| Review: WATCHMEN (at the new theater) |
[Mar. 25th, 2009|04:27 am] |
I went downtown to see this film Thursday last week at the new Bow-Tie Movieland Theater, a former historic Richmond train factory. This theater has a partial museum of the train factory, so I thought that was a really neat touch! Although I had been aware of the location earlier this year, upon going to a BBQ restaurant with Mom, Sissy, Gabriel, and Don (I had no idea a movie theater was being built), this is the first time I stepped inside the place, and the theater is REALLY nice! It's got a neat little cafe next to the entrance, and the wide concession stand across the way, of course. This is a theater I would love to go to again, if I felt like hanging out downtown and spending an afternoon at the movies. Plus, it's equipped with a digital 3D theater!
But I digress.
The film Watchmen is based upon the innovative graphic novel by writer Alan Moore (who remains uncredited, at his behest) and artist Dave Gibbons. After 2 long decades of troubled production and lawsuits, the wait was worth it. The movie is very well done, and follows the original graphic novel very closely, with an exception I'll go into later.
Unfortunately, the film isn't doing as well at the box office as people had hoped. Some are chalking it down to mixed reviews and such, and there's some news that Warner Brothers refuses to do another R-rated superhero film again. (Not surprisingly, I hear that one of the only countries where the film is performing best is Japan!) Fans have responded to this with absolute dismay, but here's my 2 cents on the issue, as I posted on another forum:I can't see what other comic Warner would do as an R-rated movie anyway, besides maybe Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
Watchmen was a one-shot story to begin with. So despite its less-than-stellar performance at the box office, the movie did just what it set out to do. If people are expecting something of biblical proportions like The Dark Knight, then they just expect a bit too much, for several reasons. People have to recognize that Watchmen is not The Dark Knight, and never will be.- The Dark Knight has a character (Batman) made for younger audiences. Watchmen was always a mature-audiences deal. Plus, the Watchmen characters don't have the same marketing value as Batman does.
- Consequently, Watchmen is an R-rated film with the whole package (violence, gore, sex, etc.), so of COURSE it's not going to attract all audiences, just fans and adults. Not even the story's political content. People have called this film "cliched," despite that it was based on a very innovative graphic novel, but so many superhero comic-books, and comic-book based superhero movies, have caught up with Watchmen's standards, and it's not years ahead of every comic like it used to be, so it may have lowered peoples' perceptions of it.
- Watchmen didn't have a popular pretty-boy actor who died after filming (much like Heath Ledger, the main reason The Dark Knight had such a meteoric rise at the box office).
And in no way is this meant to put the movie down. I happen to love the original graphic novel very much, and I saw the film this past Thursday and enjoyed it! But even I recognize the reasons it's not as popular as people hoped it would be. Because, like I said, Watchmen is probably Warner's biggest candidate for an R-rated comic-book superhero film (at least from the DC lineup), and is pretty much a one-time deal, so I can't see them making anything else like Marvel can. (Furthermore, Warner continues to think that superheroes are strictly for kids.) If people are looking forward to an R-rated Justice League or Teen Titans movie, all bets are off. It just doesn't make sense. Aside from the box-office slump, I must say that the average Watchmen fan will really enjoy this! I was definitely impressed with the film. But the sound system in the theater is so crystal-clear that it was also a very LOUD movie! So loud that I also had a headache after leaving the film. If I see this film in theaters again, I'm brining earplugs!
The overall story is very faithful to the original graphic novel, truncating it down to the important story points. I was amazed how they did this! But I'm also aware of the changes made to the climax. I must say that the master plan by villain Ozymandias works here in the film, even better than the giant squid in the original book (which didn't do anything, anyway; just appear and die, not even crushing cities like Godzilla), but they took some liberties with the rest of the ending, turning it into a routine Hollywood climax (even though it's not bad). I preferred Dr. Manhattan's chat with Ozymandias in the book, which was powerfully memorable and more subtle.
The special effects here are incredible! The best effects are the ever-shifting inkblot on the mask of Rorschach, and the ever-brilliant presence of Dr. Manhattan (the effect was done by having the actor wear a TRON-like LED light-up suit, and then adding Dr. Manhattan himself digitally. The Owlship (or "Archie," as Nite-Owl calls it) is very faithful to the original design from the comic! I was very impressed with it. From the photos I saw of the interior, there's enough space that I can truly imagine Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre shagging in this vehicle as they did in the original book (they do here as well). There's also some graphic gore and disintergration, which is quite effective, if a bit unsettling. Althought some of the costumes are just a bit different from the book (as well as being more souped-up), they are still very recognizeable as the characters, and are very well done.
The music is a potpurri of classic pop music & songs, from Bob Dylan to Peter Glass
Last but not least, the cast is top-notch in their portrayals of the characters from the book, capturing their very souls! The best of the bunch is my favorite character, the antihero Rorschach, played by Jackie Earle Haley (from the Bad News Bears movie series). Patrick Wilson is also great as the Batman-like Dan Dreiberg/Nite-Owl, the successor of the classic Nite-Owl (played by Stephen McHattie). Malin Akerman is absolutely beautiful and captivating as the seductive heroine Silk Spectre, who succeeds her own mother (played by Carla Gugino), although reluctantly. Jeffrey Dean morgan, who looks like a rugged Robert Downey Jr. after a serious workout (it's a complement), was outstanding as the vicious superhero, Edward Blake/the Comedian, whose methods are too extreme, and questioned by most of his other teammates, except for Rorschach. Billy Crudup did an excellent job as the godlike Dr. Manhattan (who was once scientist Jon Osterman), playing the character with a cold, Spock-like neutrality, as he becomes increasingly detatched from humantiy with his godhood. I was a initially skeptical with Matthew Goode as the villain Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (I always pictured some Shakespearean actor, because of his Roman/Pharaoh-style garb and tendency towards wordiness), as I thought he looked a bit young for the role (it's hard to tell; maybe Ozymandias was eternally young, even in the book?), but I was converted upon seeing the film. He was very servicable in the role, and managed to capture the character's subtlety! I heard about Matt Frewer (of Max Headroom fame) playing tragic ex-villain Edgar Jacobi/Moloch, so I was looking forward to his performance in this film, and I was not disappointed! Needless to say, the rest of the cast is excellent.
In closing, I will not force or scold Alan Moore into watching this film, as I respect him, and his right to ignore this film as he chooses. (Many great writers tend to hate adaptations, no matter how good they are.) But despite that, I wholeheartedly recommend this film to all fans of the original graphic novel. They will be surprised at how closely most of the film follows the original story (word for word, even!), though they should lower their expectations at the liberties taken to some of the story (any antipathy towards that is understandable). This is a very well-done film, so go see it while it's still playing in theaters! (It may also be very loud for you, so bring earplugs if you're noise-sensitive!) Those expecting a direct translation of the graphic novel may as well seek out the "Motion Comic", which is now available.
And I leave you with this hilarious and much-praised fan-made animated parody (imagine if Watchmen were made into a cartoon series in the 1980s!):If it really was made into a cartoon series in the 80s (or even the 90s), it could look a lot like this! While it would not be as over-the-top, it would still be just as embarrassing! :) |
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