Spring Break
Read the comic before catching 'Watchmen'
Josh Van Dyke/Verge Reporter
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: The Verge
When a well-respected work of fiction is translated to movie, tension erupts. Either the fans enjoy seeing their favorite character in motion, or fear is ignited and the fans butt heads with the loss of translation during filming.
The movie adaptation of "Watchmen" remained faithful to the graphic novel, but some trouble in switching from paper and ink to the big screen remained.
For the uninitiated, "Watchmen" is a deconstruction of the superhero comic book genre, taking away inherent clichés.
If you seek a darker look at crazy, spandex-wearing vigilantes, this is it.
"Watchmen" is a dark tale of terribly flawed individuals, trying to save the world from brutal violence and its own moral ambiguity.
Rorschach is a nutcase determined to campaign his rigid version of justice.
The plot is almost entirely intact from the novel. The cynical view of "superheroes" and humanity are in full power while a sense of paranoia and the Cold War looms throughout the story.
Certain scenes were almost identical to panels of the comic, putting print in motion. The film's ending was slightly changed from the graphic novel -- for the better in my opinion --making the film adaptation a success.
The focus on the characters survived. The plot involves the murder of "The Comedian," but the story also includes emphasis on the previously celebrated heroes. The protagonists are complex people that viewers can sympathize with.
Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II, aka Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk, are identifiable.
The heroes now find themselves unwanted.
While they fight crime at night, there is nothing superhuman about their feelings of inadequacy and purposelessness. The godlike Dr. Manhattan can see the inner workings of the universe and control matter, but he's emotionally detached from humanity due to his changed nature.
The chance to see these "superheroes" struggle and grow makes for a tale far more fascinating than the usual "my superpowers are better than yours" sort of thing.
The acting is top-notch and the actors look like the cartoon images, with the exception of one brief scene with Malin Maria Akerman, who played Silk Spectre II. This isn't surprising with the CGI-born Dr. Manhattan (whose soft voice, which at first seems odd, really fits him perfectly).
The film's faithfulness to the comic is also its weakness. "Watchmen" was meant to be presented in a way that allows the audience to go at their own pace and go back to earlier parts of a story for a greater understanding.
The story frequently abandons the mystery that is supposedly at the heart of things--The Comedian's murder--in favor of a closer look at the characters' pasts and how they relate to each other.
Newcomers are likely to miss certain details, especially since the story is densely packed into all of its 162 minutes.
Adding popular songs like "All Along the Watchtower" and "The Times They Are A-Changing" seemed unnecessary and distracting. Most of the songs only play a couple of moments during scenes transition. It seems it was added because movies are expected to have music.
As for the changed ending, I liked it. It lost some of the surrealness of the original but makes more sense, and it shared the same concept as the novel.
The surprise in store for fans is sacred, which is the problem, really: Try to recreate the comic and it will never be good enough, take the basic ideas in a new direction and it's sacrilege.
It's hard to recommend Watchmen without reservations, since it is the kind of story that one person will love, another will hate and another will be confused by.
Here's my advice: Read the comic first, don't expect to be blown away by the film initially. Then read it again and possibly a third time. Then, if you think seeing it in motion is a cool idea, watch the movie.
By the way: read the comic. Seriously.
The movie adaptation of "Watchmen" remained faithful to the graphic novel, but some trouble in switching from paper and ink to the big screen remained.
For the uninitiated, "Watchmen" is a deconstruction of the superhero comic book genre, taking away inherent clichés.
If you seek a darker look at crazy, spandex-wearing vigilantes, this is it.
"Watchmen" is a dark tale of terribly flawed individuals, trying to save the world from brutal violence and its own moral ambiguity.
Rorschach is a nutcase determined to campaign his rigid version of justice.
The plot is almost entirely intact from the novel. The cynical view of "superheroes" and humanity are in full power while a sense of paranoia and the Cold War looms throughout the story.
Certain scenes were almost identical to panels of the comic, putting print in motion. The film's ending was slightly changed from the graphic novel -- for the better in my opinion --making the film adaptation a success.
The focus on the characters survived. The plot involves the murder of "The Comedian," but the story also includes emphasis on the previously celebrated heroes. The protagonists are complex people that viewers can sympathize with.
Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II, aka Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk, are identifiable.
The heroes now find themselves unwanted.
While they fight crime at night, there is nothing superhuman about their feelings of inadequacy and purposelessness. The godlike Dr. Manhattan can see the inner workings of the universe and control matter, but he's emotionally detached from humanity due to his changed nature.
The chance to see these "superheroes" struggle and grow makes for a tale far more fascinating than the usual "my superpowers are better than yours" sort of thing.
The acting is top-notch and the actors look like the cartoon images, with the exception of one brief scene with Malin Maria Akerman, who played Silk Spectre II. This isn't surprising with the CGI-born Dr. Manhattan (whose soft voice, which at first seems odd, really fits him perfectly).
The film's faithfulness to the comic is also its weakness. "Watchmen" was meant to be presented in a way that allows the audience to go at their own pace and go back to earlier parts of a story for a greater understanding.
The story frequently abandons the mystery that is supposedly at the heart of things--The Comedian's murder--in favor of a closer look at the characters' pasts and how they relate to each other.
Newcomers are likely to miss certain details, especially since the story is densely packed into all of its 162 minutes.
Adding popular songs like "All Along the Watchtower" and "The Times They Are A-Changing" seemed unnecessary and distracting. Most of the songs only play a couple of moments during scenes transition. It seems it was added because movies are expected to have music.
As for the changed ending, I liked it. It lost some of the surrealness of the original but makes more sense, and it shared the same concept as the novel.
The surprise in store for fans is sacred, which is the problem, really: Try to recreate the comic and it will never be good enough, take the basic ideas in a new direction and it's sacrilege.
It's hard to recommend Watchmen without reservations, since it is the kind of story that one person will love, another will hate and another will be confused by.
Here's my advice: Read the comic first, don't expect to be blown away by the film initially. Then read it again and possibly a third time. Then, if you think seeing it in motion is a cool idea, watch the movie.
By the way: read the comic. Seriously.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Chris K
posted 3/27/09 @ 1:04 PM CST
Amen. Read the comic. There's a good reason that Time Magazine called it one of 100 greatest works of fiction. I probably could have done without the movie, though. (Continued…)
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