A few years ago, I picked up a certain graphic novel. People had been telling me for ages that I had to read it, and after finding out that it was by the same guy who wrote V For Vendetta, I finally dove in. What I read was disturbing, beautiful, thought-provoking, fearless, and unlike anything I'd ever read regarding the idea of the 'Superhero'. So, naturally, any and all film attempts were going to gravely disappoint me, right?
Happily, wrong. Very very very wrong.
Watchmen is the story of two generations of masked heroes, set in an alternate 1985 in which said heroes are now thought obsolete and the world is on the brink of nuclear war. Someone is (seemingly) killing off the retired heroes one by one, but upon delving into the murders, a much deeper plot is discovered, a plot to create world peace via an act of unprecedented violence. If you've read the graphic novel, then you already know the story and that it is a grim, raw and unforgiving setting, something I was convinced would be lost under the sheen of Hollywood marketing. It wasn't.
This is not what I would consider a mainstream film in the slightest, as I said in my lj, if you're looking for your run-of-the-mill, mass-produced epic Superhero film, this 'aint it. It's violent and serious and requires thought. And that is exactly why the story is so great. It asks hard questions of the viewers/readers, questions regarding human nature, why we do what we do, and if peace really is a concept that humanity at large can grasp and maintain. I'm noticing critics (usually the ones that already hold themselves on a high horse of intellectual authority...exactly the sort one can imagine Alan Moore was sticking his tongue out at while writing) are rolling their eyes at the film's attempts at social commentary, but they're missing the point. It's not Zack Snyder who's making these points, the dialogue was all written over 20 years ago. One of my friends put it best when she said that this film felt like Snyder's love letter to the graphic novel. As if he said, "Look guys!!! I made this pretty thing based on this other pretty thing we all really really love! LOOK! IT'S THE MOST AWESOME COMIC BOOK EVER!"
That said! Overall, I loved the styling of the film. I'll be honest, as much as I love the graphic novel, I hated the art, truly. I get the point of it though, instead of dazzling you with beautiful graphics, you were supposed to be mentally translating a very raw story, thus the art was raw and minimalist (and the women all look like men, only with boobs). Thankfully, on film, it's much different. The costumes are beautiful, the sets are moody and perfect.
As for things I liked less, mainly it would be how that same stylized look spilled over into the violence and sex. Then again, this IS the same guy who directed 300, with all of it's exhaustingly over-done slo-mo. The stylized fight scenes worked for that film though, they are less effective in Watchmen, especially if you're familiar with the comic. Such a raw, straight-forward story doesn't need it's fight scenes all glossed up MTV-style, but this IS the movie business. The same with the sex scenes...I'm not a prude, but it's the same thought: Glossy porny scenes don't serve this story at ALL, other than to throw breasts at all the fanboys. But again, this just reminds us that awesome as the director is, he's still 300-guy. Also, and this less affected me as it affected the theater at large, but keeping Dr. Manhattan nude for much of the film was, I feel, a mistake. Yes it was true to the comic, but the difference is that the art, as I said, is very minimalist in the comic. After your initial "Oh, he's naked" moment, you just don't notice it! It's like seeing a statue while you're reading, there's nothing explicit about it at ALL. On film, however, it takes you right out of the scene, because people are snickering while serious conversations are happening. I'm a mature viewer. Humanity as a whole is not.
As for the so-called 'Big Change' to the ending, I liked it. I thought it worked, was prudent, and was probably much easier to translate onto film than the original twist would have been. Seeing as the rest of the film was almost a frame for frame copy of the original material, I couldn't be happier. This is not a film for everyone, certainly. But it is an important film.
Stuff Before Bed
