WATCHMEN Movie Discussion (SPOILERS allowed)!

[Cloud]

Haha. The love scene in the Owl Ship was anything but subtle.

I've seen the film 4 times and read the book once. I'll have to read it again. The party scene when Laurie throws her drink in her father's face is really what turned me from thinking Eddie was an interesting guy that I didn't want to bother with to obsessing over him. The look on his face right before she does it, aw, it just kills me. Poor guy.


EDIT: Oh, and I agree that Eddie meant more to Sally than a one-night stand, but that's all she really got from him. I'm a huge Eddie/Sally shipper though, I love them as a couple. If I was Sally, it wouldn't have been rape, and there wouldn't have been anything attempted about it.

 

[Scar]

Calling Sally and Edward's relationship just a one night stand is putting it too simplistically. Physically its all that might have been but you don't shed a tear or kiss the picture of a one night stand. Their relationship in the end was one of the most complex since it was a lot of things not said that built its foundations than anything else. Sally loved Edward and he obviously loved her but they knew that they couldn't actually be together because it was far too complicated given their pasts, their present and their future (Laurie).

Perhaps one of the most eloquent ways I have ever heard the relationship between the Comedian and Sally Jupiter framed. Well done, mate.

 

[HdoubleD]

The thing is... much of the powerful character stuff in WATCHMEN (the book itself) is dealt with in measured subtlety. That's why it takes multiple readings to truly absorb and appreciate it. While obviously not nearly as layered or complex (and some good stuff is missing), the film was designed much the same way... so savvy viewers will start getting these elements upon repeat viewings. Frankly, I applaud Snyder & company for going that route instead of the usual mallet-over-the-head approach. WATCHMEN is not meant to be read/seen just once.

True, but then you alienate some casual viewers. I think thats a big reason why so many people who didnt read the book were lost as to why certain parts were important. One more scene with eddy and laurie wouldnt really be mallet over the head because, in essence, there were very few character-building scenes in regards to the comedian/silk dynamic. Some viewers had no idea what was going on, which inturn might get them away from return viewings, which is a real shame for such a good film.

We just have to wait and see what they give us in the DC....

 

[The Mike]

Perhaps one of the most eloquent ways I have ever heard the relationship between the Comedian and Sally Jupiter framed. Well done, mate.

 

[The Mike]

Just found this pic, had to post it....made me actually LOL.

 

[IrishJedi]

Just found this pic, had to post it....made me actually LOL.

 

[Cloud]

When I got to the end of the book I thought to myself, "WTF is that thing?" I don't mean to hop on any bandwagon when I say this, but I thought the film's ending was a lot more realistic.

 

[The Mike]

....both work in their own way.

 

[CelticPredator]

Agreed with the above.

 

[Cloud]

That cat sends chills down my spine!

The book's ending explained Bubastis. I need to read it again to see what Dr. Manhattan was helping Ozy out with the whole time, if it wasn't what it was in the movie.

 

[Scar]

When I got to the end of the book I thought to myself, "WTF is that thing?" I don't mean to hop on any bandwagon when I say this, but I thought the film's ending was a lot more realistic.

I think it's interesting to see all of these reactions flowing in from people who have been long-time fans as well as those who are new-comers to the story. If this is the first time you read the book it doesn't surprise me that you felt as if you had been mind-f@%ked upon seeing the squid. I know a good number of people, really quite a few, who not only loved Watchmen for years, but who upon seeing the movie thought the Dr. M framing worked better and found it more palatable. I like the squid ending more personally just from a hermetic standpoint that it seals up all possible angles in Veidt's agenda for a lasting world peace; with the Dr. M ending I can see how it could work and I understand the reasoning behind its implementation from a continuity standpoint, an emotional standpoint involving Dr.M on a very personal level, and from an audience-reactionary standpoint. It's really to your preference, nothing wrong with preferring the movie's ending.

 

[darthviper107]

To me the film ending wasn't logical, and while the book ending was kind of kooky, it made more sense.

Film ending--it's like someone threatening other people with a pet tiger and then expecting everyone to feel sorry for them when it attacks them one day along with everybody else--not going to happen.

 

[Scar]

To me the film ending wasn't logical, and while the book ending was kind of kooky, it made more sense.

Film ending--it's like someone threatening other people with a pet tiger and then expecting everyone to feel sorry for them when it attacks them one day along with everybody else--not going to happen.

To be fair, if that pet tiger was capable of protecting an entire country and advancing human civilization it would probably have been kept up until the point when it turned on its masters and its masters decided to pull their collective resources in an effort put down the powerful beast. I once read of a man who raised a leopard from when it was a cub; the leopard defended the man for years, throughout a good portions of the cat's adult life. It even chased raiders away from the man's property, but that didn't stop it from not only killing, but mostly devouring the man from the waist up when it found the timing opportune. Dangerous creatures are often revered, whether crocodiles in Egypt, tigers in India, sharks by Hawaiian tribesmen. Dangerous creatures thought to bestow blessings, which inevitably turn, and in more recent centuries have been turned upon for their treachery whereas in times long past their actions were considered the whimsy of gods not to be questioned though certainly feared. Dr. Manhattan the dangerous pet... I suppose that is exactly what he was in many ways.

Definitely agree that the book's ending, while loopy, was magnificent. No problem with the movie's ending, just that it wasn't quite as air-tight. It's a debate fans are going to be engaged in for yeeeeeeeeears to come.

 

[HdoubleD]

To be fair, if that pet tiger was capable of protecting an entire country and advancing human civilization it would probably have been kept up until the point when it turned on its masters and its masters decided to pull their collective resources in an effort put down the powerful beast. I once read of a man who raised a leopard from when it was a cub; the leopard defended the man for years, throughout a good portions of the cat's adult life. It even chased raiders away from the man's property, but that didn't stop it from not only killing, but mostly devouring the man from the waist up when it found the timing opportune. Dangerous creatures are often revered, whether crocodiles in Egypt, tigers in India, sharks by Hawaiian tribesmen. Dangerous creatures thought to bestow blessings, which inevitably turn, and in more recent centuries have been turned upon for their treachery whereas in times long past their actions were considered the whimsy of gods not to be questioned though certainly feared. Dr. Manhattan the dangerous pet... I suppose that is exactly what he was in many ways.

Definitely agree that the book's ending, while loopy, was magnificent. No problem with the movie's ending, just that it wasn't quite as air-tight. It's a debate fans are going to be engaged in for yeeeeeeeeears to come.

I agree with you that the books ending is better. One thing I will say is that the movies ending did enhance the Docs self imposed exile. To me, it gave him a more martyr like feel, seeing that he just rediscovered humanity, he left to protect it from "himself", giving his exile more purpose. In essence i think it made him more human.

 

[IrishJedi]

To me the film ending wasn't logical, and while the book ending was kind of kooky, it made more sense.

Film ending--it's like someone threatening other people with a pet tiger and then expecting everyone to feel sorry for them when it attacks them one day along with everybody else--not going to happen.

You missed it, then. It wasn't about anyone "feeling sorry" for the U.S. when New York was destroyed along with the other cities. It was the global realization that there is a bigger, common threat out there and thus it's ultimately trivial for nations to flirt with war and nuclear disaster when there's a god-like being around who can wipe out everyone at any time.

Whether it's a supposed alien squid or a super-being with unknown motives, the worldwide threat is the same. And, thus, so is the ending. The only real difference is that the movie ending ties one of the main characters (Dr. Manhattan) directly into that conundrum.

In fact, I maintain that if he weren't a stubborn SOB and had his druthers, Alan Moore himself might be jealous of the more elegant movie ending, which leans on the story's actual characters instead of an homage to an episode of "The Outer Limits".

 

[The Mike]

What I really didn't like about the film ending is that Bubastis was completely just left to flap in the wind. She was just there and no attention paid to why she was different.

 

[Scar]

What I really didn't like about the film ending is that Bubastis was completely just left to flap in the wind. She was just there and no attention paid to why she was different.

Same here. When reading the book I was legitimately pissed when Bubastis took her dirt nap.

"He killed her? He just killed his ^^^^ing cat? What an ^^^^^^^. And she was such an awesome cat."

Becomes more of an afterthought of Veidt playing mad scientist.

 

[Darthrazz]

For those who read the book, in a nutshell, how was the ending different? If you don't mind.

 

[CelticPredator]

Comic - Alien Squid created by Veidt.

Movie - Energy created by D.M Machine, blames it on Dr. M.

 

[prefused]

Comic - Alien Squid created by Veidt.

Movie - Energy created by D.M Machine, blames it on Dr. M.

incidentally, the machine in the movie is called S.Q.U.I.D.