Will You Watch The Watchmen?
Today CNN.com asks, "Will anyone watch the 'Watchmen'?" Answer: Not-so-friendly partners Warner Bros. and Fox hope so. They've got a $100M+ bill to pay, and they're betting your bladder will hold out for 160 minutes. But while I can't imagine everyone wanting to run out and buy their kids Veidt or Rorschach action figures -- or pirate comics -- I also can't picture empty theaters come March 6th.
As GWC listeners already know, Watchmen isn't something that I read regularly for fun. It's a great piece of work, summed up brilliantly by Dr. Manhattan-for-a-new-generation Billy Crudup in today's CNN piece: "'Watchmen' is a kind of thrilling thought experiment. What would people who dress up in costumes to fight crime actually be like? Well, they'd probably be fetishists who lived on the fringe of society. They'd all be a bunch of freaking lunatics."
And that they are. Unlike most superhero stories which embue ordinary people with extraordinary powers in order to help us explore what it means to be valiant and heroic -- and the price one pays for such deeds -- Watchmen plumbs the depths of humanity (and some might say beyond), showing us the nastiness that we all know lies just beneath the surface of government, politics, law, and order. Viewed without the goggles of faith we don for Batman, non-powered superheroes become simply "costumed vigilantes" who do bad things for (sometimes) good reasons. And powered superheroes lose touch with their humanity, becoming the indifferent Gods their power makes them.
I've said many times that I might not see Watchmen if for no other reason than the fact that after reading the graphic novel I was depressed for a number of months. But of course as it approaches, I feel like I'm driving past a grisly car accident. We all want to speed up and pass it by because we know we'll be worse off for seeing what's there.
But we all take a look.
For what it's worth, I think that take on the movie would make Alan Moore happy.
Will Anyone Watch The 'Watchmen'? [CNN.com/EW]
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Hell yes.
Wil Weaton says it’s ossim. Good enough for me.
I’m planning on going. Purists have been bitching about all aspects of it, but from what I’ve seen looks like the makers understand the world. The YouTube newscasts are great.
I can empathize with Moore’s stance on movies butchering his stories, though I do think there’s a fair amount of not understanding the differences in mediums there too. But I enjoyed “V for Vendetta” and thought it was a decent adaptation. I haven’t read “LEG” or “From Hell” so I can’t make a comparison on them.
Could they re-instate an old time tradition known as the INTERMISSION?
I coulda used that for the LotR films.
Having watched Watchmen at a preview last night and being a big fan of the graphic novel in the past, I have to say that it is a much watch. You will be depressed at the end but you will also come away with a deep appreciation of what kind of story the novel actually is. I was shocked at how closely they followed the novel. And the more I think about it today the morning after, I think it is a must see. I know that everyone who reads the novel comes away with an appreciation for Rorschach but this movie will make you fall in love with him. With all his faults.
Good watching
Abso-frakin-lutely…
Anyone who complains about the changes doesn’t get the difference between written works and movies…there are differences, but it is close enough that watching the previews I feel like they are for a movie I have already seen!
Fernando
I saw it at midnight and loved it!!!!!! I don’t want to sound brash or like a jerk but, if your one of those people who is overly sensitive, and can be adversely or emotionally disturbed or effected by a book or movie, then maybe this not the movie for you to run out and see…..ever. BUT on the flip side, if you can handle BSG’s “dark” twists and turns, with out any mental recourse or break downs. Then you should be able to watch the Watchmen and come out feeling just fine. 🙂
I saw it and aws pretty impressed with how close it was to the graphic novel.
course I think I have reached my lifetime quota of full frontal blue male nudity visuals. I know the revolution will be pantsless…but geez!!
After doing online research and checking with the kind folks at my comic shop, I’ve decided to take the 16 year old to it Friday night. I’d rather have him see that kind of material with me, rather than with a group of friends. I do want to see it myself, though I’m a bit nervous about the dark side. Still, dark stories need and must be told. I’ll let know what I think.
I saw the flick last weekend and thought it was really cool. I read the GN and loved it, but didn’t think it was a sacred text that couldn’t/shouldn’t be changed in anyway, so I thought the changes made to the end were actually something that needed to be done. The ending they crafted is far less silly in nature than the whole giant squid thing. And by the way, I didn’t miss the black freighter at all.
I took the boy and we both enjoyed the film very much. Very glad I took him. I was amazed at how timely the story is today, in the wake of an economic global crisis.
I saw it and it was okay. I’ve listened to a number of different podcast reviews and I’m starting to agree a longer version will be better.