Who watches the watchmen?

I finally saw the movie on Sunday and I realized later that it has the mark of all excellent movies–thought provocation (Ok, I kind of made up that phrase). As I got ready for bed I couldn’t stop thinking about scenes from the movie and the same when I got to work in the morning. In an attempt to *stop* thinking about it, I thought it would help to discuss my thoughts on it. This is by no means a serious, lengthy, in depth review… just my thoughts.

To preface, I had read the novel, and I was aware of the hype surrounding the movie, including Alan Moore’s thoughts on the cinema version.

Characters:
Casting was amazing. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was amazing as the Comedian and exactly what I had pictured. Same for Rorschach and, well, all of them. Except Ozymandias. I was hoping for more than a twiggy, feminine, lame-accent-that-went-on-and-off character. Oh well. However, Rorschach takes the cake with his total sociopathic-ness. My favorite scene was definitely Rorschach’s jail sequence, and I think many will agree.

I loved his voice at certain parts, like when he’s screaming at his fellow inmates, but most of the time he sounded like he was ripping off Christian Bale’s Batman voice. Dr. Manhattan was an amazing effect with Billy Crudup, and I loved Dr. Manhattan in the book, but in the movie he just… annoyed me. *Ducks in fear*

Cinematography:
Amazing. Not as artistic or stylized as 300, but still great. They did a lot of the slo-mo-then-super-fast moves, which looked really cool but I found it hard to believe that skinny Ozzy or the Silk Spectre had that much power behind a punch. But, it’s a comic book so I’ll go with it. Better than big clouds saying BAM! POW! ALA KAZAM!
I kept waiting for someone to kick Silk’s ass just by managing to grab her hair, which was pretty much all over the place, all the time. Too bad.

Ending:
GAHHHH THEY CHANGED IT WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?!?!
COME ONNNNN….

So yeah. They changed the ending. Snyder you suck. I’m not sure if he was trying to make it “current” and apply the energy crisis for that very reason, but it was lame. And yet they left in Bubastis, Ozzy’s pet mutant cat, which just left Watchmen newbies confused, I’m sure. Check out what Hitler thinks about the ending change below:

Overall Impression/Last Thoughts:
Excellent, stayed SOOO close to the script, only to change the ending (wtf?). And pick up the soundtrack! Definitely helps make the movie. My only wish is that they would have done more background for the characters, especially Rorschach. I suppose when you only have 3 hours, a lot gets cut.

Who watches the watchmen?

Let me preface this by saying I can’t believe I hadn’t read this already. I’m a little embarrased.

The Watchmen is a graphic novel that follows our “hero” Rorschach as he uncovers threads of a deadly plot to wipe out the remaining Watchmen as well as innocent people .

The novel follows two generations of masked superheroes (Watchmen) and Rorschach’s attempt to team up with his old partner, Nite Owl, to unravel said conspiracy and the threat of nuclear war. The story takes place during Nixon’s term– in the book’s reality, someone has most likely killed Woodward/Bernstein before Watergate is uncovered. Combined with the Vietnam War, Nixon is extremely popular and is able to run for at least 5 consecutive terms.

The Watchmen simply has too much to absorb at once, as I read it the second time around I began to notice so much more as far as the art and the panels themselves. Just about every character has a touch of crazy and Moore’s orchestration to a shocking climax is absoluely amazing. I’m looking forward to the movie adaptation, but I know Alan Moore has pulled out, claiming to be unhappy with the way it was going.

Anyway, happy reading! If you’re not sure that this may be your cup of tea, check out a sneak peak at DC Comics!