finally, many minutes AFTER midnight...

[annwyd]

Finally saw Watchmen. I'm really glad I'd heard about all the problems with it beforehand, because I was able to anticipate them and enjoy the stuff that was done well, and I wound up being pleasantly surprised

Comments

[annwyd]

Yeah, I did catch that one line (although it was so brief I wasn't sure if I heard it right until you confirmed it here), but...

They didn't have Laurie say a lot of things she did in the comic. :/ Sigh.

[fiddlersgreen]

It was indeed Leonard Cohen's original version of Hallelujah, though they cut one or two of the verses.

The first time I saw Watchmen, I'm not sure I'd have said it works well as a movie, but I find it *really* benefits from a second watch.

The violence is about the only thing I don't agree with you about; I'm not sure it works quite as well as Snyder thinks it does, but it seemed clear to me that it was deliberately ramped up to draw a contrast against the more sanitized violence you usually get in superhero films. It was excessive, and like I said, I'm not sure it was entirely the right choice, but it wasn't accidental or pointless.

Much as I'm glad they spun the Black Freighter stuff off to its own thing, I found that I missed the subtext that strongly suggested that Veidt's plan wasn't actually necessary, that he was taking extreme action against a threat that didn't exist (or, worse, that he'd created).

[annwyd]

I may be overreacting to the violence, because it was just so completely over-the-top that it distracted me from the rest of the movie rather than reinforced its themes. Now that you mention it, I do see what they were trying to do, I just think it was a really bad way to go about it. To me it wound up going out the other side of gritty and becoming cringingly comical in its own way.

And this, exactly, about the Black Freighter subtext. Making it its own thing was necessary, but I really wish they had found some way to reproduce that subtext. But considering that enough people miss it upon reading the comic itself...I know I did when I first read it at fifteen.

[fiddlersgreen]

Yeah, it took several reads (and people pointing it out to me) for me to pick up on that subtext too. Man, now I want to read the comic again (and I don't own it any more, which I believe I shall have to remedy soon).

With regard to the violence, as a specific commentary on the fetishized violence in other superhero/action films (since it's not realistic violence, and I think the "wow, that was funny/awesome WAIT NO THAT'S HORRIBLE" double message was very intentional)), I think it works very well. But I don't know that it actually serves the story of Watchmen well at all. So I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it, all told. I think you're right though, it is, if nothing else, very distracting. (Which is one reason why I think this movie benefits from multiple viewings. Knowing what to expect makes it easier to focus on the picture as a whole.)

[agawa_jean]

Perhaps that was the point he meant to get across with the violence, but the way the it was filmed seemed to imply the audience should enjoy it, which I found a pretty disturbing double message.

[silvernaofficer]

"What stood out for me most: having Laurie parrot Dr. Manhattan's "nothing ever ends" line accomplished none of the same effect as having him give it in response to Adrian seeking his approval."

Ugh this. I wasn't too pleased that she parroted it to Dan complete with "You know what Jon would say." SCREAM FOREVER. It's far more powerful coming directly from Jon to Adrian. But because she said Jon had said it, I like to believe he did say it to Adrian in the movie, somewhere off camera. I read Zack Synder has every intention of releasing a director's cut with at least 30 minutes of extra footage.

[annwyd]

It's kind of like, well, you cut out or deflected the attention from Laurie's best parts, clearly giving her another character's key line will show how much you really respect her, guys! Only not.

That scene between Jon and Adrian is possibly my favorite exchange in the comic and definitely the one that sticks with me the most when I read it.

[agawa_jean]

I just can't believe that was intended to be serious and dramatic.

I didn't realize anyone did, honestly. I think it was one of the moments that the film pulled off best - it's just that ridiculous.