Recently saw THE WATCHMEN and here are my thoughts….
As I consider the comic perhaps the closest the comic book world has come to producing something greater than itself….That is to say a timeless piece of literature rather than something as trivial or disposable as say a comic book, I did have some trepidations.
First the good news, the characters of The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan are perfectly brought to the big screen….The way they are portrayed is totally faithful to Alan Moore’s vision and their look couldn’t be any better.
All of the big details from the comic book are intact….The change of the ending from phony alien invasion to phony Dr. Manhattan attack actually makes sense and produces a cleaner, simpler storyline.
However, the smaller elements of the story, some details that are key in understanding the behavior and evolution of the characters are missing from the film and that stops THE WATCHMEN from being completely satisfying.
1.) While we see the details of Rorschach’s brutal childhood and the event that turned him from a normal costumed hero to a Punisher type vigilante (although the punishment he doles out to the child killer in the comic book-leaving him handcuffed in a room with a rapidly growing fire and the only way out for him is to saw through his hand – is much cleverer than the hacking he does in the movie) we don’t see what actually made him Rorschach to begin with….How he accidentally discovered the cloth with the unusual changing color properties while working in the garment industry nor how that it was intended for delivery to a woman named Kitty Genovese(a real life person) who was later murdered outside her apartment building in full view of the people who lived there and yet no one lifted a finger to help her despite her screams for help….This story explains how Walter Kovacs became Rorschach and is also a perfect story to underline much of the varying points of view on justice etc. expressed throughout THE WATCHMEN….Leaving it out is almost criminal.
2.)In the film, after Rorschach visits Night Owl to tell him about the Comedian being murdered, Night Owl then visits Ozymandias to explain what Rorschach said….This doesn’t make any sense….Why wouldn’t Rorschach go to see Ozymandias himself?....He visited everyone else….In the comic book, Rorschach did go to visit Ozymandias and the resulting exchange was tense and very entertaining and also foreshadowed future developments as neither of them like each other as they represent the polar opposites black and white view of good and evil vs. the ends justify the means….It is also strongly implied that Ozymandias is a homosexual something not really discussed in the movie although his fanatical narcissism is still intact….Night Owl is a passive character and the movie conversation is not so interesting.
3.) The final conversation between Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias in the comic book is a perfect closure of the Antarctica finale…. “Nothing ever ends” is the perfect comment….For the movie to not show this brilliant dramatic scene makes the finale just end like the air going out of the balloon….I also find that not showing Dr. Manhattan walking over Night Owl and Silk Spectre as they are sleeping after making love and giving his final benediction on Planet Earth and humanity again robs the story of closure and drama.
4.) In the comic book, Ozymandias’s origin is shown just like Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and Silk Spectre….In the movie, it’s only briefly mentioned….Another misstep.
Is THE WATCHMEN unfilmable? No and as this movie proves you can actually do an okay job….The Comedian’s funeral with its multiple flashbacks is an example of exactly getting the tone of a scene from another source right on film.
However, the little details are also important….Not having them causes the characters to not feel so real or alive or multi-dimensional….In the end, that’s perhaps my main criticism of THE WATCHMEN film….Some of the characters don’t feel complete on film.
As I consider the comic perhaps the closest the comic book world has come to producing something greater than itself….That is to say a timeless piece of literature rather than something as trivial or disposable as say a comic book, I did have some trepidations.
First the good news, the characters of The Comedian and Dr. Manhattan are perfectly brought to the big screen….The way they are portrayed is totally faithful to Alan Moore’s vision and their look couldn’t be any better.
All of the big details from the comic book are intact….The change of the ending from phony alien invasion to phony Dr. Manhattan attack actually makes sense and produces a cleaner, simpler storyline.
However, the smaller elements of the story, some details that are key in understanding the behavior and evolution of the characters are missing from the film and that stops THE WATCHMEN from being completely satisfying.
1.) While we see the details of Rorschach’s brutal childhood and the event that turned him from a normal costumed hero to a Punisher type vigilante (although the punishment he doles out to the child killer in the comic book-leaving him handcuffed in a room with a rapidly growing fire and the only way out for him is to saw through his hand – is much cleverer than the hacking he does in the movie) we don’t see what actually made him Rorschach to begin with….How he accidentally discovered the cloth with the unusual changing color properties while working in the garment industry nor how that it was intended for delivery to a woman named Kitty Genovese(a real life person) who was later murdered outside her apartment building in full view of the people who lived there and yet no one lifted a finger to help her despite her screams for help….This story explains how Walter Kovacs became Rorschach and is also a perfect story to underline much of the varying points of view on justice etc. expressed throughout THE WATCHMEN….Leaving it out is almost criminal.
2.)In the film, after Rorschach visits Night Owl to tell him about the Comedian being murdered, Night Owl then visits Ozymandias to explain what Rorschach said….This doesn’t make any sense….Why wouldn’t Rorschach go to see Ozymandias himself?....He visited everyone else….In the comic book, Rorschach did go to visit Ozymandias and the resulting exchange was tense and very entertaining and also foreshadowed future developments as neither of them like each other as they represent the polar opposites black and white view of good and evil vs. the ends justify the means….It is also strongly implied that Ozymandias is a homosexual something not really discussed in the movie although his fanatical narcissism is still intact….Night Owl is a passive character and the movie conversation is not so interesting.
3.) The final conversation between Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias in the comic book is a perfect closure of the Antarctica finale…. “Nothing ever ends” is the perfect comment….For the movie to not show this brilliant dramatic scene makes the finale just end like the air going out of the balloon….I also find that not showing Dr. Manhattan walking over Night Owl and Silk Spectre as they are sleeping after making love and giving his final benediction on Planet Earth and humanity again robs the story of closure and drama.
4.) In the comic book, Ozymandias’s origin is shown just like Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, and Silk Spectre….In the movie, it’s only briefly mentioned….Another misstep.
Is THE WATCHMEN unfilmable? No and as this movie proves you can actually do an okay job….The Comedian’s funeral with its multiple flashbacks is an example of exactly getting the tone of a scene from another source right on film.
However, the little details are also important….Not having them causes the characters to not feel so real or alive or multi-dimensional….In the end, that’s perhaps my main criticism of THE WATCHMEN film….Some of the characters don’t feel complete on film.
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