Okay, saw it last night... still processing, but *overall* I can confidently say that I really did not like it.
Since I don't want to make anyone TOO angry, I'm gonna try to be nice
Let me just start out saying that I'm glad I saw it, and it was interesting to see what they chose to use from the book, what they chose to leave out, and the odd things they chose to add for some strange reason (which, from my view, made it even more difficult to follow for the uninitiated - I've read the book and was still like, "what?" in many scenes).
Also, I think it fails as an adaptation. I think the purpose of an adaptation (or really any film!) is to stand alone without needing the book to clue you in on character motivation, etc. I would compare this Watchmen adaptation to the first couple of Harry Potter films, NOT The Lord of the Rings movies. Those first Harry Potter's were quite uncomfortable... the acting was atrocious, the scenes read like chapters from the book, but the parts they left out just created more questions, if you hadn't read the books. I felt very similar in Watchmen - that was one of the first things I noticed. This movie does not stand alone. One good thing that will hopefully come out of it is that it will maybe make more people want to read the book because they leave this film going "WTF??" Getting more people reading is never a bad thing!
Uncomfortable pretty much sums up this movie for me. From the incredibly bad acting (laughably bad) of most of the characters (it was like they really had NO IDEA how they were supposed to act, so they just read their lines like machines - Crudup was the best out of all of them, probably because he was SUPPOSED to be kind of machine-like), to the really irritating music (which drew me right out of the experience multiple times, plus it made me focus on something other than what the characters were saying, which, in a story with so many twists and turns and details, is not such a good thing to do!... not so bad in a 300 or a Transformers, but not so good when the STORY is key), to the sex scene with not a lot of build-up (*I* know that Dan needs the costume and the action from reading the book and knowing the characters already, but I don't think it was very well explained in the film).
I think that just proves that it shouldn't have been made into a movie in the first place - the language and writing does not translate well, word-for-word, onto the screen. The book is what it is because of the language and the way in which it is laid out - translating that into film ruins the whole process and makes it into a Saturday Morning Cartoon cliché of the story. It's like they couldn't decide whether to make it campy or serious... some scenes were superhero fluff and some could have been quite good and very deep... without the surrounding fluff. (there is no fluff in the book) And there really is WAY TOO MUCH info in the book to translate well - it's almost like a Stephen King adaptation - none of those are really that great because the books are just so much deeper!
And WHY did they change the scene when Rorschach kills the kidnapper??? It was SOOOO much more powerful in the book... it was like a parody in the movie. It's like they went through the book, picked out things that would LOOK cool, then tried to make the story fit around those random scenes, while also changing the scenes a bit, and not always for the better.
Granted, I went into it thinking it shouldn't have been made, but I honestly did give it a fair shot - I love movies!! I just wish more were ORIGINAL and not adaptations of somebody else's work... or sequels... or remakes.
What I did like:
- The visuals were great - really cool to see some stuff right out of the book and it was very crisp.
- The opening credit sequence was by far the best part of the entire film (at least for someone who's read the book - I can see the people who haven't being very confused)
- Veidt was awesome - to me he was the most compelling character in the film (Rorschach's voice was too fake for me to really get into him, although he had some cool scenes) - I wish there had been even more with Veidt, especially showing the gymnastics and stuff, to help explain more to the non-readers.
- The Comedian was also awesome - he was a very compelling character as well, just wish the guy who played him had been a bit better of an actor.
- I think the 'giant blue junk' was very tastefully done... NOT saying I like giant blue junk
, but from all the broo-hahaha over it, I was expecting something hilarious, but it was tasteful (though I could see how some immature souls could laugh)
-The Mars stuff was really cool.
- I do think the ending would have been better if they stuck to the alien theme, but I don't think it was THAT big a deal and it was cool to see the explosion.
- It made me think, always a sign that SOMETHING was right (although to be honest, that might be just because I've read the book... I kind of wish I hadn't ever read it so that I could have gone in fresh)
Final notes: please, please, please - somebody stop the overuse of SLO-MO in Hollywood!!! I was dying laughing during the ridiculous slo-mo in the 'let's break Rorschach out of prison' scene... and don't get me started on making everyone superhuman!! The ONLY one with super powers is Jon (although you could argue Veidt as well, with his intelligence and acrobatics and disposable income)... that's kind of the whole point, that they're only human! Rorschach shouldn't be able to scale walls (without the help of his harpoon thing) and leap in CGI fashion, an old and out-of-shape Nite Owl who hasn't even used any of his stuff in YEARS (they took so much time establishing how dusty everything was) shouldn't be able to ... oh forget it.... it's a lost cause.
2 out of 5
