INTERACTION

Montage sequence for the film's opening credits is great, I thought...
Plenty of enjoyable action scenes, clever alt-history satire, intriguing social commentary, character-based humour, widescreen spectacle, plus a wonderful soundtrack.


(Wrong smiley, but never mind.)

Film of the year, so far... perhaps?
Anyone else seen this yet?

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Pigasus Press | VideoVista | The ZONE

Saw the press screening a couple of weeks back. Enjoyed it, although I had some fanboy niggles with it. Will probably get the extended DVD when it comes out and spend countless hours comparing it with the comic.

God, I'm sad.

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www.stuyoung.blogspot.com

Just come back from the cinema. I enjoyed Watchmen. I've not read the graphic novel but I thought the director has done a pretty good job and it had lots of little goodies for 'IZ type SF' readers.

A pretty rubishey set of trails with it. Knowing could be OK but the rest looked poor. Crank2 Jason S's heart needs a charge. Spielberg with Bay? Transformers! Give me strength.

Here are comments that I posted elsewhere (slightly amended for context):

I saw Watchmen in IMAX in London on Saturday 14th. I would give it three and a half out of five. I *have* read the graphic novel - though that was over fifteen years ago, so I'm not predisposed either way. (If someone were to make a Love and Rockets/Locas film, then I'd go in with much more anticipation. Can't see it happening though.)

It's basically the comic on film and that's it - and as a film fan rather than a comics fan that's not enough. It lacks that something extra that a first-class director brings to their work (which is why, by the way, the Harry Potter films make a big jump upwards from the third one onwards). Someone like Terry Gilliam, say, who was going to make the film but decided he couldn't do it as a feature and suggested a miniseries. The visual eye of this film is that of Dave Gibbons, not that of the actual director, Zack Snyder. Snyder seems to think that speeding up and slowing down motion in action sequences is WAY COOL - and that will date this film horribly in ten years or so. (His remake of Dawn of the Dead is better than it has a right to be. I haven't seen 300.) I had to check the IMDB to make sure it was actually shot on film - it has that horrible digitally-tweaked look that I'm getting sick of lately, where film is made to look like hi-def video - basically all the grain gets removed.

Personally I found that the film dragged badly in the middle before picking up again for the final half hour. Best performance came from Jackie Earl Haley, who seemed to be channelling Clint Eastwood as Rorschach. Liked the Dylan songs (one original and two covers) and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" on the soundtrack. But no rush to see it again, and having seen it on the biggest screen in the country I won't be buying it on DVD.

It's not doing especially well at the box office - despite what some of the more slavering fans seem to think, not everyone goes to see comic book/superhero movies, and especially not those violent enough to earn 18 certificates. I'm sure it will clean up on DVD, with promises of an extended cut and the "Tales of the Black Freighter" as an animated extra.

Watchmen: motion comic is reviewed at -
http://www.videovista.net/reviews/april09/watchmen.html

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Pigasus Press | VideoVista | The ZONE

I thought the sex-scene accompanied by Leonard Cohen's "Hallejuah" was pretty awful.

Apart from that, it was entertaining - but then Watchmen was never my favourite Moore graphic novel: both V for Vendetta and From Hell were superior.

I thought the adaptation of the former was good, but the latter was truly dire; one of the worst pieces of mis-casting - Depp has Abberline? You're 'avin' a laff, aincha?