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Watchmen - Second Review (3 viewings) 2009 Reviews
After seeing the whole thing a couple times , I can state my full view on the visual spectacle Watchmen.
Snyder really wanted to be faithful to the novel , but capturing most of the large events in the book isn't exactly what I had in mind. Many smaller events in the book that were unrelated to each other are tied together to get through the material quicker - I really don't care for how they did this , it only takes away from the scope of the film.
The threat of nuclear war is incredibly over prioritized , along with Veidts overly menacing performance - the conclusion is much less a surprise than an only way out. It seems everything is rushed in the novel to meet a time deadline and Snyder continues to waste what is given to him. Not enough time is spent in the most important areas (characters , dialogue) and too much is spent on the over the top fight/sex scenes.
Everyone hates Akerman in this role , I didn't think she was that bad given she had some pretty rough dialogue and close to none of her background story revealed. Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffery Dean Morgan are spot on perfectly cast , even if Rosarsch also receives a very small background. Billy Crudup's distant emotionless performance is actually called for by his character. Carla Gugino has no business playing an old woman , but did surprisingly well even with her poor make-up limitations.
The main advantage a Watchmen film should have over the novel , are the overwhelming moments of emotion between the characters and the ability to have multiple things happening at once (unlike a novel where it's very linear). I regret to say these are the things Watchmen the film does worst. There aren't a lot of moments where I'm ever in awe of what's happening , what it does right though are the visuals.
Right from the first beautiful scene of the Comedian's death , to the arctic finale , it definitely looks different than any other high budgeted blockbuster. You have scenes set in Vietnam and Mars - how many movies can say that. Even for the non-stop display of amazing lighting , computer generated effects , and composition - there are some foolish transitions thrown in that often ruin the ride (white flashes for flashbacks and the abrupt transition to Nixon after the blast). However , if your looking to criticize the movie - you should probably not try the sights department.
If movies did not have the blessing of audio , Watchmen might be one of the forerunners of all of them - but it's lack of realisticly human moments and over emphasis on violence and sex , make this one of the biggest letdowns in film history. The graphic novel expanded what could be done with the medium , the film is a complete reversal.
Even though it's a disapointment , it is still an enjoyable one.
After seeing the whole thing a couple times , I can state my full view on the visual spectacle Watchmen.
Snyder really wanted to be faithful to the novel , but capturing most of the large events in the book isn't exactly what I had in mind. Many smaller events in the book that were unrelated to each other are tied together to get through the material quicker - I really don't care for how they did this , it only takes away from the scope of the film.
The threat of nuclear war is incredibly over prioritized , along with Veidts overly menacing performance - the conclusion is much less a surprise than an only way out. It seems everything is rushed in the novel to meet a time deadline and Snyder continues to waste what is given to him. Not enough time is spent in the most important areas (characters , dialogue) and too much is spent on the over the top fight/sex scenes.
Everyone hates Akerman in this role , I didn't think she was that bad given she had some pretty rough dialogue and close to none of her background story revealed. Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffery Dean Morgan are spot on perfectly cast , even if Rosarsch also receives a very small background. Billy Crudup's distant emotionless performance is actually called for by his character. Carla Gugino has no business playing an old woman , but did surprisingly well even with her poor make-up limitations.
The main advantage a Watchmen film should have over the novel , are the overwhelming moments of emotion between the characters and the ability to have multiple things happening at once (unlike a novel where it's very linear). I regret to say these are the things Watchmen the film does worst. There aren't a lot of moments where I'm ever in awe of what's happening , what it does right though are the visuals.
Right from the first beautiful scene of the Comedian's death , to the arctic finale , it definitely looks different than any other high budgeted blockbuster. You have scenes set in Vietnam and Mars - how many movies can say that. Even for the non-stop display of amazing lighting , computer generated effects , and composition - there are some foolish transitions thrown in that often ruin the ride (white flashes for flashbacks and the abrupt transition to Nixon after the blast). However , if your looking to criticize the movie - you should probably not try the sights department.
If movies did not have the blessing of audio , Watchmen might be one of the forerunners of all of them - but it's lack of realisticly human moments and over emphasis on violence and sex , make this one of the biggest letdowns in film history. The graphic novel expanded what could be done with the medium , the film is a complete reversal.
Even though it's a disapointment , it is still an enjoyable one.