They said it couldn’t be done. Hell, I said it couldn’t be done. And who could blame us? Successfully cramming Alan Moore’s epic graphic novel, Watchmen, into a single feature-length film seemed not just improbable, but a fucking suicide mission, and yet Zack Snyder has proven us all dead wrong. As a fan of Snyder’s work (both of his previous films won my praise), I expected to be entertained by this movie, but never did I expect him to pull this giant rabbit out of his little black hat. If I sound like I am gushing, perhaps I am, but regardless of whether or not you enjoy the final product, there’s no denying that this man has created a blockbuster feature like none other. This is one we’ll be talking about for a long time to come, and for good reason: What Snyder has accomplished with Watchmen is nothing short of incredible.
Despite the massive, unyielding preconceptions I had built upon two decades of reading and adoring the original book, I came to terms with this unlikely adaptation in a matter of seconds. As I watched the screen come alive with the infamous death of The Comedian, which brutally assaulted my senses to the tune of Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable, the assumptions and nay-saying simply melted away. The tone was absolutely spot on in those opening moments, almost like Dave Gibbons’ illustrated pages had sprung to life, and it remains that way for the rest of the running time.
This is not a cash-in. This is not a hollow reproduction. This is a work of true dedication to the source material, one that screams “love letter” at every turn, from the flat-out brilliant title sequence (which deftly introduces viewers to the world of Watchmen, all without using one single line of dialogue), to Dr. Manhattan’s big blue penis wagging in our faces for nearly three hours.
And that fine attention to detail extends well into the script (thanks to the work of both David Hayter and Alex Tse), which somehow compresses Moore’s mammoth tale without cutting it off at the knees, all the while dripping with clever nods to subplots and elements that otherwise had to get the axe (due to obvious constraints). Even the more blatant revisions feel handled with the utmost of care, including a ballsy edit to the ending that winds up surprisingly satisfying, going as far as to lend greater depth of meaning to the bittersweet exit made by one of the plot’s major players. And all this is tied together by Snyder’s now famous visual flair, with his trademark obsession for slow-motion letting us thoroughly absorb the lovingly replicated panels of the comic, just as he did with 300. And like that film before it, there will be plenty of people who either love or hate this one, a fate that befalls any work as singular and uncompromising as this. As a fan of the book, I couldn’t be more pleased, and to put it bluntly, I think you’d need to have a touch of the mental defective to expect anything beyond what this cast and crew have managed. Prior to seeing it myself, I would have considered you insane to even expect this much.
Sorry. No data so far.
-->
While seeing Billy Crudup’s big blue penis was my initial draw even after the source material, I’m glad to hear that this movie does right in your eyes. I have read a good 5-6 reviews that have a lot of negative things to say and generally conclude he’s bitten off to much, but your opinion holds more weight then those. I’ll be seeing it in the next few days for sure.
P.S. Why isn’t Billy Crudup in more stuff? He’s fucking amazing!!
I was seriously blown away. Snyder and his team are nothing but respectful of the source material, while still managing to create something that feels like its own unique entity, and I think that’s as much as any fan could ask. It’s not a perfect film, and I don’t expect everyone to love it, yet I went fingers crossed and came out almost cheering. I probably could have spent countless paragraphs discussing everything I liked about it, and this was the first time my self-imposed restrictions on article size felt like a huge hurdle to get over. Hell, I could happily spend two paragraphs just discussing the ending, or the fact someone actually had the balls (not to mention imagination) to use 99 Luftballons in a damn Watchmen movie.
PS: Totally agree about Crudup. I was fully behind his suitably detached portrayal of the big blue guy. Indeed, much of the cast is awesome, especially Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Rorschach and The Comedian, respectively. The fine casting choices, which almost always resembled the characters Gibbons drew to a frightening degree, was one of the many things I sadly couldn’t fit into a two paragraph review.
PPS: Mandi left the theater now wanting to read the original novel, so that right there says something about the quality of Snyder’s work.
i love billy crudup.
why is this in the “music” section?
Strange error, thanks for pointing it out
The more I have thought about “Watchmen,” the more I have come to admire every aspect of the film — very similarly to how I felt about my first reading of “Watchmen.” I came to it very late, not having been exposed to Moore’s work during my teenage years (which, as I come to think about it, is a damned shame; I can only wonder at how works like “V for Vendetta” and “Watchmen” would have struck me as an adolescent American lost in the halls of a British boarding school), and my first reading of the graphic novel was equal parts culture shock (as my bearings are still geared more towards unraveling works of literature, poetry, and film/screenwriting, and, on top of that, I have no memories of the Cold War-plagued 1980s wherein Moore sets his dour stage) and awe. It took me a few days to really digest the work, its epic scope, not only in the action that occurs on the pages, but the political, philosophical, moral, ethical, and, most importantly, very human issues that Moore deftly, lovingly embeds in his masterpiece.
The fact that Zack Snyder hit every major note (and, dare I say, accentuated a few of them as well) of the comic is an accomplishment unparalleled by the majority of the comic and literary adaptions out there. Beyond that, the fact that changes were going to have to occur to the overall plot for obvious reasons, and yet these changes did nothing to mar either the source material or the film itself… that’s a profound accomplishment, one that I am saddened a number of prominent, respected critics fail to recognize.
I need to see “Watchmen” again. My first viewing was definitely done under a touch of mental exhaustion (though, if anything, this only helped me to completely surrender my functional bits of grey matter to Snyder’s film — well, when there wasn’t an annoying, horrid group of Manassas teens having a half-bright conversation right in front of Alan, Mandi, and myself), and I would like to read the comic again before my second viewing. The fact that, due to my mental state and the sheer volume of literary, poetic, and philosophical works that have been forcefully, crudely crammed into my mind since my last reading of Watchmen over two years ago, I only half appreciated the screenwriters’ astonishing change at the end is still quite embarrassing.
And onto Billy Crudup — that man indeed needs to be in more films. His performance in “Jesus’ Son” is superb, and ever since seeing that film I’ve respected the shit out of the actor. Hell, I probably have a Crudup man crush. If I was handed two petitions — one for the guarantee of fresh water and supplies to a war torn nation and its refugees, and the other to guarantee that Crudup is consistently in three fantastic films a year — I’d sign the latter petition, one that would directly benefit my life in a way that selflessness and giving just never will.
i respectfully disagree, my good man. just got back from the theater and im still in a daze by how bad that film was. a total failure in every way. the action was empty and insultingly graphic, the characters were boring cliches, the humor was entirely low grade, and the attempts at poignancy were, well, humorous. i need to watch me some babylon ad stat.
You may be surprised by this, but I actually have little urge to defend Watchmen much, and you know how I love to argue. Like I said in the review, it’s obvious that this is a film that will polarize people, and I think there would be little convincing haters that they’re missing something. Still, I will say the fact you consider it a “total failure in every way” is a bit telling. To say that about any film as clearly well crafted as Watchmen is a mark of an unbalanced perspective, just as it would be hard to swallow me calling it a perfect film in every way (which it is not).
Lars, I am all for seeing it again in the theater, and Rob is on board for a repeat viewing. I am sure we could kill an hour or two easy just discussing it afterward at the local grease-trap. Sounds like the makings of a good night.