I remember reading the graphic novel in the early 90's. A good 5 years after it's initial release. The Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic changed all of comicdom forever and upon it's first reading I could tell why. A grand, epic and dark story of an alternate history of 1985 where Nixon is still president, we're seeped deep into the Cold War and costumed heroes actually exist and and run amongst the city "protecting" it people. That is until they are abolished and are forced to loose the capes and masks and try and live real lives. Part murder mystery, part commentary on society's ills and part pulp action comic, Watchman proved that comics weren't just for kids anymore and that not all costumed heroes had all of society's best interests in mind. It forced comic companies and writers to look at new aspects of the medium that were quite a bit more dark, sad and gritty.
Since last weekend was filled with 40th B-day festivities for my good friend Iris Von Beaverhousen, I sadly did not get to go out and see the movie. But, I made time after work on Tuesday night to shuffle over to a local megaplix and sit down for the good 3 hours and view the movie.
I have to admit that when I first heard that Hollywood was going to adapt the piece of literary art into a movie, I was really worried. I knew how epic the story of the comic was and I thought there was no frellin' way they were going to do any type of tasteful homage to the comic. How the frack were they going to fit that big of a story and plot into a film. A miniseries, maybe. But, a film? Could anyone really capture the full extent of the graphic novel in a movie???? Then I heard that Terry Gillaim's name was bandied about as a potential director. This peaked my interest as hope that perhaps someone with the right tools could bring the story to the big screen. Then after a while, for whatever reason, Gilliam's involvement with the film dissolved and we fans of the comic were left wondering, "Well, what's next?"
After a few years news on the potential movie didn't surface. In the meantime a phenomenally awesome flick based on the Frank Miller comic, "300" was turned into a movie and directed by Zack Snyder. It was beautifully done and one of my personal faves.
Then I heard that Zach was going to take the rains of the Watchmen film. I started to get a little excited again. I loved 300 and wondered what Snyder could bring to the immense story of Watchmen. I, again, got the hope that someone had the capable hands to translate this dense, yet incredible story to the big screen.
I wasn't disappointed. Upon my viewing I found that the flavor of the comic was consistent and I was pleased with the outcome, overall. I can't say there were any major complaints about the film. Perhaps some very small quibbles.
I still feel that perhaps two movies would have covered the epic saga a bit better. There were some important parts of the comic that were understandably omitted, yet still important to the original story. The comic's chapters are separated by verse. The verse can be considered short stories that link the main story together. A lot of these are completely omitted or are converted to the opening credits. Not a horrible mistake, by any means. Especially since they were tasked with turning the epic into a motion picture. But, some of the real story is cut out. The mini-story of The Tales of the Black Freighter is nowhere to be seen. I feel that this is one of the key story points. They're going to release it as an animated DVD later this month, but I felt it should have been part of the main story of the movie. I do understand how they only had so much room for the points they wanted to convey in the movie. But, I was still saddened to see that it didn't make it into the film.
The film is almost 3 hours long. I really worry that people not familiar with the comic might be turned off by the running time. If you're a fan of the comic, you'll have a vast appreciation of the film. If you're some lame schmo off the street who is not at all familiar with the subject matter, you may be looking at your watch two hours into the movie. (At which point you deserve to be slapped upside the back of your feeble head.)
What does make this movie rock? The actors are a major factor in turning this literary piece of wonderment into a motion picture! Milan Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earl Haley, Billy Crudup (even if he was dumb enough to leave Mary Louis Parker), Mathew Gooode, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Carla Giugino, Matt Frewer (Max Headroom), and even bit player like the beautiful Apollonia Vanova,( who has no speaking part and is only featured in the credits), are what make this film a triumph and all deserve golden statues!! Rorschach and The Comedian are the psychoes we feared and loved from the books! Silk Spectre I and II are both as desirable and tragic as they were in the comic. And Night Owl is the geek you cheer for who gets the hot cheerleader in the end. They all seem to devour what the comic's characters are. They really bring them to life. They all have full understanding of who they play and make them a real entity for the screen! As a fan of the comic I found this to be the film's biggest asset! They all seemed to really care for Moore and Gibbon's superheroes.... and villains.
The effects are frackin' good and the action / fight sequences are darn brutal! Perhaps even more so than the comic. There is some great fight choreography and some intensely violent action sequences in this film. Fine by me.
The ending to the film is changed slightly from the book. This may erk some hard core fans. It also ends on a slightly more upbeat feeling than the book did (Hollywood does have to whore itself a bit, doesn't it?). But that's minimal when you look at the big picture.
So, if you're a big fan of the orignal comic, you really need to take a look at it. If you're not, you may have a hard time dealing with the 3 hour storyline. But. please, sit through it! If you have a soul and a brain you'll really get it. If you're a geek, like me, you'll want to see it in the theater and then buy it on DVD! The acting really brings these charters and movie to full life. 'Cause Snyder really tries as hard as he can to bring the whole monster to the big screen and succeeds quite well! You can tell he is a fan of the core material, and it really shows. Though, it's not quite up there with The Dark Knight or Iron Man, this puppy has a special little place in the comics to film genre. You'd be less of a person or geek to not go see Watchmen!
I'm going to go have some dinner, so please, until next time, Stay vertical! And God bless the likes of Milan Akerman, Carla Giugino, and Apollonia Vanova! What can I say. I'm a goofy fan-boy.
Zangz!
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