Unnecessary carnage and vampire dentition!

[kali921]

So, if you're a fan of the Night Watch tetralogy, I realize that what I'm about to say may seem sacrilegious and may get me lynched in fandom Night Court. After watching Night Watch and Day Watch again last night, I've decided that the films are about a hundred times superior to the books (at least, the available English translations thereof

Comments

[ashen_key]

I...Hrm. I may have to give the movie!version of Night Watch another go, then. I tried once, and a) I couldn't get the nifty English subtitles to work and b) I think I lasted ten minutes before going "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE TO ANTON'S BACKSTORY" and turning it off. Admittedly, I was not a particularly good mood when I hired it. And I do adore the books no end. So. Hmmmm.

[kali921]

Yeah, I was initially very, very leary as soon as I realized that it was ANTON in the beginning. But I warmed up to the films quickly.

As far as the books go, I'm much more impressed with the overall concept and universe that Lukyanenko laid out rather than the actual execution. Part of the problem is that most of the English translation of the books is goddamn awful. It just is. Part of the problem is Lukyanenko, who is occasionally a very, very flat writer. My love for the books has more to do with what glimpses of life we got in the characters and the ideas that Lukyanenko played with in the story. Lukyanenko also has some very problematic ideas of female sexuality. I mean, JESUS, at the "nymphomaniac" line in Day Watch, I almost bashed my head into the wall.

(Also, Lukaynenko is now infamous for the epic flounce he did from LJ. He's a little, um, crazy in his politics.)

[ashen_key]

*nodnods*

Cool. I will give them another go, then! Because, yes for the concept and the universe and the glimpses. As soon as I have...time and brain *eyes uni*

[kali921]

I misspelled "leery." I need to be cast out of humanity. *FACEPALM*

[kali921]

You can do either. The films are more immediately accessible, though. The books read better if you've got some grasp of Russian history; what humor there is in the books is very deadpan, and what's satirized in the books is, again, more perceptible if you've got an idea of why the characters think it's funny. There's also the awkwardness of translating some idiomatic Russian expressions and phrasings into English. A good translation smoothly handles that, but the problem is that the English translations are decent but not stellar. I've got some knowledge of Russian, so I could see exactly what was going on, but for someone who doesn't, you may scratch your head and go "why was that worded that way? And what's with all the random use of all the quotation marks? And where the fuck is Uzbekistan?"

[tattycat]

Thanks for the nice Watch review. The only other review I have read basically said THEY SUCK AND IF YOU THINK THEY'RE GOOD, YOU'RE STUPID.

And. Well. I really liked the movies.

I don't get all of what's going on, but sometimes, it's pleasant to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I have no idea what just happened or why, but it was cool-looking.

[kali921]

Yeah, I think that the films are more comprehensible to those that have read the books. I like that Bekmambetov basically made the films without dumbing down the source material with exposition for an ignorant audience. He assumes a basic familiarity with the source material in a way that an American director wouldn't have. But then, I suspect that no one in America would have made films of the tetralogy without morphing them beyond recognition. (It can, however, be credibly argued that he dumbed down the films with lots of Super Slo-Mo action, and that's true.)

MOTHRA!!!

[box_in_the_box]

I always loved the absurdity of Mothra.

Godzilla? Some kind of giant Tyrannosaur/Stegosaur hybrid, which, even without the nuclear fire breath, is enough to fuck you up. Ghidorah? Three-headed fire-breathing dragon thing - again, terrifying advantages built into the creature from the start. Even Rodan, the RC Cola of Kaiju, is an enormous pterosaur, more than sufficient to do some damage. But I guarantee you, someone sees a giant rainbow-winged moth IRL, nine times out of 10, they're going to laugh their asses off, if only because they'll be convinced that they're tripping.

No wonder Mothra was given so many non-moth-like powers. Otherwise, the character's entire fear factor would be based around viewers saying OH SHIT MY LINEN DRAWER IS TOTALLY FUCKED NOW

It also strikes me that, as far as I know, Mothra is the only Kaiju with generational succession built in. Godzilla? Yeah, he has a son and a nephew, depending on your canon, but just as Batman will always go back to being Bruce Wayne, so too will Godzilla always be the

OH NO YOU DID NOT.

[kali921]

...DID YOU JUST DISS MOTHRA ON MY JOURNAL?

OUT! OUT, I SAY! BEGONE, TRANSGRESSOR!

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Godzilla = Wolverine, King Ghidorah = Apocalypse, but Mothra = Wonder Woman. As far as her powers go, most kaiju have deliriously cracky abilities.

Mothra's the only kaiju who has never, EVER been corrupted in any way, shape, or form. She's the only kaiju that's female and transcendent. She's the only kaiju that beat Godzilla's ass in her larval form. She's the only kaiju that is explicitly the undisputed protector of the Earth and she's the only kaiju that would show up and politely request that you drive a hybrid car, recycle, and garden organically.

She's also the only kaiju that comes with her own mini!song and dance review.

Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, she's the kaiju that's the most popular with women in Japan.

[box_in_the_box]

Actually, I alwqays thought of Godzilla as the closest that Japanese culture has ever come to producing its own version of the American redneck

Edit!

[kali921]

It only adds to this image that, in every fight I've ever seen Godzilla in, he comes across as vaguely hung over and more than a little annoyed to be putting up with this bullshit.

But that's precisely it: Godzilla IS annoyed that he has to put up with this bullshit. That's why he's Logan. He's PISSED OFF when people/other kaiju fuck with him, period, and he'd rather be off drinking beer with Rodan.

Oh, and don't forget that after Mothra repeatedly pwned him, Big G and Mothra wound up teaming up to repeatedly fight the good fight.

[_call_me_snake_]

I had at one point debated on getting a Mothra tattoo. O.o

[kali921]

I'm actively working on one now in my bid to be fully sleeved by 2010.

[_call_me_snake_]

My next piece is the Uadjet for my shoulder. Unfortunately the place I would have put Mothra is where my Nezca Lines currently reside.