Watchmen (2009)
Mar. 12th, 2009 09:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
major_clangerMany, many people have commented on Watchmen and I'm inclined to agree with much of what has been said. So, rather than say it all again, here are just a few of my many thoughts after having seen it in full IMAX glory on Monday.
Even at a smidgeon short of three hours, the film still omits or elides a lot of the original source material. We lose the whole of the Black Freighter element, although since that's more a parallel, reflecting plot than a sub-plot its omission doesn't really compromise much. (But it will be nice to see it in the Director's Cut.) Hollis Mason's murder, the sub-plot about Rorschach's prison psychiatrist and a number of other elements fall by the wayside; it will be interesting to see if these also reappear. I doubt that all of them will, as to include them all would really require a five-hour miniseries, which one might argue is how the project should have been tackled in the first place. (Except that it would never have got the budget its spectacle demands; compare and contrast the film and mini-series versions of Dune as a case study in the pros and cons of the two approaches.)
As to changes, I actually liked a lot of them. Everyone has gone on about the changed ending, which is just as morally dubious as the original one whilst having the virtue of at least featuring less squid. More subtle ones included the removal of the embarrassingly stupid point where Ozymanias' computer offers to complete a partial password; instead, the Smartest Man In The World just has appallingly bad password security (OK, this was 1985, and everyone did back then.) Early on in the film, after Rorschach had visited Driberg, it is Driberg that goes to warn Veidt rather than Rorschach as in the original novel. Frankly, this is a bit more credible, given that Veidt is a leading public figure and Rorschach an outlaw. Snyder also makes The Comedian a little older than in the novel, making him a more believable member of the 1940 Minutemen (he was then sixteen in the novel, which I didn't quite buy) but means that he must have been the toughest sixty-seven year old in the world to stand up even briefly to Veidt.
I'm trying to decide if the change to the way in which Laurie realises that The Comedian was her father is a more or less respectful treatment of her than the one in the novel. Originally, it was just a case of her finally joining up little bits of evidence, albeit having been assuming for years that her father was one of the Minutemen, i.e. Hooded Justice. In the film, it is Dr Manhattan's ability to let her relive her past that opens up the truth to her. The film seems to suggest that she would never have worked it out for herself without being helped, whilst the novel suggests that she had all the information but was either not smart enough to put it together or too far in denial to do so. Actually, neither explanation is terribly creditable to her, but Watchmen has long been criticised for its attitude to female characters, so this is not that surprising.
Perhaps because of its shape I'd always envisaged the Owl Ship as floating along like an airship. Snyder shows it diving and swooping like an owl, and I have to say that works rather well. Mind you, I'm glad we skimmed past what ought to have been a fifteen-hour flight to Antarctica - I don't care what sort of fancy power plant the Owl Ship has, something that shape is not going to be supersonic!
So, a lot to like, a lot to not so much like as be impressed by, and a lot to be ambivalent about. But I suspect I'll be back to see the Director's Cut if it does indeed get a theatrical release, and I think the multi-DVD box set is destined for my shelf.
Even at a smidgeon short of three hours, the film still omits or elides a lot of the original source material. We lose the whole of the Black Freighter element, although since that's more a parallel, reflecting plot than a sub-plot its omission doesn't really compromise much. (But it will be nice to see it in the Director's Cut.) Hollis Mason's murder, the sub-plot about Rorschach's prison psychiatrist and a number of other elements fall by the wayside; it will be interesting to see if these also reappear. I doubt that all of them will, as to include them all would really require a five-hour miniseries, which one might argue is how the project should have been tackled in the first place. (Except that it would never have got the budget its spectacle demands; compare and contrast the film and mini-series versions of Dune as a case study in the pros and cons of the two approaches.)
As to changes, I actually liked a lot of them. Everyone has gone on about the changed ending, which is just as morally dubious as the original one whilst having the virtue of at least featuring less squid. More subtle ones included the removal of the embarrassingly stupid point where Ozymanias' computer offers to complete a partial password; instead, the Smartest Man In The World just has appallingly bad password security (OK, this was 1985, and everyone did back then.) Early on in the film, after Rorschach had visited Driberg, it is Driberg that goes to warn Veidt rather than Rorschach as in the original novel. Frankly, this is a bit more credible, given that Veidt is a leading public figure and Rorschach an outlaw. Snyder also makes The Comedian a little older than in the novel, making him a more believable member of the 1940 Minutemen (he was then sixteen in the novel, which I didn't quite buy) but means that he must have been the toughest sixty-seven year old in the world to stand up even briefly to Veidt.
I'm trying to decide if the change to the way in which Laurie realises that The Comedian was her father is a more or less respectful treatment of her than the one in the novel. Originally, it was just a case of her finally joining up little bits of evidence, albeit having been assuming for years that her father was one of the Minutemen, i.e. Hooded Justice. In the film, it is Dr Manhattan's ability to let her relive her past that opens up the truth to her. The film seems to suggest that she would never have worked it out for herself without being helped, whilst the novel suggests that she had all the information but was either not smart enough to put it together or too far in denial to do so. Actually, neither explanation is terribly creditable to her, but Watchmen has long been criticised for its attitude to female characters, so this is not that surprising.
Perhaps because of its shape I'd always envisaged the Owl Ship as floating along like an airship. Snyder shows it diving and swooping like an owl, and I have to say that works rather well. Mind you, I'm glad we skimmed past what ought to have been a fifteen-hour flight to Antarctica - I don't care what sort of fancy power plant the Owl Ship has, something that shape is not going to be supersonic!
So, a lot to like, a lot to not so much like as be impressed by, and a lot to be ambivalent about. But I suspect I'll be back to see the Director's Cut if it does indeed get a theatrical release, and I think the multi-DVD box set is destined for my shelf.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 10:27 am (UTC)There's a super duper extended cut due a couple of months after the directors cut which will have a 24 min version of tales (I'm not sure of the running time of the stand alone release - yet) cut back into the story, its not confirmed if it will have even more extra footage added in - but i'll be suprised if it doesn't.
Roll on the Blu ray release...
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 12:35 pm (UTC)Otherwise, I pretty much agree with the above. More than I'd've liked had to go, or it would have been waaaaay too long. (But they could have cut the sex scene in the owl ship down a bit shorter, and got a couple of minutes of something more interesting in...)
They kept in a lot of stuff I was convinced they would Hollywood-ise for the American audience. Or, as Trev put it, "there's a lot of glowing blue dudity, isn't there?" And they left all the violence and dubious morality in.
The coolest bit of all, though, was seeing Rorshach's mask actually move.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 12:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 12:43 pm (UTC)Overall I wasn't too keen on the plot changes they made because they didn't feel internally consistent. For example Ozymandias's plan no longer involves large amounts of genetic engineering work yet he still has his lynx (though losing the clever name of Bubastis) for no real reason.
In some ways the weirdest change is that Laurie doesn't smoke but they still have the scene with Archie's flame thrower. The fact she isn't looking for the cigarette lighter changes the whole tone of her actions.
Maybe some of this is just a problem of editing the thing down and it will work better in the directors cut, but I'm not sure.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 12:47 pm (UTC)In fact I don't remember any smoking except the comedians cigar. I pointed the fact the flame throweer gag didn't really work.
Theres enough to link Tales back in even without the max shea conection.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 01:32 pm (UTC)Well yes. That is why I actually liked the change. It had all the important points of the book without actually having squid.
> 3 hours
I kept on thinking that this should have been two films made at the same time (ala Kill Bill parts one and two). But of course after the first film came out then enough people would check the ending from the comic resulting in spoiling the second.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 03:30 pm (UTC)I think that Veidt referred to the creature once by name -- "Sorry, Bubastis" -- just before throwing the switch to fry it with blue energy.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-16 02:57 pm (UTC)