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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Topic: Watchmen (2009)
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Julio Roberto
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 938
From: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2008
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posted 03-08-2009 07:43 AM
I read the comic 20 years ago and I watched the "motion comic" recently, so I was well aware of the story.
The comic and the motion comic, I liked. Not everybody's cup of tea, though. I haven't been into comics since I was 12, but I still found them worth it of my time.
Saw the movie yesterday with my significant other, who had not read the comic before.
We both found the movie boring and lacking emotion. I enjoyed it slightly more since I knew the story and the winks that the movie did for the comic.
A 2 out of 5 from me, though I'd give it a 4 out of 5 as a "faithful comic translation that fails as a movie" ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Lower than that from my significant other. She really enjoyed the blue penis, though.
I found many distracting technical flaws (makeup, CGI, cinematography, excess of slow motion gimmicks, etc), but that's just me.
Overall, I think only fans of the comic will find enough joy in this movie to feel the $$$ well spent. Most of the rest, will have serious doubts.
I feel the director did an awesome job translating the comic and improving it cinematically, but whatever it is that makes the comic good it just didn't translate on the screen.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 03-08-2009 11:08 PM
Location: Moore Warren 14, Moore, OK
Auditorium: #8 (Grand Auditorium)
Format: 2K DLP, THX, Dolby Digital Cinema
Rating: 2 stars out of 4
I'm not very familiar with the Watchmen graphic novel; however, no movie should require viewers to see/read a different version of it, thus spelling out the whole story or a different version of it, before they see the movie. The movie should be able to stand on its own. I have to bring up that point for the folks rejecting negative criticism of this movie based on viewers not having read the graphic novel. The movie either works or it doesn't, previously published work be damned.
Watchmen suffers because there is so much backstory and flashback crap stuffed into this movie that it totally suffocates any forward engery the movie is allowed to generate. By the time the movie entered its final half hour I was pretty tired of it and didn't care all that much about the big revelation of the bad guy's identity and the plot twist that happens near the end.
For instance, take the funeral sequence of The Comedian. I lost track of how many flashbacks they crammed into just that one set piece alone. Sure, some important details about various characters were revealed during that, but it was still noticeably distracting. I was muttering "holy shit" to myself by the time the characters were actually leaving the cemetary.
A lot of the back-story/flashback stuff should have been heavily abbreviated and much more of the movie concentrated on action set in the present and moving forward. It's a shame the movie ultimately fell flat for me because the show had a lot of pretty cool visuals and interesting story concepts, some of it even profound. All of that is pretty worthless if the movie can't get its legs underneath it and start going anywhere.
quote: Sam Graham
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: One of the trailers had really low volume
I watched the movie in the same auditorium Sam Graham visited a couple days earlier. The trailer for Observe and Report was indeed set noticeably too low. The Star Trek trailer that played before the feature was pretty cool. The THX trailer with the vibrating vagina shaped plants drew a few "that was cool" comments.
The framing for Watchmen seemed odd. This movie was 'scope, right? The framing appeared closer to 2:1 or tad less than that, as if the picture was zoomed to use the entire 2048 x 1080 image area of the DLP chips. I could see a little of the pixel grid showing up here and there. 2K can only go so big before revealing its limits. OTOH, the picture was adequately bright (although there was a noticeable hot spot near the lower center of the screen).
My only real disappointment in my visit was not being able to get any balcony seats. My friends and I watched the 1:30pm Saturday show and the balcony was sold out the rest of the day. What really sucks is you have to buy balcony tickets in person. They cannot be reserved over the phone or via the Internet. Basically, you have to visit the theater once to buy your balcony tickets (which are assigned seats) and then you come back later. That's not too bad if you live in Moore. It sucks if you live half an hour away in Edmond or an hour away in Lawton.
quote: Sam Graham
The Warren is all about atmosphere, so much so that they have a crackling fireplace sound effect they pipe in by the gas fireplace in the restroom waiting area. But if the sound effect is on and the fireplace isn't...
The fireplace was working Saturday.
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 03-08-2009 11:38 PM
Hmmm... 3 hours long, tons of flashbacks, cheesy characters, in scope... there isn't, by chance, a musical number in this movie is there? I almost think it is a Bollywood film.
quote: Bobby Henderson
no movie should require viewers to see/read a different version of it, thus spelling out the whole story or a different version of it, before they see the movie. The movie should be able to stand on its own.
No kidding!! I pretty much HATED the Lords of the Rings movies. They were asstastic and all convoluted as shit. Well, the third one was fairly good on its own, I suppose. But that second one was worse than a large peanut getting stuck on its way out of the anus and the first one was bad at best! People were all like "You need to read the books to truly understand you need to read the books read the books whaaaaah!" Screw that! I can't be blamed for not caring about the shitty books. Fucking Gandalf just letting himself go into the pit for no reason whatsoever... I still can't get over that bullshit. Fucking stupid.
quote: Bobby Henderson
The fireplace was working Saturday.
There is a theater with a fireplace? Oh my goodness that sounds very luxurious and upscale I MUST VISIT I WILL PAY ANY PRICE!!@
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 03-09-2009 01:11 AM
Bobby, I wouldn't even have minded the flashback backstory (back back) if there had been anything going on. It was mostly "look at me, I'm a dick," referring to the Comedian, who is already gone anyhow, or the flashback about the Silk Spectre (right?) that they showed twice, when I got it just fine the first time. I didn't feel like the Comedian or anything he had ever done drove the story forward at all, yet he gets like four flashbacks devoted to him and his dickishness. I feel like they could have edited out a half hour of flashbacks without compromising the story, and I think it would've been better. Still needed more ass kicking though.
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