Author Topic: The Watchmen thread. (Read 19814 times)

ren · « **Reply #40 on:** Monday, February 23, 2009, 03:42:18 PM »

Quote from: Quemaqua on Sunday, February 22, 2009, 08:58:10 PM

It does seem like they're trying to add a bunch of action to something that didn't really have much, but it's a movie about superheroes, what do you want? This is the same director as 300, which was a bloody fun action flick even though it tore most of the soul out of the original material, so it wouldn't surprise me to see something at least somewhat similar happen here.

Plus, it's very hard to judge a scene like that out of context with the rest of the movie. Cheesy superheroes, but that's kind of the point. Besides that, it was obviously unfinished, missing a bunch of audio, etc. I see no reason to be *that* skeptical over it.

Really? I find little to be optimistic about from that clip. The whole tone of that scene in the comic is what the fuck are we doing/we're out of our element/this is harder than we thought. It's supposed to a somewhat scary, suspenseful scene. This is a let's have one prisoner run at us one at a time while we disarm them with awful choreography and techno music.

That said, I'm not really that big of a fan of Watchmen anyways. I read the book and thought that the second half sucked compare to the first and didn't think the movie would be anything beyond average before watching that clip.

Xessive · « **Reply #41 on:** Monday, February 23, 2009, 04:19:14 PM »

Who or what is that wussified Batman knock off?

I know very little of the Watchmen. Actually I know practically nothing about the book or the movie. I'm only mildly interested in the movie. That's only because I'm generally interested in super hero movies.

EDIT:
Btw that scene was pure cheese. Not the good kind.

Quemaqua · « **Reply #42 on:** Monday, February 23, 2009, 09:41:14 PM »

Quote from: ren on Monday, February 23, 2009, 03:42:18 PM

Really? I find little to be optimistic about from that clip. The whole tone of that scene in the comic is what the fuck are we doing/we're out of our element/this is harder than we thought. It's supposed to a somewhat scary, suspenseful scene. This is a let's have one prisoner run at us one at a time while we disarm them with awful choreography and techno music.

That said, I'm not really that big of a fan of Watchmen anyways. I read the book and thought that the second half sucked compare to the first and didn't think the movie would be anything beyond average before watching that clip.

You forget I haven't read the whole thing. And again, while what you say seems to make sense, it could still work out to be at least closer to that original idea in context than with just the scene itself. *Shrug*

Cobra951 · « **Reply #43 on:** Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 04:59:34 PM »

Here's a fairly long story on the upcoming movie, so full of plot SPOILERS (for those who have not read the comic book series) that I thought I should hide it behind the appropriate tags:

(click to show/hide)

Quemaqua · « **Reply #44 on:** Wednesday, February 25, 2009, 07:32:32 PM »

Interesting writeup. I didn't really see that many spoilers. I'm definitely curious... but I really should get around to finishing reading the damned thing.

gpw11 · « **Reply #45 on:** Sunday, March 01, 2009, 01:34:44 PM »

Quote from: ren on Monday, February 23, 2009, 03:42:18 PM

That said, I'm not really that big of a fan of Watchmen anyways. I read the book and thought that the second half sucked compare to the first and didn't think the movie would be anything beyond average before watching that clip.

I concur. Well, the movie might turn out alright, but the whole thing is really overrated. I'm not really a comic book guy, with my experience pretty much limited to old Spider-Man comics when i was like 10, a few Fables books, and The Watchmen, but i wasn't really all that impressed by it.

Xessive · « **Reply #46 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 04:00:59 AM »

Wow, it's getting some majorly mixed reviews at Metacritic.

The scores range from 100% all the way down to 20%!

EDIT:
Holy crap doesn't this guy look like he could totally be Javier Bardem's bro?!

MysterD · « **Reply #47 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 06:26:23 PM »

4 stars from Ebert (out of 4)

Quemaqua · « **Reply #48 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 06:39:03 PM »

Curiouser and curiouser. If I could be bothered to go see movies, I'd probably check it out just due to curiosity, but at this point... eh. Who knows.

Cobra951 · « **Reply #49 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 09:33:29 PM »

Quote from: Roger Ebert

I’m not sure I understood all the nuances and implications, but I am sure I had a powerful experience.

Hmm. So he has the warm and fuzzies, but isn't sure why. As I recently said in the Dark Knight thread, I find its story way too flawed, yet this same gentleman had nothing but praise for it. Having read The Watchmen (and knowing the movie follows faithfully) I won't have that problem with the film. But I don't trust Ebert's assessments in this genre. If he isn't even sure why he had a good experience, I have to wonder if the reason is entirely in his head. He seems partisan to superhero movies "growing up". If so, he has a vested interest in their success, which would taint his analysis.

I'm very interested in the movie, and I'm hoping for the best. I just don't feel any more positive about it after this review, which is to say that I still don't know if it's really any good at all.

Quemaqua · « **Reply #50 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 09:36:10 PM »

Taking critics seriously is always a bad idea, but especially when it comes to movies.

Cobra951 · « **Reply #51 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 09:42:33 PM »

The only reason for critics is to give us a way to weed out stinkers before we waste our time and money on them. I know they can't be trusted completely because of all the subjectivity involved. But you can get a general good feeling about an individual critic's reviews. In the past, I've agreed with much of what Roger Ebert has said. But he let me down with The Dark Knight, and he used that particular opinion to introduce his Watchmen review. So I have to give his assessment of it less credence than he usually gets from me.

Quemaqua · « **Reply #52 on:** Thursday, March 05, 2009, 09:45:47 PM »

Well, yeah... that's kind of what I meant. I often agree with the guy, but there are times when I can't fathom how he came to any of his conclusions. And in general, I find that movie reviews are too inconsistent to be trustworthy. They may be interesting in retrospect, but I never take their advice on whether or not to see a movie, unless there's one specific piece of information (one that isn't too subjective) that will dictate whether or not I go.

Xessive · « **Reply #53 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 02:30:25 AM »

I generally wait to compare between the critic reviews and the reader/player/viewer reviews.

TheOtherBelmont · « **Reply #54 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 03:04:11 AM »

I just got back from this a little while ago and I really enjoyed it. Probably one of my favorite aspects of the movie was the guy they got to play Rorshach. There is a semi significant change in the movie that is different from the comic that I know some people are going to gripe about but it didn't bother me as much. Overall, though it is pretty faithful to the comic.

Also, the slow mo fight scene in the prison that someone posted earlier, there is hardly any other scenes like that with the slow motion. It is used very sparingly on the action scenes which were all well done.

Pugnate · « **Reply #55 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 05:00:55 AM »

Good to hear Belmont!

Xessive · « **Reply #56 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 09:38:26 AM »

Thanks for the update BelTet! Sorry I keep referring to you as Tetsuo in my mind but this time I decided to add in your new moniker, dubbing you BelTet! Or Tetmont..

I'm gonna watch it anyway just coz I'm in the mood for a superhero movie.

Btw, I tried out the Watchmen: The End Is Nigh demo on PS3.. It's was so-so.. But finally a 2-player beat 'em up on PS3!! This is the genre consoles were made for!

MysterD · « **Reply #57 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 03:00:00 PM »

Quote from: Quemaqua on Thursday, March 05, 2009, 06:39:03 PM

Curiouser and curiouser. If I could be bothered to go see movies, I'd probably check it out just due to curiosity, but at this point... eh. Who knows.

Well, isn't there supposed to be some 3 hour-plus "Extended Cut" either going to theatres and/or to DVD, in some point in time?

Xessive · « **Reply #58 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 04:05:51 PM »

I haven't watched it yet but apparently it's censored up-the-wazoo in this part of the world. Something to do with consistent nudity and a blue dude.

Cobra951 · « **Reply #59 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 04:22:41 PM »

Dr Manhattan, naked ethereal blue dude.

Quemaqua · « **Reply #60 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 07:59:20 PM »

Don't call him Tetmont. He hates that. Which is probably why I say it to him all the time.

ScaryTooth · « **Reply #61 on:** Friday, March 06, 2009, 08:53:26 PM »

Wow. That movie is amazing. I mean, visually, it's breath taking. And I don't think I've seen an adaptation stay so true to the source material.

My only complaint is that the ending was slightly different, but it worked really well. And there is no black freight! But I see why they didn't add that.

So so good!

angrykeebler · « **Reply #62 on:** Sunday, March 08, 2009, 08:45:43 PM »

so i saw this today and my response? Meh.

it wasnt bad but i didnt like it that much either. should be noted i never read the comics.

angrykeebler · « **Reply #63 on:** Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 01:45:30 PM »

here was the absolute highlight of the movie for me
http://www.businessinsider.com/watchmen-opening-credits-are-on-the-internet-forever-now-clip-2009-3

no spoilers. why? cause its the first 5 minutes of the film. only went downhill from here

K-man · « **Reply #64 on:** Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 06:32:46 PM »

I've had a few days to let it digest, going back and forth about how I feel about the movie. In short I'm glad the movie was made, and I think Snyder did the best he could (especially considering some of the uphill battles he had to fight with the movie execs). Ultimately though, it doesn't come close to the graphic novel. Anyone who went into the movie thinking it would was setting themselves up for disappointment from the beginning. I think the best anyone could hope for was a reasonably clear facsimile of the novel, and I think Snyder delivered. Even though some changes were made to cater to the audience that hasn't read the novel, it is readily apparent that the movie was still for the most part lost on them. And hell, it's not their fault. They're unable to rightfully appreciate 75% of the movie because they have no frame of reference to do so. It was a movie made for "us" and thus will suffer at the box office because of it. I was absolutely amazed when I caught the Saturday night show and there was maybe a total of 40 people in the theater (my party being five of them).

Some people said that it was an unnecessary movie, and I can definitely agree with that somewhat. But I don't think Watchmen is any worse-off by this movie being made. It was full of "THEY GOT IT RIGHT!" moments, despite the pock marks that have been discussed to death. Snyder's heart was definitely in the right place when he made this film, and I can't wait to see the extended cut.

K-man · « **Reply #65 on:** Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 06:34:16 PM »

Quote from: ScaryTooth on Friday, March 06, 2009, 08:53:26 PM

Wow. That movie is amazing. I mean, visually, it's breath taking. And I don't think I've seen an adaptation stay so true to the source material.

My only complaint is that the ending was slightly different, but it worked really well. And there is no black freight! But I see why they didn't add that.

So so good!

The Black Freighter is being released March 24.

MysterD · « **Reply #66 on:** Sunday, March 15, 2009, 02:07:28 PM »

I went to the theater today and saw this. Keep in mind, guys -- I have never read the comics. I thought the film was very good.

It never felt too long or too long-winded to me -- which is a surprise, considering it is around 160 minutes. I think it probably is b/c the film took its time in explaining the origins of these characters and making you actually care about them. It didn't feel rushed -- though, since this is based on a comic series, I'm still guessing a lot of stuff was probably still left out.

The visuals were excellent and so were the action scenes.

Oh, and let me saw this now -- Rorschach was awesome.

For those who read the book and seen the movie only -- can you tell me what's the difference in the endings y'all were talking about in some spoiler tags?

angrykeebler · « **Reply #67 on:** Sunday, March 15, 2009, 04:13:51 PM »

Quote from: MysterD on Sunday, March 15, 2009, 02:07:28 PM

I went to the theater today and saw this. Keep in mind, guys -- I have never read the comics. I thought the film was very good.

It never felt too long or too long-winded to me -- which is a surprise, considering it is around 160 minutes. I think it probably is b/c the film took its time in explaining the origins of these characters and making you actually care about them. It didn't feel rushed -- though, since this is based on a comic series, I'm still guessing a lot of stuff was probably still left out.

The visuals were excellent and so were the action scenes.

Oh, and let me saw this now -- Rorschach was awesome.

For those who read the book and seen the movie only -- can you tell me what's the difference in the endings y'all were talking about in some spoiler tags?

(click to show/hide)

MysterD · « **Reply #68 on:** Sunday, March 15, 2009, 04:50:42 PM »

Thanks, AngryKeeb.

Wow, that's actually quite a difference...

Cobra951 · « **Reply #69 on:** Saturday, July 04, 2009, 08:41:16 AM »

After having read the graphic novel last year, I have nothing but praise for this adaptation to film. It's a very difficult comics series to translate that way. I doubt the job could have been much better, given the realities of the medium (such as running time). Some parts are mesmerizing. The whole backstory on Dr Manhattan set to Philip Glass music from Koyaanisqatsi was the greatest highlight for me. There are others.

I read that a 186-minute director's cut, with the traditionally animated "Tales of the Black Freighter" interspersed as in the comic books, is in the works. I'd like to see that too when it becomes available. I did watch "Tales" by itself, and it too is worthy.

Xessive · « **Reply #70 on:** Monday, July 06, 2009, 12:51:04 PM »

I'm only about halfway through the graphic novel but I was impressed with how loyal the film was to it (at least the parts I could compare). Overall I enjoyed it. I liked the character back-stories too.

The characters I could most closely relate to were Rorschach and Nite Owl.

The character I could least relate to was Dr. Manhattan. I couldn't empathize with him or condone his reasoning.

iPPi · « **Reply #71 on:** Monday, July 06, 2009, 01:41:29 PM »

I've read the graphic novel and liked it a lot.. but I haven't had a chance to see this movie yet. I'm not sure if I want to buy it or just rent it.

Cobra951 · « **Reply #72 on:** Thursday, July 09, 2009, 10:34:58 AM »

I'm thinking a director's cut that goes over the 3-hour mark in order to more closely track the book would be the one to buy. Such fancy versions usually bring along the theatrical release as well, which would be the one to rent by itself.

I agree that Dr Manhattan is the least human, and therefore hard to identify with. He is more like a budding deity. Humanity becomes more distant to him as time passes. I really liked Rorschach too, including the actor's performance.

K-man · « **Reply #73 on:** Saturday, July 11, 2009, 08:39:18 AM »

Yeah Jackie Earle Haley was born to play Rorschach

iPPi · « **Reply #74 on:** Sunday, July 26, 2009, 10:09:07 PM »

I saw the director's cut and I really like it. I don't know what's been added to it, but it definitely feels like a very accurate representation of what the graphic novel was. I didn't mind the change to how it ended as well.

Cobra951 · « **Reply #75 on:** Monday, July 27, 2009, 06:22:51 AM »

Did it intersperse parts of "Tales of the Black Freighter" through the movie, as in the graphic novel? That would be a big change.

nickclone · « **Reply #76 on:** Monday, July 27, 2009, 08:48:15 PM »

Quote from: Cobra951 on Monday, July 27, 2009, 06:22:51 AM

Did it intersperse parts of "Tales of the Black Freighter" through the movie, as in the graphic novel? That would be a big change.

No, it doesn't. When I heard about this movie and saw the teaser I read the graphic novel. There is a lot (story wise) that had to be left out to time restraints, but overall I still liked it. I think the biggest gripe you'll hear is about the different ending, which was done to please the masses. I would watch it again.

iPPi · « **Reply #77 on:** Monday, July 27, 2009, 08:55:37 PM »

I believe the Black Freighter stuff will be added in as part of an 'Ultimate Cut' of the film that will be released in December. It will have the cartoon or something of the Black Freighter which was released separately woven into the actual film.

That aside though, it still really captures a lot of what was in the graphic novel.

K-man · « **Reply #78 on:** Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 09:11:50 AM »

Quote from: iPPi on Monday, July 27, 2009, 08:55:37 PM

I believe the Black Freighter stuff will be added in as part of an 'Ultimate Cut' of the film that will be released in December. It will have the cartoon or something of the Black Freighter which was released separately woven into the actual film.

That aside though, it still really captures a lot of what was in the graphic novel.

Yeah I was thinking yesterday "Shit man when is the ultimate cut going to be released?". Then I did some investigation and realized it came out November 9. How I hadn't seen a copy before now is beyond me. Either way it's ordered. Comes with the Black Freighter portions intertwined. Also has the complete motion comics and a digital copy of the theatrical version. 4 discs in all. VERY glad I didn't buy any of the standalone stuff.

News:

Author Topic: The Watchmen thread. (Read 19814 times)