The End(ing) Is Nigh
Last night my room mates and I went to the midnight showing of the most anticipated movie of the year, The Watchmen. Needless to say my geeky enthusiasm had me buzzing as I sat in the leather seats at The Landmark Theater in West Los Angeles waiting for the trailers to start. The ordinarily epic trailers that precede action movies such as The Watchmen were replaced with mostly comedy trailers, which I find very odd. However the opening sequence of the main event is as epic as any movie I have ever seen. Once the lights of the theater darken, and the movie begins, the previously rowdy crowd becomes so silent you could hear assorted pairs of sneakers squeaking on the polished floor in anticipation of the cinematic release of The Watchmen.
The movie is stunningly true to the graphic novel for the majority of the film which is wonderful because the source material for the movie is amazing. However, there is a major alteration of the ending, which is necessary to keep the movie just under three hours long, but dramatically changes the impact of the stories conclusion.
Even though the ending has changed the movie still makes sense to the casual movie-goer who has not read the graphic novel. In fact I would recommend that you watch the movie before reading The Watchmen for a more satisfying experience.
Other than the personal quarrel I have with the ending The Watchmen is a breathtaking film. The visual effects are superb, the cinematography is astonishing, and the acting does not make you feel like you're watching someone play a super hero. But rather like you're witnessing a hero's personal conflicts within themselves as they struggle to decide whats right and whats wrong.
I give The Watchmen a 9.7 out of 10
2 comments:
Great review, I couldn't have said it better myself. The graphics were amazing and I truly enjoyed the other aspect of superheroes that no one else sees.
Though the Comedian was the douche of all douches, he was probably my favorite character in the movie because he was portrayed so well.
I also really loved the political conflicts throughout the movie, changing the entire Cold/Vietnam War era was really creative!
When I saw it about half of the previews were also for comedies, though there were also new trailers for the upcoming Wolverine movie and Star Trek.
I'm not sure how non-geeks that aren't used to these sort of avant-garde plots are going to handle Watchmen. During the weekend I heard someone complain about the "blue guy not wearing pants the entire movie." There's some very timid people in this country that can't take art.
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