Watchmen
, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is kind of interesting in one sense because the tone of the movie even with the updates in constumes, some of the rhetoric and the locales came threw as this sort of cynical world where heroes had enjoyed a good run and then tapered off into the distance. Things weren't all bright and cheery as they were in other comics they were sort of sad and disinterested, similar to our world but without some of the joy we take for granted. I wondered when I watched the movie in as much detail as the director and screen adapters had included what did they cut out. I mean I caught some nuances that normally would be left out just to slip in an extra special effect or else add more weight to the directors vision(*cough* Harry potter 4, 5, & 6 *cough*) and while I had watched the "extras" and heard all of the commentary about what they wanted to keep in and how they were trying to stay true to the comic, not to be rote but "I'd heard it all before". Usually that's what a director and crew say just so you rush to the theater and spend your hard earned money while they have treated your childhood memories as so many fire hydrants pestered during Fido's afternoon walk.Granted for me it would not be as bad, I had heard of Watchmen before but never read it, so I had no real expectations. It was a superhero movie, with lots of characters and it was supposedly dark and gritty it had quite a few anti heroes in it so I decided to give it a try, Lank tagged along opening night 2 years ago. We were both amazed, the story was awesome, it actually had us both impressed halfway through and surprised at the very end when we found out who the villain was. Unfortunately while I usually run right out and purchase a book or graphic novel after seeing the movie when I like it, I kind of let it sit I had Marvel comics I was more interested in and while it was on my list it pretty much went forgotten as other books were foremost in my mind.
Now that I have finally read it I must say that the Director pretty much did everything a new fan of the characters could want, you included the important stuff. Not too many flashbacks just enough to match those in the book as well as get me up to speed, the dialogue was pretty much torn directly from the pages. I could especially see the character of Rorschach being targeted for a watering down, it is not so much that Rorschach is psychotic as it is he's retreated so far into himself and so internalized the fight that all he knows is the grittiness and pain of his city. There were some origin pieces skipped for all the characters(like how Rorschach got his mask, and the origin of the original Owl) but the movie gave you just enough to feel each characters heart beat and drive. The Watchmen were:
The Comedian-He claims life is one big joke and only he gets the punchline. He is an excellent marksman and somewhat of a pig, if there is a negative male stereotype that he doesn't embody please let me know it so I can find the guy worse than him when the lights go out. He is definitely an anti-hero though at times he takes out worse garbage then he rubs elbows with.
The Owl- A brilliant inventor who has taken on the mantle of a former hero. While he teamed with Rorschach to clean up a lot of the gang violence in the street he seems to have become somewhat of a recluse now that being a superhero is "illegal". He has become retired, a little pudgy and seems to mostly spend his nights visiting the previous Owl.
Ozymandias-The Smartest man in the world. He is definitely the definition of a self made man, he is at the peak of human conditioning, mental discipline and coordination. He retired and took his identity public and became a billionaire. He seems quite eccentric decorating most of his office space in ancient mannerism seeming to be from the time of the Pharaohs and Alexander.
Silk Specter- The daughter of the original model like crime fighting vixen she took up her mothers mantle and fought crime with the rest until the government outlawed Vigilantiasm. She doesn't seem to like the costume too much(she feels her mothers old costume is too revealing and immodest as well as not much use in a fight). She is very strong and agile and a great fighter.
Rorschach-the unswerving hand of justice. Rorschach only sees the world in black and white, barely trusts the government, prefers to be absent from society. He patrols it's streets and attempts to keep the peace but his justice is not compassionate. He will never compromise no matter what the reason, he has seen the world for what it is and refuses to pretend just to make himself or others feel better.
Doctor Manhattan-The Atomic Man, an accident on a military base gave him the powers of a god, he sees all time at once it is indifferent to him. What happened yesterday, happens today and what will happen tomorrow are all laid out in front of him at once. It has somewhat crippled him socially as the "wonder" of life is taken away from him, we all want to know what the future holds but then again what happens when you know and have nothing to look forward to but that exact certainty.
Oh and by the way yes in both the comic book and the movie Doctor Manhattans Costume stays the same and the best way to put it is the way itsjustsomerandomguy put it in his parody
Yeah it was a little surprising the first time we saw it. Yeah, yeah full frontal nudity when it comes to women is no new thing in the movies but rarely do you have a floating, glowing, blue guy, with fully exposed penis placed in your face. I almost used his Wolverine clip with him talking about swinging blue pipe but I thought Deadpool would help keep the page load time down.
The things that were left out form the book, the actual panels from the "Black Freighter" because Heroes are real in the world of Watchmen, Tights and capes aren't as fascinating to them as they are to us. So Pirate stories are what hold the readers attention, I guess when you can actually read about a costumed vigilante in the paper made up evil villains become boring. There were also quite a few publications, journal entries and personal anecdotes from characters that were in the book that couldn't really be added into the movie. I mean yes you could have them coming through as "noise" from a TV or laying around on a desk but this were actually intricate and detailed parts of the submitting characters psyche. Talking about the art in ornithology, or ones drive to become a costumed hero, ones thoughts on society, and a work up about a few heroes.
In the movie they were moments shown as photos about to be taken or "behind the scenes" action, in the graphic novel some were chapters in a memoir from a hero, others moments from the memories of the ones who lived it. Doctor Manhattans chapter gives you a look into the mind of a man who's concept of time has been dashed by the grandness of his abilities. I would have missed nothing of the heart of the characters if I had only watched the movie but I gained a better appreciation for the world in which it was built by actually looking at the story teller and the artists panels. It's almost a narrated story except it's hard to tell from who's perspective, it's too fluid to be Rorschach and yet too emotional to be Johns(Doctor Manhattan). And the twist and the climax, I can respect why the author changed the reason why the conclusion was reached it made more sense. Not so much for the world the characters were in but for the world the viewers would be looking at, we had already seen the GN's theme a few times so while it was powerful when originally printed it may have come off as cheesy to those of us who were constantly going to the movies looking for a bigger better villain. It was an ending I didn't see coming, especially not at that scale. I enjoyed it thoroughly and so did my brother a movie clearly gave me more than my monies worth without over-hyping itself to death.
And the book is just as classic as many of it's fans had claimed before it was given the silver screen treatment.
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