The film of "Watchmen" is here.
I love the original graphic novel. It was a book I read many times, and it is probably time for me to read it again. The trailer for the film that came out last year (gosh, a whole year ago?) mesmerised me - the visual sensibility and the effects looked to have captured the essence of the world quite beautifully.
But then Fox sued Warner to try and block release of the film. The reasons were stupid contractual ones, as far as I could figure out: rights which had probably lapsed but which might not have done. I didn't really care - it just confirmed Fox as the studio for geeks to hate (the other prime example being the cancellation of the TV show "Firefly").
That case was settled and the film was set to be released, but then I heard whispers of unwelcome tweaks to the plot.
Curiously, given my outraged reaction to the weird butchery of the Lord of the Rings films, these rumours did not concern me greatly. "V for Vendetta" and "The Prestige" demonstrated that changing the plot doesn't always fail - both films are in my opinion much tighter and more visceral stories than the original books. Obviously The "Watchmen" team is not the same as either of those, but I have hope.
The two reviews of "Watchmen" I have read were reasonably positive. That's high praise for what was undoubtedly seen as just another superhero film befre being viewed.
I don't think I will get to see it at the cinema, but I am really looking forward to seeing the film when it comes out on DVD.
Posted by Dunx at March 6, 2009 09:26 AM
I thought I was unique, liking the V for Vendetta movie better than the comic. I imagine many feel that's sacrilege. Did it have the same spirit as the comic? The choas? Probably not, which was another reason why I liked the movie better.
Anyway... I, too, am looking forward to Watchmen. I read the comic back in the late 80s, I shied away from it when it was first published while my friends read it and loved it.
I read the comic this week. I wanted one last time to read it before the movie would impact any further readings...
Well. I've posted my own Watchmen review, and will probably have more to say over the next day or two. Like you, apparently, I consider the book a seminal and formative text. I was decidedly dubious about the movie's very existence, and if the Fox suit had prevented its release I would likely have seen that as an accidental credit rather than yet another reason to loathe them. But on balance I'm glad to have seen the film, even though it is, in many ways, pretty dreadful.
Who watches...? Almost certainly not as many people as the studios hope. But *you* probably should.