The alien squid as a threat makes more sense than Dr. Manhattan, since Ozymandias' plan was to unite earth against alien threat, it would only work if there was a continuous threat and with Dr. Manhattan it won't work since he leaves at the end, where as Ozymandias could keep creating alien squids to fake attacks.
Poll: Watchmen (Spoilers, but if you really don't know how it ends I'd be surprised.)
- Thread starter Souplex
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I'm ok with both ways (ermmmm...) 
However squid thing gets me thinking : aren't scientists able to distinguish "true", natural organism from artificial - engineered, cloned ? If so, then alien squid itself is a testimony to existence of grand scheme. "Explosion" scenario seems more "safe" for Ozymandias then.
However squid thing gets me thinking : aren't scientists able to distinguish "true", natural organism from artificial - engineered, cloned ? If so, then alien squid itself is a testimony to existence of grand scheme. "Explosion" scenario seems more "safe" for Ozymandias then.
In the movie scenario he faked Dr. Manhattan's power though, he could continue doing this a lot easier than making giant squids, especially since to create the squid he used the artists, who he then killed.cgentero said:
The movie ending is a lot more elegant a way to carry out the plan really. He didn't need to kidnap all the greatest artists and scientists (so now those guys will be around helping to unify the world with art and science. By the way, how were the artists really helping with this plan anyway, besides initial concept, which I kinda gathered was Ozi's own fevered insanity? Did he really kidnap all the greatest artists in the world and that was the best they could come up with? Wouldn't whatever the end product was be just whatever the scientists who were trying to make a completely new life form (complete with finding the gene for psychic abilities and gigantuan-ness) were able to get? Anyway, I digress... a lot.) and he didn't need to invent teleportation, genetic engineering, and all the other unheard of technology.
The problem with the original ending for me was that even though there was a big blue god, he was the only real suspension of disbelief, the rest of the universe was just our earth with costumed crimefighters. Then all of a sudden "GIANT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PSYCHIC SQUID TELEPORTS INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY!" I accepted it as a plot point, but it was rather silly. Hell, with all the effort that went into all that, why didn't he just make a psychic mind control device, or clone the world leaders and replace them? I know he was being shown as crazy, but he had those artists and scientists working with him helping him with this idea.
Also, the thing was teleported and immediately died. When I first read that, my thoughts were that the world wouldn't be thinking that there was an invasion imminent and we had to band together to fight them off, there would be a lot of questions, a lot of panic and a many more outcomes that could be reached instead of "Lets join hands and fight them together!". For starters, how do you fight something that teleports out of nowhere and dies, while killing a whole city. If people on the brink of nuclear war already were expecting more aliens, wouldn't there be pure panic and terror in the streets about the unstoppable inevitablity of their arrival? If they did decide to band together, wouldn't they be checking the creature's DNA for more clues to fight it? (Heeey, this is identical to half giant squid DNA and half psychic vagina DNA! Which country engineered this? It must be Russia! Back to the nukes!)
As for the movie ending, people of the world weren't being asked to believe in interdimensional aliens all of a sudden, they already had time to accept that Dr Manhattan existed, and was recently outcast from the world, makes (more that a giant space squid) sense that he'd try to get revenge on us right? As far as they all know he's just sitting on Mars waiting for another crack. He might be a god amongst men, but he's more knowable than something completely unknowable. The wanted reaction of "Let's band together to fight this threat" seems far more likely.
I didn't mind the Squid being removed, but I did mind the use of Manhattan instead.Souplex said:
The whole point of the squid was that it was supposed to be (or appear to be) a totally random, unpredticatable occurence so taht neither America nor the Soviet Union could possibly assume it was the doing of the other.
With 'Dr Manhattan' doing the attacking that whole point is wrecked. With the attacks taking place within seconds of each other the USSR would have no idea similar attacks were taking place around the world.
Dr Manhattan is the basis of the entire US military strategy, so they wouldn't have waited to see if anywhere else was getting hit before firing every nuke they had, because America's personal attack God was already destroying their cities, so who the hell else would be behind it?
Should have found a third thing, or made the squid a bit less... squiddy.
Love both the graphic novel and the movie. The giant squid was kinda cool in the graphic novel, however it would have required way to much extra time to explain in the movie, and on a movie screen it would have looked absolutly ridiculous. I actualy consider changing from giant squid to imitating Manhattan's power to be one of the best deviaitions from the original story that movie makers have made.
I liked both. The Squid worked best in the comic/book where it wasn't going to be spoilt. The machinations worked best in the movie where the CGI of the squid would have ruined any impact it could have made.
Bits had to be cut. The Director did a good job.
Hell, look at the butchering that V for Vendetta took and still stayed a good film.
If you're changing one media form to another, you have to alter certain parts. The skill comes from not butchering the original message; which I think the film carried.
Bits had to be cut. The Director did a good job.
Hell, look at the butchering that V for Vendetta took and still stayed a good film.
If you're changing one media form to another, you have to alter certain parts. The skill comes from not butchering the original message; which I think the film carried.
If Ozymandias keeps faking Dr Manhattan attacks, society will ultimately become anarchy as leaders are powerless to prevent a such a force and the masses will become nihilistic. If Ozymandias doesn't keep faking Dr Manhattan attacks, there might be a small cold war against Manhattan but ultimately unless the US and Russia have made true peace within this time things will return to the way it was.TheIronDuke said:
If Ozymandias keeps faking alien squid attacks, and as evidenced by his lynx he can create genetically engineered monsters that don't immediately die, the masses have something that can be fought and killed, its all about morale.
I think they handled it well in the movie. Even after I read the comic (I saw the movie first), I didn't miss it in the movie. They removed it and it still didn't feel like the film was lacking. If they had kept it in, it would have been MUCH longer and I think would have taken away from the overall mood of the film. It would have just been too ridiculous to see coherent, based on the world and tone they built in the movie.