(links to the entrants available here)
Well, you all weighed in, and there are the results. PVP easily carried the day with its "Ombudsmen" take-off, and Unwinder's Tall Watchmen Comic also showed a reasonable following. There was no clear leader among the other entrants, although I do think Thinkin' Lincoln's contribution was particularly notable for its hilarious mouseover alt-text. But anyway.
So. I saw The Watchmen on Monday. What did I think of it? Overall, it was a basically faithful adaptation of the comic, at least in the discrete elements. All the characters are there, well-acted and faithful to their comic personalities. The plot was true enough, and comprehensible to outsiders, at least those willing to put forth a little effort to follow it. But I couldn't help but feel that the movie missed the forest for the trees.
Because it's a superhero movie, an R-rated superhero movie, and it revels in scenes of stylized sex and violence. To me, a key part of The Watchmen is how it calls into question the role of the superhero in dispensing justice. It asks what happens when flawed human beings put on the mask and undertake their own personal campaign against crime. Rorschach, with his unwavering commitment to skewed ideals. The Comedian's brutal cynicism. Ozymandias' sacrifice of "millions to save billions." Somehow, some of that gets lost in the movie. Most notably, Rorschach is portrayed as a badass hero rather than a disturbed sociopath, though there are other examples. At the end of the day, there are few people that I could actually recommend this movie to, just because it's so dark, and pointlessly so.
So, that's my take. Did you see Watchmen? What did you think? Drop a comment, or post a link to your review.
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4 comments:
I saw Watchmen, and I liked it. I thought it was basically the best they could have done (certainly better than I expected, at least).
Because the movie seemed to focus most on Dan and Laurie, we lost a lot of key Rorschach scenes, which I think is part of the reason he came off less as a sociopath (of course, in order to make the movie they had to focus a little bit more on the love story, I guess...)
I really loved the opening credits though. and the Comedian. I thought they did a great job casting in general, except for Adrian Veidt (just nothing like the comic book character).
In Watchmen related comics news, Gunshow comic has had a slew of Watchmen comics starting here http://gunshowcomic.com/d/20090309.html
I think the most recent one (Who washes the Watchmen) is the funniest, tho only if you have seen the movie.
I, like Brandon Bolt, am getting somewhat tired of the increasing glut of Watchmen webcomics, but the idea of Lil' Rorschach is novel enough to breathe some life into it. Thanks for sharing the link, Sara. I especially liked the very first one. :)
I voted for Medium-Large. Twice. Sorry if I skewed the results!
No, I haven't seen Watchmen yet. I don't know when I'll have the time. :(
Those Gun Show Watchmen comics were great. I still would've voted for PvP, but KC Green would've come in a very close second.
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