Watchmen

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Pretty cool movie. Would have given it five clovers if I have not read the graphic novel. Three, if I base all my judgment with the book as reference. Friendly advice to those who love the comic book so much, try to force yourself into temporary amnesia while watching this. Perhaps you would still find something worth appreciating.

The first scene was enough to get me hooked. Sorry but I am just a big fan of those Matrix fight sequences, HAHAHA. The CGI and the acrobatics are both the strength and weakness of this onscreen adaptation. Strength, because it takes advantage of the different techniques available to film making to make it more visually appealing. Weakness, because I think it is just too much.

I appreciate the cool fight scenes but yes I think it is just too much. Why? These characters are NOT superheroes. In fact, only the blue guy has superpowers but the way the fight scenes were executed, with all the whoosh and the way the bodies hurled through the air, the director maximized CGI to bastardize the laws of physics like they always do in Hollywood. It consequentially made the characters appear to be more than human, which I think would mislead unacquainted viewers or give them false understanding of what the graphic novel really is about.

I liked the alternate ending they made up. Oops sorry, the ending is actually the same but the means by which it was achieved was altered in the film. Sorry to comic book fans but I liked the version here better. The graphic novel is great and all that but I personally think that HG Wells would have sued given the chance, LOL. But I respect the vision of the author, I just happen to like the alternate method by which the ending was achieved in the movie. It actually makes more sense and jives well with the plot.

The actress who played Silk Specter II looks like a cross between Natalie Portman and Monica Bellucci, maybe because of the bangs but I think she looks too young. Maybe it is just me but Silk Specter II in the comics looks a little bit old and more losyang, HAHAHA. Regardless. Still an eye candy. But bared too much. Even with MTRCB cuts.

A lot of graphic scenes, mostly violent. People in the cinema were kind of grossed out, I think. I just hate that they did not include that scene in the graphic novel where Rorschach is first seen breaking someone's finger: I just broke this man's finger. Who killed Edward Blake? That is my favorite but not included in the movie. Damn. As for the sexual content, it has been heavily toned down. It is just R-13, in the US I think it is rated R-18. So imagine how much they probably removed.

Another complaint is the overall feel of the movie. It does not feel like the 80's. Sure we are constantly reminded by Rorschach in his journal that it is 1985 and the soundtrack they used is nostalgic and just so 80's but the movie appears post-modern. I think the costumes and the Matrix inspired fight scenes are to blame. Nite Owl's newly revamped costume is cool and all but it seems so sophisticated and futuristic. You could actually mimic his costume in the comics by rummaging through your mother's closet but in this movie it is just too, yeah, cool but inappropriate? Hello, 80's. But then, flying spherical Archie's are not so common in the 80's either huh? If you choose to ignore all the 80's hints you would probably harbor subconscious thoughts that the setting of the story is 2010 or even beyond that, perhaps.

Maybe if the reviews and word-of-mouth would be good then this movie might step up and be a legit threat in our domestic box office but judging from the number of people in the theater tonight, chances look dim. I do not know if people would rush in the weekend to watch it. Let us just wait for BOM results.

The movie tried its best to stay loyal to the graphic novel but since this is Hollywood we already know what to expect. The comic book within the comic book was totally ignored. In fact, the owner of the newsstand was shown only once and the teenager reading the comics, just twice. Some of the dialogues were directly lifted from the pages of the comic book and the back stories presented via Mason's book were shown as a very long opening billboard montage.

One thing I found very distracting: Why does Ozymandias look like Robin's long lost flamboyant twin? At least, Bubastis had a special appearance. She is freakishly cute.