Comments on: This is Not a Watchman Review

By: Decker

Decker — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:50:02 +0000

That’s a good analogy with Hamlet. It would be interesting to see how someone would emphasize different scenes or characters, a wrinkle generic superhero adaptions easily provide. I was surprised how much Snyder brought music into Watchmen – another sign of devotion to Moore’s text. (And even tho 99 Luftballoons is completely apropos to the story, it came across in the move as nothing more than an 80s signifier. I think that was Snyder’s choice). Like V for Vendetta, I think this film provided what Moore needs most – an editor.

By: Sean Axmaker

Sean Axmaker — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:33:12 +0000

When I refer to wanting to be surprised, I don’t mean tossing in new plot twists. I mean things like offering an insightful interpretation of a character or bringing a specifically cinematic expression to the original graphic image of the comic. But more to the point, even an adaptation can be so immediate to the moment and emotionally and narratively involving for the viewer that you stop thinking about the source. And while I may never forget what is going to happen at the end of “Hamlet”, only one film ever did the uncut text. Every other film had to make creative decisions on what to keep and what to cut, and took a stand on their interpretation of the character and his situation. Therein lies the surprise. I, for one, found Michael Almereyda’s 2000 film to be a very fresh and interesting take, especially in the casting of Kyle Maclachlan as Claudius, a man much closer in age to Hamlet and thus a different kind of threat to Hamlet’s relationship to his mother, and Bill Murray as Polonius, a sweet, doting father to Ophelia. His death at the hands of Hamlet in this version is much more upsetting than I’ve ever experienced in a film version.
And yet, it is a faithful adaptation.

By: Decker

Decker — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 07:30:28 +0000

I totally agree with you about the ending – maybe it pisses Moore off, but having Doctor Manhattan as the existential threat makes a lot more sense than a giant fictitous squid.

What helps keep other super hero adaptations “fresh” is that they have to refine decades of continuity into a short story. Watchmen is very finite – Snyder could have taken more liberties, but I feel like he did right by the source material. While “Dark Knight” bore Nolan’s stamp, but to the movie’s detriment. The cuts were spastic and the tacked-on Two Face story was a tired cut and paste from the Year One comic.

Likewise, if I see a ‘Hamlet’ I don’t expect plot surprises. A good story told well is entertainment enough.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:08:02 +0000

I don’t disagree with you and there are some critics who appreciate what Snyder did. I would love to get a sense of how viewers who don’t have any familiarity with the novel respond to the film. It’s so dense that I wonder if viewers without previous familiarity with the story will be able to get a handle on it.

But my big problem is that in its slavishness to the book, it doesn’t have a life of its own – I just didn’t find it alive in any way, not in the way that “The Dark Knight” or the first “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” films are both faithful to the source and distinctive expressions of the creators.

By: Mr. Push

Mr. Push — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:45:33 +0000

Honestly either way your not going to be able to please everyone .. you have to think about the people who have not read the novels like yourself and the people who know nothing about this movie .. maybe in a sequel I would understand your statement but for the first movie you sound more like a person who is griping, because they stuck to the same formula that made people like yourself like the novel, why not make a movie that will attract more people like the novel did with you then build from their.