WatchmenWell it’s been a while since I’ve done an in-depth movie review on my blog. Now a days it’s just it’s my rating on Facebook with a one or two line quote about the film. So I thought I would go back to my roots and do a full one for all my fans out there. I’m also being very liberal with the pluralisation of the word fan. Before I get into the review I’m going over non Watchmen related stuff, so if all you want to do is read my thoughts on the film skip to the bottom part. The first part is just me rambling on so you've been been forewarned.
So I think I may have discovered my niche for reviewing films. Actually it was one of my coworkers whose pointed it out to me. He thinks I should review films, which is something he himself used to do for some type of paper. It’s really something I just prefer to do for fun. I personally hate film critics, plus I think I’m a horrible writer. However I have had people comment differently on my writing. Maybe all pro writers suck and that’s why they have editors, HA. What I seem to be good at is being able to recommend films that I think others may enjoy. I watch all types of films. Some are great and others horrible, but even some of those horrible films I may like for some reason or another. Then there are the horrible films, which are truly horrible (cough ‘Fog remake’ cough). I can at least recognize what is good and bad. I may watch a film and think its great but there are some people I wouldn’t recommend it to. When I thought about it a lot of people I know do come to movie for good movie advice. All I usually do is ask them what type of movies they like to watch, and what they are in the mood for. Then based on their answers I give then a few recommendations. My recommendations usually entail with me saying something along the line of if you like that film you like this one. Giving them options also leaves it for them to ultimately decide what they should watch. My most recent experience with this came this past week. Every Tuesday morning at work during our morning meeting I let the staff know of what has come out on that day for new movies and music. At first I just told them what had come out but I slowly started getting into mini reviews. Telling them about the films that are the must avoids, the ones that are the must sees and all the things in between. Then one day one of girls at customer service asked me what else had come out recently that was good b/c she had been renting films according to my morning reviews and she and her boyfriend were really digging them. She had told me that normally she’d ask the people working at the video store what was good, but now she’s coming to me. However the thing I really hate about recommending something is when they end up not liking it. It actually doesn’t happen that much (hence maybe it really is my niche) but it’s a real downer when it does happen. Another reason why I would suck at reviewing films is because I’d usually go off on some tangent about something in my life. It makes it fun for me and maybe the people who know me but if you didn’t know whom I was who gives a shit right. Plus I’ve also made a realization as to why I’m able to watch the same movies over and over again. It’s because my memory is shit. I have a great autobiographical memory, but when it comes to everything else it sucks. Therefore I’d also have to review a film pretty much right away before I start to forget what had happened in the film. For instance by just picking a random movie off my shelf like Gangs of New York I remember liking it, but I can’t remember most of the film. So when I do watch it again it’s almost like watching it for the first time. Of course that’s isn’t the case with every film for me. Plus the other great benefit of watching a film over again is each time you watch it you may discover something new, or by watching it in a different attitude can change your opinion. There has been films I remember loving when I first saw them, then watching them again later in life thinking they were horrible and vice versa.
So without anymore pointless crap onto my review of Watchmen. However, remember what I say about critics…they are full of shit, make up your own mind. Off the bat I would start with saying that if all you know about the film is what you’ve picked up from the trailer don’t waste your time b/c your not going to like it. This is a passion piece for fans of the comic, no one else need apply. Which actually is a real shame b/c it’s a great story with a fantastic philosophical undertone. Zach Synder could have changed things around to open it up more to a general audience but then those who the film is designed for would want his head on a stake. The general moviegoer will have seen this advertised and think to themselves ‘oh my, another superhero film’. It has been imbedded in their minds over the last ten yrs or so what a superhero film looks like. For those people they are going to be in for some disappointment. Just like Watchmen changed the face of comics, the film version continues the trend started with Batman Begins on how a comic book film is viewed. The benefit however for Batman is that it is a hell of a lot more recognizable than that of Watchmen. I have been sitting in anticipation for this film for some time now and I’ve already seen it twice.
When a movie comes out that I have been highly anticipating for a while it is a must that I see the first possible showing of it. For me that would have been the 4:30pm showing Friday afternoon. The first matinee showing on a Friday for the hottest films that come out are the best time to see them. Not a lot of people go and the ones who do are not the type of people who ruin the show by talking or doing something else that might be disrupting. Of course there is other reasons, for starters I really hate large grouping of people. People as a whole I can’t stand but as individuals there okay. I remember seeing Dark Knight the hottest film to come out in the last few years on it’s very first showing with hardly anyone in the theatre b/c I saw it on a Fri matinee. To my memory every showing after that was solid out for at least a solid week. I remember in the weeks leading up to the Watchmen even thinking I should’ve taken a personal business day. I’ve banked one of those days off and what else am I really ever going to use them for. Also what would be cooler than saying I got paid to go see Watchmen? Well…actually there probably is a lot cooler things but eh. Then a huge wrench was thrown into my plans just a half hour before I was going to check it out. One of my staff wasn’t aware that they were working that night. I tried my best to get coverage from anybody I could but options were limited b/c the rest of my staff were out of town or in school. I couldn’t leave one person on by themselves on a Friday night, so I decided to stay an extra 2 ½ hrs to help out. I them missed the showing I wanted to see. When I eventually got out of work the next showing was sold out so I was stuck seeing the late show. By that time I was just bitter, tired and my knees were killing me from standing all day. Thus I didn’t see it in under the best circumstances.
Upon first viewing I would give it a 3 out of 5. So what did I like…
The opening credits sequence was fairly cool, getting people caught up on some back story and setting up how his slow motion action sequences will turn out. However for the non fan this might just seem too confusing. They do explain parts of the opening later in the film but it’s probably too late by then. Funny thing is the following day at work on the front page of the entertainment section in the news they give the back story for the novel to those people who haven’t read the book. That really speaks volumes right there if the paper has to do that right on the front page. The use of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin' was put to good use in the opening. Although I wish I could say the same about some of the other musical choices through out the film. They may be great songs on there own but used within the film seemed hoaky at times. Also seeing some of the pop cultural nods was pretty neat such as Studio 54 with David Bowie and Andy Warhol doing his signature characters of Watchmen. Even a picture of Batman pops up in the background, which I didn’t notice until my second viewing. I think my favourite character portrayed on screen turned out to be the Comedian. He is such an amoral character but his performance from Jeffery Dean Morgan was awesome. I think my favourite part of the film had to be Rorscach’s time in jail. This is also one of the only times in the film that his character is out of the mask. The historical sequences with Vietnam were also really cool. The production design was really sweet giving it a cool noirish feeling. If it had a flaw its that the comic has so much to offer it really is difficult to put it all into a friendly movie going experience. However this can be addressed in the ultimate directors cut. One of the biggest differences from the original source material was how the mass destruction took place. I remember a lot of fans out in arms when then heard the giant squid sequence was being replaced. Personally I thought the new ending worked great. I could even go as far as saying I liked it even more. Luckily the film sticks to it’s guns for the 18a rating, and doesn’t try to soften the violence so that a wider audience could see the film. There were a few funny things to point out from watching it with a crowd. One is the obvious blue dork flapping in the wind. Not a big shocker I though for the fans of the comic but those who never expect to see something like that made there snickers and comments to those sitting with them. The other thing I found was a little bit more werid. I got a general sense from the crowd that they felt it was wrong for Silk Spectre leaving Dr. Manhattan and ending up with Nite Owl. However Dr. Manhattan left his girlfriend to be with Silk Spectre. And she had even stuck it out with Dr. Manhattan after his accident. So it’s okay for the guys to still do that but not the women, Shenanigans!
I knew after seeing it for the first time my attitude did affect my overall opinion of the film, therefore I saw it again the very next night. Of course that’s not the only reason. I had plans to watch it again b/c I knew it would be one of those films that every time you watch it you experience something new each time. This time I also got to see it with two of my friends who knew nothing about the film other than what they saw from the trailer. After this viewing my rating of the film also went up. Now I give it a 4 out of 5. As for my friends they thought it was freakin’ boring. Which is what I honestly thought they were going to think of it. In conclusion if you’re a fan you probably thought it was cool. For the people who know nothing going into the film you going to have to pay close attention through out, and with it’s run time you will probably eventually give up. What these people should really watch is Warner’s release of Watchmen: The Motion Comic. I actually saw it before seeing the movie. It’s also a great refresher for someone with a poor memory like myself. What it is, is the original graphic novel with ever so slight animation to give it motion. It’s like the marvel cartoons of the 60’s or like listening to a book on tape. It’s 5 1/2 hours long and includes the full story. I would say it's also a must see for any fans of the novel. There, that's it...nothing more to say. Carry on with your lives
