Who's Watched The Watchmen? *Spoilers probable*

[Eagle Est1986]

So approximately 12 hours ago I took my seat at the IMAX in London, to see The Watchmen. As a fan of the graphic novel, I'd been repeating a mantra to drill into my head the fact that the film was never going to match up to it's source material. I didn't want to be disappointed in the film that I was watching at a minute past minute and I can safely say, I wasn't. For the most part.

The film stuck very closely to Alan Moore's original, it missed out very few scenes and dumbed down even fewer. However, one notable change was the ending. Fan's of the novel will know that the epic ending is what makes the story what it is.
What I want to know is how everyone here felt about the film?
Graphic novel fans, were you happy with the changes to the story?
What about you guys who were new to The Watchmen universe, how was the film from an outsiders stand point?

I personally was a little caught off guard that changes were made to how the story ended, up until that point the film had stuck impressively close to it's source. However, I can accept that changes needed to be made for a film version and I'm quite happy with how they were done.
I also had two Watchmen newbies in my party this morning, they both thoroughly enjoyed it but I'm not convinced if it's that easy to follow for newcomers.

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

I mentioned on one of the review threads that I liked the changed ending. Even though I expect to get yelled at for this. I felt that the spirit of the ending was essentially the same, but less ridiculous. In the book the nature of the ending (the stuff that was changed) always felt out of place. It conflicted with the world as it had been built. It was like introducing vampires to Superman (happened on Smallville) the new ending felt more natural. Even though one of my favorite moments with Rorschach was lost, his best moments were there, in all their glory. So, I can safely say I liked it a lot.

 

[Slight]

Ok, excuse me for being the heathen here, i haven't read the graphic novel but i did see an advance screening in London last night. If anyone could pop how the film ending differs from the original in a 'spoiler box' for me, i'd really appreciate it. Then i can weigh in on my opinions regarding the different endings.

Overall i thought it was a great movie. Bone-crunching comdat scenes, but not too OTT as was the danger of having the 300 director. Good set pieces & shots that felt influenced by the graphic novel format. Also, very witty where it was required without breaking the feeling of the movie. I felt the way it handled the ending was true to the story the movie had told, and to the way the characters had established themselves within it (regardless of how accurate this is to the comic). Very, very, very long though, (although the pacing and variety of the scenes keeps you from being bored). Make sure your bladder's empty at the start!

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

Ok, excuse me for being the heathen here, i haven't read the graphic novel but i did see an advance screening in London last night. If anyone could pop how the film ending differs from the original in a 'spoiler box' for me, i'd really appreciate it. Then i can weigh in on my opinions regarding the different endings.

Overall i thought it was a great movie. Bone-crunching comdat scenes, but not too OTT as was the danger of having the 300 director. Good set pieces & shots that felt influenced by the graphic novel format. Also, very witty where it was required without breaking the feeling of the movie. I felt the way it handled the ending was true to the story the movie had told, and to the way the characters had established themselves within it (regardless of how accurate this is to the comic). Very, very, very long though, (although the pacing and variety of the scenes keeps you from being bored). Make sure your bladder's empty at the start!

Spoiler

Veidt faked a botched Alien invasion. The scientists, instead of making the energy explosion thing, made a giant fake alien corpse. Veidt teleported it into NYC and killed 4000000 people or something.

Spoiler

Wikipedia's version

Veidt explains his underlying plan is to save humanity from impending nuclear war between the United States and Soviet Union by faking an alien invasion in New York City, which he hopes will unite the nations against a perceived common enemy. He also reveals that he had killed The Comedian, arranged for Dr. Manhattan's past associates to contract cancer, and staged the attempt on his own life in order to place himself above suspicion. Finding his logic callous and abhorrent, Dreiberg and Rorschach attempt to stop him but discover that Veidt has already enacted his plan.

When Doctor Manhattan and Juspeczyk arrive back on Earth, they are confronted by mass destruction and wide scale death in New York City. Doctor Manhattan notices his abilities are limited by tachyons emanating from the Antarctic, and the pair teleport there. They discover Veidt's involvement and confront him. Veidt shows everyone news broadcasts confirming the cessation of global hostilities, leading almost all present to agree that concealing the truth from the public is in the best interests of the world. Rorschach refuses to compromise and leaves, intent on revealing the truth. As he is making his way back, he is confronted by Manhattan. Rorschach tells Manhattan he'll have to kill him to stop him from exposing Veidt and his actions, and Manhattan responds by vaporizing him. Manhattan then wanders through the base and finds Veidt, who asks Manhattan if he did the right thing in the end. In response, Manhattan states that "Nothing ever ends" before leaving the Earth for a different galaxy. Dreiberg and Juspeczyk go into hiding under new identities and continue their romance.

 

[Slight]

Spoiler

Veidt faked a botched Alien invasion. The scientists, instead of making the energy explosion thing, made a giant fake alien corpse. Veidt teleported it into NYC and killed 4000000 people or something.

Spoiler

Wikipedia's version

Veidt explains his underlying plan is to save humanity from impending nuclear war between the United States and Soviet Union by faking an alien invasion in New York City, which he hopes will unite the nations against a perceived common enemy. He also reveals that he had killed The Comedian, arranged for Dr. Manhattan's past associates to contract cancer, and staged the attempt on his own life in order to place himself above suspicion. Finding his logic callous and abhorrent, Dreiberg and Rorschach attempt to stop him but discover that Veidt has already enacted his plan.

When Doctor Manhattan and Juspeczyk arrive back on Earth, they are confronted by mass destruction and wide scale death in New York City. Doctor Manhattan notices his abilities are limited by tachyons emanating from the Antarctic, and the pair teleport there. They discover Veidt's involvement and confront him. Veidt shows everyone news broadcasts confirming the cessation of global hostilities, leading almost all present to agree that concealing the truth from the public is in the best interests of the world. Rorschach refuses to compromise and leaves, intent on revealing the truth. As he is making his way back, he is confronted by Manhattan. Rorschach tells Manhattan he'll have to kill him to stop him from exposing Veidt and his actions, and Manhattan responds by vaporizing him. Manhattan then wanders through the base and finds Veidt, who asks Manhattan if he did the right thing in the end. In response, Manhattan states that "Nothing ever ends" before leaving the Earth for a different galaxy. Dreiberg and Juspeczyk go into hiding under new identities and continue their romance.

Cheers for those. Although, excuse my ignorance, but that's not 'hugely' different.

If you haven't seen the movie, i talk about how it ends in this next spoiler...

Spoiler

I mean, they manage to tie the reasoning behind the global peace to a much more relevant source, the 'faked' destructive attack from Dr Manhattan, far more of a globally prominent figure than indroducing aliens into the mix. The Veidt plan still works as intended and Rorshach still dies (a noble, and entirely necessary death, given his absolute refusal to compromise in the face of an act of wrong-doing, regardless of the nuclear fallout had it not occured). Having not read the comic this is a one-sided opinion, but is this ending, dare i say it, better?

All that said, was it not Dr Manhattan's disappearance the reason the world was brought to the brink of nuclear apocalypse? But Ozymandius drove Dr M to exile through his plan, which was to eventually save the world from this nuclear war.

Hence his plan to save the world was only required because his actions put it in danger in the first place!! Is that right or am i talking crap?

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

Cheers for those. Although, excuse my ignorance, but that's not 'hugely' different.

If you haven't seen the movie, i talk about how it ends in this next spoiler...

Spoiler

I mean, they manage to tie the reasoning behind the global peace to a much more relevant source, the 'faked' destructive attack from Dr Manhattan, far more of a globally prominent figure than indroducing aliens into the mix. The Veidt plan still works as intended and Rorshach still dies (a noble, and entirely necessary death, given his absolute refusal to compromise in the face of an act of wrong-doing, regardless of the nuclear fallout had it not occured). Having not read the comic this is a one-sided opinion, but is this ending, dare i say it, better?

All that said, was it not Dr Manhattan's disappearance the reason the world was brought to the brink of nuclear apocalypse? But Ozymandius drove Dr M to exile through his plan, which was to eventually save the world from this nuclear war.

Hence his plan to save the world was only required because his actions put it in danger in the first place!! Is that right or am i talking crap?

Spoiler

In fact, Rorschach's death scene was wonderfully identical. Also, Dr. Manhattan leaves the Earth originally just as he did in the book, he arrives back on earth too late and confronts Veidt the same and leaves Earth in search for a new home. The only differences are the dialogue about what happened in the last scene, the number of cities attacked and the way they're attacked.

The idea behind the aliens was a whole "we're not alone in the universe" oneness thing. Either way, humans unite against powerful force.

And like I said, I thought the new ending fit better.

 

[Fudj]

At 12.01am last night the film started, and by the time it finished i was thoroughly satified, the world is bleak, the combat is brutal and the characters well rounded (with the poss exception of Adrian, who was quiet one dimensional). having read the novels i couldnt ask for more and expect to get it from a film version, to be it was like wacthing the graphic novels come to life.

A+ i say!

 

[implodingMan]

I never liked the graphic novel version because it necessitates the existence of human psychics in the Watchmenverse, which I thought took away from how Manhattan was supposed to be the only being with superpowers.

 

[Shadow Law]

This movie was great, but like Wedding Crashers this is a warning... "Big mistake to see this movie with your FAMILY!"
no, I didn't make this mistake twice. Also could have done without seeing Doc M's wank hanging out every other scene (yes this myth was true), besides that still great movie.

 

[Volucer]

Gonna see it tonight, looking forward to it.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

I mentioned on one of the review threads that I liked the changed ending. Even though I expect to get yelled at for this. I felt that the spirit of the ending was essentially the same, but less ridiculous.

Actually, I said this to my best friend at the end of the film. His view was "They've changed it, it's rubbish" where as I'm of the opinion that the original graphic novel version of the 'common enemy' did feel a little out of place anyway, so the change wasn't all that bothersome. In fact I think I might secretly like it a bit more, though it feels a little tacked on. Although maybe that feeling was simply brought about because I was expecting something else.

 

[Jumpman]

I saw it at midnight in the Imax too. Being a big fan of the comic, I was also very hesistant to get my hopes up about what I feared was an impossible adaptation. Overall however, I felt that they did a pretty decent job. Sure they cut some scenes, but the movie was two and a half hours long, and I felt like every scene in it was important. plus, the director's cut is supposed to be longer, and even include the black freighter storyline. I felt the casting was very well done, particularly on John, Rorschach, and Laurie. the others were great too, but those three blew me away. The acting was pretty good too, though it was sort of difficult to judge it when I knew the characters so well. In a way it felt like watching them read a script, but that's only because I know the comic book so well, and because they stuck very close to it as far as dialogue.


...the ending, meh. On the one hand, I can understand them needing to change it. The comic book ending is so far fetched and unexpected that I think movie goers would have been completely lost. On the other, it seems like any other ending, when compared to the comic book, feels kinda tame. Boring actually, though only by comparison. I don't know how it would seem to someone who hasn't read the book. I also felt that the logic behind Veidt's trick wasn't as strong as it was in the book. sure it was ridiculous and over the top, but the reasoning behind it, and the calculation of the worlds reaction was so well calculated that I bought it. It seemed like this peace could actually last for a while, making the other characters need to keep silent so important. Perhaps it was simply because he didn't explain it as thoroughly in the movie, but I felt that Veidt's master plan wasn't nearly as perfect in the movie.

anyway, on the whole I thought it was pretty good. not perfect, but about as close to perfection as anyone could have gotten.

 

[megapenguinx]

To those who went in thinking it was going to be a fast paced action flick, I want to know what you thought?
I mean did you end up liking it or disliking it?
And to those who never read the book, did you like the ending? Like did it make sense?
I know a few of you already said you did but I have a feeling a lot of people will be pissed off on how it ends...

 

[AgentNein]

Giant psychic squid thing, farewell. You were always horrible. In fact, it has always been my opinion that you were the one giant glaring flaw of the graphic novel, and I'm so glad that they didn't try to keep you in the movie.

Seriously, as a comic fan, with the world that Moore had created, the giant psychic squid thing being grown on some remote island was right out of left field. It was absolutely goofy-insane. I couldn't imagine how mainstream non-comic reading audiences would've taken it. I actually appreciated this change quite abit.

Other than that, really enjoyed it, especially the beginning (which has to be one of the greatest openings in a movie ever. What with the snapshots of this world's skewed history with bob dylan over it. Ending? I couldn't put my finger on it, but it felt...abit more optimistic than Moore's original.

 

[Necrophagist]

So approximately 12 hours ago I took my seat at the IMAX in London, to see The Watchmen. As a fan of the graphic novel, I'd been repeating a mantra to drill into my head the fact that the film was never going to match up to it's source material. I didn't want to be disappointed in the film that I was watching at a minute past minute and I can safely say, I wasn't. For the most part.

The film stuck very closely to Alan Moore's original, it missed out very few scenes and dumbed down even fewer. However, one notable change was the ending. Fan's of the novel will know that the epic ending is what makes the story what it is.
What I want to know is how everyone here felt about the film?
Graphic novel fans, were you happy with the changes to the story?
What about you guys who were new to The Watchmen universe, how was the film from an outsiders stand point?

I personally was a little caught off guard that changes were made to how the story ended, up until that point the film had stuck impressively close to it's source. However, I can accept that changes needed to be made for a film version and I'm quite happy with how they were done.
I also had two Watchmen newbies in my party this morning, they both thoroughly enjoyed it but I'm not convinced if it's that easy to follow for newcomers.

I saw this at a midnight showing, and was absolutely in awe. The film lives up to the legend of the graphic novel, and stays relevant to our modern day. I've read that Alan Moore hated the film and demanded to have his name removed from the project, and I have to wonder ... why? It's faithful, it maintains the core ideas, and the characters are human and real. I just don't understand his objections.

* Spoilers *



I was miffed by them losing the whole "Dark Freighter" subplot, but I understand why they did it. It wouldn't have worked on the big screen. I understand they are planning to release an animated version of the Dark Freighter on the DVD though.

I also think the Dr. Manhattan "energy explosion" was a much better device than the giant vagina-squid. I was also confused by Moore's decision to make it a lab-created alien that just died upon being teleported. Very strange.

 

[Mage26]

This movie was TERRIBLE.

I'm not saying this as a fan of the graphic novel. I'm not saying the changes they did were the worst part. I'm saying as a movie it was AWFUL.

The soundtrack is the most obvious offender. They used the most inappropriate songs at the most inappropriate times pulling the viewer out of the movie. The worst is easily the horrible cover of "Hallelujah" but the Apocalypse Now music was also rediculous.

The actor who played Adrian Veidt couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. He was god awful and didn't portray the arrogance and bad-assery of the character and just turned into a whiny *****. Silk Spectre was also horribly acted but that was also the fault of poor pacing and timing in order to fit the movie into 2.5 hours.

the worst aspect of the movie is the pacing. They attempted to pace a movie like the graphic novel, but couldn't give them the pauses and breaks needed to make the dialogue flow.

I was so disappointed. Don't pay money to see this movie. They don't deserve your $9.

But, you do see Silk Spectre's boobs. The whole movie I was like, "If we have to see a big blue penis for most of the movie, at least let us also see some boobs"

 

[Yog Sothoth]

Saw it at midnight last night as well, and I thought it was simply brilliant.

The casting, the acting, the special effects, the pacing, the sets, the costumes and the music were all as near perfect as I could've hoped. Zack Snyder deserves immense credit here for filming what was supposedly unfilmable.

Jackie Earle Haley absolutely tore through the scenery as Rorschach. He owned that role from start to finish without question.

I read a couple of negative reviews yesterday so I was starting to get a little worried, but after seeing the final product for myself I have one thing to say to those guys: "You can go suck a giant blue dick." The film was pure, unapologetic fan service, and yet managed to stand on it's own merits. No mean feat by any measure....

Now, I do have a couple of gripes, but it's really just nit-picking....

Spoiler: Spoilers

First, the sex scene with Night Owl II and Silk Spectre II was played for comic relief and I thought that was inappropriate and unfaithful to the story. But, as dark and gritty as the film was, I understand the need to lighten the mood up for the sake of contrast and to let the audience catch their breath. I just wouldn't have used that scene in particular were it my choice.

Second, Ozymandias' origin wasn't explained enough for newcomers. My girlfriend, who hasn't read the book, was confused as to why he was a super hero at all...

Last, I saw no reason to change the original ending... Yes, the new ending was clever and didn't really hurt the story, but I simply can't fathom why they decided to do that. Some people feel that the squid was unbelievable and a little preposterous, but I don't share that opinion.

Bottom line: Bloody Great Movie

 

[Eagle Est1986]

I was miffed by them losing the whole "Dark Freighter" subplot, but I understand why they did it. It wouldn't have worked on the big screen. I understand they are planning to release an animated version of the Dark Freighter on the DVD though.

Yes, there will also be a version of the film with the Dark Freighter cut back into the film, to be released to DVD and Blu ray in roughly four months, I look forward to it.

The soundtrack is the most obvious offender. They used the most inappropriate songs at the most inappropriate times pulling the viewer out of the movie. The worst is easily the horrible cover of "Hallelujah" but the Apocalypse Now music was also rediculous.

Haha, sorry but that made me laugh a little. That was the original version of Hallelujah as sung by Leonard Cohen, not a cover. I do agree that it was glaringly out of place though. I was happy with the rest of the music though. However, my friends did also complain about the whole soundtrack.

You didn't like the acting? I thought everyone portrayed their character exactly how Moore wrote them in the first place. My only qualm was Veidt, not because of the acting, but because of how obvious villain they'd made him. Also, he clearly wasn't built enough to be Ozymandias.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

...

But, you do see Silk Spectre's boobs. The whole movie I was like, "If we have to see a big blue penis for most of the movie, at least let us also see some boobs"

With that statement, you just invalidated everything you said before it, in my humble opinion.