lot of the humanity and character depth lost in the theatrical release, with extended "interviews" with Hollis Mason, Sally Jupiter, Sally's agent/husband, Bernard the News Vendor, Dr. Malcolm Long*, Wally Weaver, and Moloch. Some of the dialogue is right out of the book, but most is improvised in Christopher Guest fashion, creating some unique insights into the characters and the world.
The Moloch bits are especially great in this regard, and not just because more Matt Frewer is always a good thing. He explores a point that I don't recall ever being raised in the book, saying that supervillains were created as a rebellious response to superheroes, and that with superheroes gone, there are no need for supervillains either. But then, he points out, there's Dr. Manhattan, and he wonders and worries about the inevitable supervillain who will rise up to be Manhattan's counterpart. Wonderful.
But the real selling point--as it should be in UNDER THE HOOD--is Stephen McHattie as Hollis. He truly is the heart and life of WATCHMEN's vigilantes, and his performance here really makes one both long for and dread seeing the extra scenes of him in the extended WATCHMEN. If his work there is as excellent as his nuanced performance here, his last scene will be as heartbreaking as it was in the book.
That's the thing that UNDER THE HOOD captures that really reflects will upon the greater film: just like Moore's comic, the story shows the ridiculousness of superheroes without ever once mocking them, taking their emotions and actions as seriously as they do. And what's more, UNDER THE HOOD pulls this off with frequent subtlety and very little winking at the audience.
As I was writing this, I wanted to check out what other reviewers made of this, to see if it would provoke any other thoughts. CHUD.com's Justin Clark summed up my final thoughts pretty well: "All those people who said something to the effect that the film is too much of a copy/paste job of the comic, and Zack Snyder really doesn't have anything meaningful to add, kindly hand them a copy of this, along with a side order of piping hot shut the fuck up."
To call WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD a tie-in (as I do) is to imply that this is supplemental material, not essential to the enjoyment of the story, when in fact it's just as important as the "supplemental" material in the book itself. This instantly bumps WATCHMEN the film up a letter grade, and I'm more interested than ever to see the 302-minute cut.
Whether you liked or were dissatisfied with WATCHMEN, definitely give this a rental.
And if you already have seen it, what'd you think?
*He's renamed William or something, for some reason. Dr. Long gets a welcome touch of depth added to his character here, although sadly there's still nothing from his Rorschach subplot. That loss will stand as one of Snyder's most painful cuts.
One of the problems that many people have with WATCHMEN (the movie) is that Zack Snyder and company have emphasized the superheroic aspects of the characters, when the comic was really about flawed human beings who played dress-up for messed-up psychological reasons. A perfect example of how Snyder "missed the point": in the comic, Rorschach slowly scales the building to get to Blake's apartment, climbing up over the balcony. In the movie, he gets a Batman-like reeling up and lands, flawlessly, on the balcony's railing. The former is human, the latter is superhuman. And then you have the fight sequences...
All this bothered me too, I must admit. But the thing is, Snyder doesn't miss the point all the time. The pitch-perfect opening credits sequence is proof of this, especially in the bits where they pose for the group photos. There's a wonderful awkwardness to those shots, capturing the goofy yet earnest attitudes of the characters, and the result for me was... well, I got chills. Now, while I very much liked the rest of WATCHMEN, I wish it had maintained sequence's spirit throughout. Sadly, so much of the book's down-to-earth humanity (especially in the supporting characters like the news vendor and Rorschach's psychiatrist) was lost in the inevitable need to streamline the story to two and a half hours.
Now, I've been reserving judgment on criticisms like this until I've seen the final 302 minute long WATCHMEN cut, because I feel like Snyder's earned my trust with all he did succeed in pulling off. I feel like people are too busy nitpicking WATCHMEN (and it's a film that can and should be nitpicked, to a degree) that they don't give Snyder credits for his many seriously amazing accomplishments, and the sheer existence of TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD is testament to this. That he managed to convince WB to make and sell this in the first place is amazing. The fact that he pulls both off both tie-ins with aplomb is astounding.
First off, I cannot wait to see BLACK FREIGHTER properly spliced back into the film, where both shall almost-certainly be enhanced mightily. It will especially add to Adrian's story and character, and further sell the complexity of his actions. Taken on its own, BLACK FREIGHTER is simply a cool diversion, a neato EC-style horror story brought to life with classic 2D hand-drawn cell animation (with added CGI effects). It's too short and too slight to be memorable, since it's meant to be seen in the greater context of WATCHMEN itself, so I greatly look forward to that.
UNDER THE HOOD, however, holds up excellently on its own. This mockumentary single-handedly restores a lot of the humanity and character depth lost in the theatrical release, with extended "interviews" with Hollis Mason, Sally Jupiter, Sally's agent/husband, Bernard the News Vendor, Dr. Malcolm Long*, Wally Weaver, and Moloch. Some of the dialogue is right out of the book, but most is improvised in Christopher Guest fashion, creating some unique insights into the characters and the world.
The Moloch bits are especially great in this regard, and not just because more Matt Frewer is always a good thing. He explores a point that I don't recall ever being raised in the book, saying that supervillains were created as a rebellious response to superheroes, and that with superheroes gone, there are no need for supervillains either. But then, he points out, there's Dr. Manhattan, and he wonders and worries about the inevitable supervillain who will rise up to be Manhattan's counterpart. Wonderful.
But the real selling point--as it should be in UNDER THE HOOD--is Stephen McHattie as Hollis. He truly is the heart and life of WATCHMEN's vigilantes, and his performance here really makes one both long for and dread seeing the extra scenes of him in the extended WATCHMEN. If his work there is as excellent as his nuanced performance here, his last scene will be as heartbreaking as it was in the book.
That's the thing that UNDER THE HOOD captures that really reflects will upon the greater film: just like Moore's comic, the story shows the ridiculousness of superheroes without ever once mocking them, taking their emotions and actions as seriously as they do. And what's more, UNDER THE HOOD pulls this off with frequent subtlety and very little winking at the audience.
As I was writing this, I wanted to check out what other reviewers made of this, to see if it would provoke any other thoughts. CHUD.com's Justin Clark summed up my final thoughts pretty well: "All those people who said something to the effect that the film is too much of a copy/paste job of the comic, and Zack Snyder really doesn't have anything meaningful to add, kindly hand them a copy of this, along with a side order of piping hot shut the fuck up."
To call WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER/UNDER THE HOOD a tie-in (as I do) is to imply that this is supplemental material, not essential to the enjoyment of the story, when in fact it's just as important as the "supplemental" material in the book itself. This instantly bumps WATCHMEN the film up a letter grade, and I'm more interested than ever to see the 302-minute cut.
Whether you liked or were dissatisfied with WATCHMEN, definitely give this a rental.
And if you already have seen it, what'd you think?
*He's renamed William or something, for some reason. Dr. Long gets a welcome touch of depth added to his character here, although sadly there's still nothing from his Rorschach subplot. That loss will stand as one of Snyder's most painful cuts.