This may be a little more than mini!
People have been waiting for years for the big screen version of, what Time magazine classes as one of the top 100 novels since 1923, for donkeys years. And so it arrives. Directed by the same bloke that done such a fine job with 300. Zack Snyder, some might say, has done the impossible by delivering a very faithful version of Alan Moores novel.
Essentially Watchmen is a whodunit. It revolves around a group of "super" heroes, and only one of them has any super powers, due to an accident. Thus Dr. Manhattan is born. The rest of them just dress up as super heroes. That said, they can all kick some serious shit out of people. One of them gets murdered and the rest, in their old(er) age are wondering why and who. All at a time where "super" heroes aren't really loved and respected the way they once were.
There's plenty of flashback montages about the old times (and these kinda pop up almost as frequently as they do in Family guy) which set the scene for what the characters once were. While this is going on, Rorshach is off trying to figure out whats going on, kinda like Magnum, but with more violence. Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre eventually decide to get the band back together as the impending Doomsday clock counts down to human annihilation via a good dose of Nukes. And Dr.Manhattan has fecked off to Mars because he's sick to shit of planet earth after he breaks up with his oul doll. And don't forget the rumours that anyone he's stuck his giant blue penis into has got cancer.
Will he come back from Mars and save mankind? Or will he just say "Fuck it" and build a martian supermarket.
This is a long flick, clocking in at over 2.5 hours. So don't expect to be getting up and going home for 90 mins. Also, keep the draining of your bladder till afterwards. Theres alot happening in this flick and you really dont want to miss anything. I wonder how people, who HAVEN'T read the graphic novel, will feel about the movie? Because its not as straight forward as Hulk Smash or donning a red cape, it may not have instant appeal to your average Joe. Should you read the original? I'm not sure to be honest. Its extremely faithful to the graphic novel, but as a movie on its own, I do actually think it stands its own ground. It'd probably help if you've read the novel, but I don't think its a must! Certainly, if the movie has tickled your fancy, go off and read the original. As, like most of these things, its always better.
At times, its a little bit slow, but, like the original novel, it sucks you in. Watchmen plods along and then sprints and then plods and then sprints. All the time while sucking you in, to the point where you don't really pay any attention to a big, blue penis. Its just a part of life.
The violence is phenomenal. Bones hang off ceilings, Bones snap through arms and angle grinders are used to great effect. Certainly not for the weak of heart or stomach. Surrounding the violence, theres, no shortage of slo-mo. If they halved the slow motion sequences, then they probably would have shaved a good few minutes off the running time. It can get a little bit annoying at times, but at least the sex is in slo-mo. Which is no bad thing. Makes me wonder why more porn isn't shot this way!
I wonder what Alan Moore thinks? The last thing I read he was gone off to worship the Dark Lord. He demanded that he does not be credited on the film. Will he go off and see his creation on the big screen? or will he just stick to sacrificing badgers to the devil. I dont think he'd be disappointed!
Its super violent, its well shot, its a great story and there has been so much heart and passion hurled into this movie from Zack Snyder, who has remained maybe, too faithful to Alan Moore. I wonder did Snyder subconsciously try and please Moore, given that he has always said his amazing graphic novel was unfilmable. Maybe there was a point to be proven. This is certainly a labour of love. I just wonder will alot of it, be lost on the average joe who may have went to see confessions of a shopaholic last week!
I've been looking forward to Watchmen for quite some time now. And as hard as I tried, I still got sucked into the hype. And like the Dark Knight, where again I fell to the hype, I think this will get better the second time round!
Either way, I enjoyed Watchmen. Its a break from the normal superhero / comic book flick. Its not cheesy. Its got a great story, great set pieces and plenty of blue penises.
While my pants were'nt completely off, but they were down around my ankles!
The Watchmen just got watched - It does indeed rock! 8.5/10
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment