So... Watchmen

First off, it's a good film. Not amazing, but good. If you haven't read Watchmen, it's set in an alternate America in 1985 where "costumed heroes" became something of a trend in the 40's and 50's, and a second generation took over in the 60's and 70's, but they were eventually outlawed because people didn't like 'em that much. One of them, Rorschach, continues his work despite the law though. And when one of the former heroes is killed, he suspects a major plot and sets out to uncover it.

What I can't figure out is whether having read the graphic novel first made the film more or less enjoyable. A lot of scenes throughout the first 2/3 of the film felt rushed to me, but that might only be because they're shorter than their counterparts in the book. Or it could be that they actually are rushed, and details are glossed over, and it'd be hard to follow for someone who doesn't know the story already. Or not. You get the idea.

It's also not helped by having quite a few characters with stories and histories to set up, so for a while the story felt a little chaotic. It really does try to lay in all the main plot points from the comic, but a film can't really take as much time to do that, so if you haven't read Watchmen before I got the feeling it'd all be a bit too much to take in in the given time. But then, I can't really say that for sure.

Basically, if you haven't read Watchmen, then I think keeping up with everything might be problematic (assuming I'm not just over-estimating the source material). But if you can follow it things should be fine. It's a good film, like I said. It's well acted, interesting characters and story, all that jazz. The action won't be to everyone's liking. All the characters fight scenes are pretty over the top, which detracted from certain story elements for me (although again, without knowing the story beforehand this probably wouldn't be an issue). The slow motion stuff isn't that frequent either. The violence/gore seems pretty out of place at times too. One scene that I thought used the action style well though was the opening, although I can't really say why I liked it as much without giving away big spoilers. So... (Even if you have read the book you might not want to read this, it might spoil the film for you a bit)

Spoiler:

Anyway, for those who have read it... It's a pretty faithful adaptation. Yes, there are changes, some big, some small, but they all felt pretty organic to the story as it was portrayed in the film. No changes felt forced or had any real impact on the overall story, in fact if felt like the only reason changes were made was to compact the story so it would fit into a film. Scenes are shorter than in the book, various smaller (and some larger) details are left out or glossed over a bit, lines of dialogue are switched around in various places to set up the characters faster, etc. Of course the film doesn't have the luxury of sticking chapters from books written by the characters in between scenes like the graphic novel, so stuff like that is expected.

Some things were more disappointing that others, of course. Rorschach's psychiatry stuff was chopped down a lot. But most of the main scenes make it in fairly intact.

Although, you could feel differently of course. Some of it did feel too shortened, such as the scene on Mars, where everything seemed to happen a bit too easily. But the basic core of the scene was there.

However, there was one change that really stuck out to me, and that I wish wasn't there. And that change was (spoilers for the film and the book up ahead)...

Spoiler:

Other than that I didn't mind the changes at all.

There were actually some things I enjoyed more about the film. An example would be Dan and Laurie's relationship and motivations. They actually come off a little bit worse than they did on the book, being shown more as thrill seekers than heroes. That's probably due to the compressed story too. With a more laboured story, their actions feel more justified. In the film though...

Spoiler:

The music also seems to something of an issue. There's quite a few times in the film where a scene transition is made with a song, and not all of them work. This can mean bizarre emotional shifts from one scene to another, and an awkward feeling of not knowing what the tone a scene in supposed to be, which often results in those little nervous laughs. One prime example would be when the Vietnam scenes start and Ride of the Valkyries starts playing. It just doesn't fit in the film.

But, overall, a good film. The actors do their respective characters justice, as does the script I'd say. Of note is Matthew Goode, who's getting the most heat from fans for being miscast, mostly because of his physique. But I thought he did well. His build looks fine in the film and he plays it well. Haley is good Rorschach too, even though he was hard to understand at times. A solid 7/10 I'd say.

And yes, you see Manhattan's junk multiple times.

Oh, there's also the extra uncut super special edition DVD thing coming up at some point, which an apparent crap load of extra stuff that wasn't in the theatrical version. Maybe that'll be a little better.

Manhattan's junk? Why not just say you see his cock?

Junk seemed funnier.

Is the scene where Rorschach snaps still in?

The one where he "becomes" Rorschach? Yeah, it's in, although it's slightly different.

How so? Don't worry about spoilers, I'm never gonna go see the movie.

Welp.

Maybe it's because Saw nicked the concept already.

Yeah, possibly.

So why won't you ever see the film?

I'm just not that interested in seeing it; but I'll watch it if I happen to catch it on TV in a couple of months.

And: