Who Watches Who Walks Out of "Watchmen"?

[VintageComics]

Andy I thought it was about the humanity of the hero and not about the hero itself. I thought that the hero was just a necessary back drop for the human to play on the screen.

The plot was secondary here...it was all about the interaction, the emotions, how we age as people and what is really important to humanity.

 

"Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise"

 

R.

 

 

[goldust40]

Andy I thought it was about the humanity of the hero and not about the hero itself. I thought that the hero was just a necessary back drop for the human to play on the screen.

The plot was secondary here...it was all about the interaction, the emotions, how we age as people and what is really important to humanity.

 

Inversely you could say that it is about the dehumanising and isolating effect of being a super-hero (viz Dr. Manhattan). The trouble with the film is that unlike the graphic novel, the viewer cannot apply closure - yes, the film was meant to be about the characters as much as the plot, but due to its need to shorthand a great deal of the backstories, characterization did lose out to the need to keep things moving.

 

This was most noticeable in the end sequence, which came across as too stilted - the filmmakers in this instance were too much in awe of the source material to realize that what worked well in the GN would appear as stagebound and unrealistic in the film. In my opinion The Comedian seemed to work best on screen despite being possibly the least sympathetic character, simply because there was no depth to him - he was purely instinctual.

 

Again, that is the major criticism, that the director didn't alter the source material adequately or take enough chances with it due to the constraints of the medium. It was a pretty creditable job, all things considered. Some bits were magnificent.

[Aman619]

Golddust you have made some great points! I also was a bt annoyed that the fight scenes in the comics were expanded into the typical movie superhero drawn out punchfests. One of Moores most awesomely surprising scenes was at Karnak at the end, where instead of a long punching fight, Ozy throws a plate (?) and hits Nite Owl who is in so much pain and shock the fight is over before it starts!