Watchmen: A Review, Thougts, and the Experince

I finally got to see Watchmen last night, and there's a lot I want to say about, well, everything. The film, the comic, the experience of the theater... so this is going to be two parts: A review of the film and a review on the experience.

The Film (With spoilers):

The Comedian was killed, to begin with.

In a fight to the death, and cold blood, a man who killed Kennedy and fought along Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam, winning the war for Nixon... plunged to his death in his Manhattan apartment. Rorschach investigates this crime and uncovers a conspiracy to kill costumed heroes. Through it all, we learn the stories of the masked vigilantes and that these "heroes" aren't the idolized gods we saw them as... even the one who would seem the most godlike is the most flawed.

As a fan of the original work, I went into the film knowing things would not be exactly the same, something I was fine with. The comic book is incredibly complex, and not everything could go in there, and some parts of the book I thought were important were completely left out, most notably the entire sub-plot of the New York City Newsstand where the book, "Tales of the Black Freighter" were read. I was fine with them not having the book... that was fine, and it made sense. But the newsstand in and of itself was a device used to connect these heroes and these seemingly amazing and non-real events with the real world. In turn, by eliminating it, that element was gone... but the essence was still there, which in the end counts for a little bit more.

The focus was more on these "flawed gods", which was something I was glad to see. It wasn't on the fighting, it wasn't on them saving the world... it was about who these people were and what they were trying to achieve. I'm forced to wonder why a high-gloss take was done with toning it down and, instead, having them more in a neutral setting may have worked better.

On that note, something I don't see in reviews or discussed, I'd like to note what I think was one of the biggest problems with the film: The use of slow-motion and pop-music. From the man who brought us "300", its no real shock that he still overdid it on the slow-motion. It was irritating try to watch the film and get a moment where you, the audience member, was forced to actually sit down and think about what you were seeing because instead of thinking about the action itself, you wind up being to broadsided by a cheesy effect that's meant to keep the idiots "interested". The camera never seemed to stop moving, again not letting you think about the shot, but giving you the meaning.

If I may, a little rant about that. I think the best films let you soak in moments and understand the true meaning and depth of a moment, something Alan Moore did a lot in the book. the director felt that he needed to live up to what comic book movies were in terms of filming and production and, in the end, I feel he did the story a disservice to a degree. At the same time, there wasn't a moment a silence. Instead of simply letting there be no music, you were constantly bombarded by a score that wouldn't stay quiet, the occasional and seemingly out of place pop song... although, my favorite point of the film was hearing the Muzak version of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" when Ozymandias spoke about world peace midway through the film.

One thing I love about films is when you do get those quite moments to think and reflect, especially when you have a nearly 3-hour long film. It feels like the entire thing was cheapened a little in the name of keeping the public interested.

But the film was still brilliant, by and large. For all my aching and bitching abut the little things, the film, on a whole, as still well done. The bit of a synopsis done about the entire history of the superhero vigilante group (Note: they are never called "The Watchmen." Ever.) and who took on the role later was great, and the fact they stayed fairly true to the source material (yes, even Dr. M's little blue guy) was great. The ending... well, I'm mixed on the change.

In the book, there was a thread that led you from the newsstand to the comic to the end. In essence, the newsstand was where a lonely man would discuss world events to a kid who only read a comic book and didn't care. The comic book was about isolation. The person who drew the book drew a scary alien and worked for Veidt. The alien was created to cause world peace and kill millions. No newsstand = no monster. It would have been confusing for it to just kinda pop-up. So instead Dr. Manhattan is framed.

In the essence of the material, nothing really changed because of it. It was still an event that brought the world together and created world peace, and that was the entire point of the ending: Is it worth killing millions in order to save Billions?

So, favorite scene, yes? Well, I have three and I guess they speak more to my true nature: The first is Rorschach in the room with the therapist at the jail where he is shown a series of Rorschach cards and asked what he sees. After seeing one card, and recalling beating the crap out of two kids when he was younger, biting off the cheek of one of them, he tells him what he sees; "Clouds".

My second favorite scene is Night Owl and Silk Specter in those first awkward moments where they are in Night Owl's apartment trying to get undressed... it was just hilarious how realistic it was in the awkwardness of it all.

My third favorite? Well... world peace at the cost of a few million? How can you say no?

In the end, I found it easier to relate and understand these charachters than it was when I read the book, which was a major plus. In a way, this is the cliffnotes of Watchmen, and that's not all that bad.

I would have to give it a 8 stars out of 10 because there are problems with it, but it still was incredibly by and large. I will get the DVD when it coems out.


The Experience:

I hate going to the movies these days. It's a lot just to get in the theater, it's a lot to get food, and people like the talk and be annoying during the film. The theater I went to was in Neshaminy Mall, just outside Philadelphia (all the good malls are outside Philly.... fuck), and I saw it with a friend, a co-worker, and my co-workers friends. One of them was a heavy fan of pirating films while they're still in theaters, to which I asked, "So, are you buying a ticket to this or is someone else paying for you?" He didn't answer.

The film is rated R, although I wished they slapped an NC-17 Raiting on it. Why? Because this isn't a film you take your kids to see, especially a fucking baby. It was irritating trying to watch the film and, near the end, hearing some idiot who decided to bring their baby because they couldn't get a sitter cry. The amount of teenagers who chuckled at seeing a flacid penis, the lack of maturity for a film that was, at heart, something you really needed a brain to understand... it was a bit of a pain.

Finally Watched "Red Dawn"

So with all the references and seemingly talk about this 1984 film, I decided to pick it up since I saw a new copy for $6. With the seemingly huge impact it had (The U.S. Military called the capture of Saddam "Operation Red Dawn"), and the idea of the U.S. being invaded by a foreign nation... I thought it was an awesome concept.

The movie... the movie left a lot to be desired.

Admittedly, on my part, it most likely because I had fairly high expectations.

The film uses an overall "less-is-more" technique in a few areas. The setting of the film is Kansas and the movie seems more like a bunch of guys going into the woods to make a film, using a few abandoned blocks in a small town to create the idea of a Soviet state, and a ton of explosions lying around. I was having a hard time imagining an actual Soviet Invasion since the full extent of what I saw was a small detention camp, 4 blocks of a town, and a bunch of tanks.

Then again, I'm being fairly picky. The film is less about the invasion and the conflicts and story surrounding it and more about what American's, normal everyday Americans would do in a situation where they were the rebelling army against their imposers for the first time in over 100 years. Granted, 2 of them have survival and hunting tactics, but it still works well. The idea of seeing a group of 10 -12 teenagers rebel against a massive army, losing more and more people along the way, their families, their homes... it's fairly deep stuff.

The problem, though, is that in the end it was less about telling an interesting story that revolved around developing these characters and more about the actual violence. It's worth noting that this film was made in 1984 when the MPAA finally came out with the PG-13 film rating. Because of this, the film may have been in a sort of limbo where either film maker of the studio wanted to get either a PG or R rating. So we get a film that was considered one of the bloodiest at it's time while trying to mix a sense of realism in the characters and how they would function.

But to say there was none to little character development would be wrong. There is some, but not much. One example is when the troop picks up two girls who were put into hiding. Their transformation into members of the group is never actually explained, and their history and path is shrouded in too much secrecy for you to connect with. One of the main characters goes from being scared, to drinking deers blood, to being one of the strongest of the group. His transformation isn't fully explored, but the information we get works and make sense. With so much going on, I can understand the need to cut out certain parts.

There is, though, a lot of the film that works well. The initial 25 minutes of the film, where we see the Soviets paratroopers land and invade Kansas, the getaway by the band of high schoolers, and heading to the shop for ammunition and food while all they know and love is being destroyed... eventually arriving in the woods and creating their new order. It was nothing short of great to watch it and the fact that the rest of the film only had small highlights harmed it in my eyes.

Some other choice parts? The emotional exchange between the father and two brothers at the detention camp, watching them come back to the occupied town, and the meeting of the Soviet leader to his men when he declares the Wolverines are to be hunted were great scenes. They took on the idea, the concept, and the emotion's that one would expect during World War III.
If anything, the overt patriotism was lost on me. I found it cheaply used in the film because, as I've stated before, the film barely gave you an idea of the full scope of what was going on. The interaction between other freedom fighters was minimum, same with those who were captured. Admittedly, again, I have to take into account that this film was released in 1984 when American was in the middle of another "Red Scare" and this film would have been, in a sense, a call to arms or a somber reminder that freedom isn't free.

I'm going to give this film a 3 out of 5 skulls. In the end, the film doesn't entirely disappoint. The ending left a bit to be desired because I didn't feel the film build up to it, but the your left with a feeling of wonder and intrigue about both the plot and what you would do if you were put into a similar situation. Would you be able to hunt and kill your own food? Would you be able to take another life if it meant surviving? The film is worth the price of admission, but don't put your hopes to high.