Watchmen. No spoilers.

[gothpanda]

Watchmen was a deeply disappointing movie for me. It's based on Ryan's favorite graphic novel, so I thought it would be fantastic. Admittedly, the characters are great, the plot is wonderful, and the dialogue is mostly very convincing. And there's a wonderful extended love scene

Comments

[gothpanda]

I agree with you wholeheartedly, whether these masked vigilantes have the right to do what they do in the name of "justice" or being "right" is definitely a theme of both graphic novel and movie. And the film definitely explores that theme right from the beginning, but then, once you've gotten the theme, you are pummeled with it by violence that is increasingly graphic and gory. OKAY, I get it, the Comedian was not so much a comedian as a mass-murderer and sociopath operating under the guise of being a "hero" so he could do whatever he wanted. One example of that, maybe two just to be sure, would have been sufficient! Why do I need to see some of these things to make the point?! I don't think I do!!! LOL!!

[caerlas]

I'm in total agreement with you about the violence, particularly the prison scene. Although it's straight out of the book, the gory close-up was not part of the comic at all and didn't need to be included. I had to look away and it made me a bit ill. They could have simply left that bit of violence implied instead of graphically demonstrated if they had to include it at all. I also would have preferred that they keep the original details as to how Rorschach dealt with the child-kidnapper/killer (mind you, without showing a man being burned alive in a close-up) instead of changing it to have him bury a meat cleaver in dude's skull

[gothpanda]

Actually the prison fight scene was, in my opinion, one of the least graphic. And Rorschach's line at the end kind of made it worth it. It was a great scene, and I didn't mind the guy's face melting off so much cause he was attacking a good guy. I didn't expect him to die though, seems like he would have severe burns but dying of hot grease in the face? Seems unlikely. But yeah, other than that, every scene was just too over-the-top. The child-kidnapper-murderer guy being chopped repeatedly in the head was completely unnecessary. We could have seen a silhouette of it or heard it happening and it would have been just as effective, if not moreso

[caerlas]

When I say the prison scene, I mean the close up of dude getting his arms sawed off.

[gothpanda]

Ah yes. That was the worst of them.

[rfunk]

I haven't seen or read it yet, but I've gotten the distinct impression that the only way to appreciate the film is to first appreciate the book and its themes. Theoretically, Alan Moore created this more than the director did.

Your first point is interesting, because I think it's actually a bit disturbing that most violent movies treat it in such a throwaway fashion. And that's exactly the point being made in, for example, Natural Born Killers, or (in a lighter way) the whale scene in Hitchhiker's Guide, or (as I understand) Watchmen.

I figure I'll read it, then decide after that whether I'm up for watching it, knowing that it'll be tough to watch.

(I don't know what to say about the blue penis distraction though. Maybe paint Ryan blue? :-)

[gothpanda]

In some ways, yes, it is more disturbing to treat violence in a throwaway fashion. But if I'm paying to see an action movie, I'm looking for something thrilling and fun. I am willing to forgo mourning every bad guy in favor of the plot and enjoying the movie. Apparently, I'm not very desensitized to the violence, however. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

[caerlas]

I would actually suggest that you do the opposite just because it might make the movie more suspenseful if you don't know how the mystery ends. Afterward's you can turn to the comic to fill in the blanks or any questions you might have about the universe. I kinda wish I hadn't had the ending spoiled for me before watching the film.

[myrddyn]

I wasn't sure that I was going to respond to this initially, but I figured, what they heck. First, I really appreciated reading your post prior to seeing the movie. Knowing that the violence was coming was certainly helpful

[not4profiteer]

You know my parents swear that Manhattan was purple.

[gothpanda]

LOL! We have the graphic novel, he's definitely blue. Purple woulda been awesome though...