Sunday, March 8, 2009

Day At The Movies With The Beast-Watchmen






I saw the film Watchmen today. I'm a big fan of the graphic novel it's based on, and I initially wondered if a film of it would be any good. Well, I did like it, quite a bit, actually.






The film tells the story of heroes and former heroes in an alternate 1985. The government has outlawed masked vigilantes, and most are either retired (like NiteOwl and Silk Spectre), or working for the government (like Dr. Manhattan and The Comedian). One hero, Rorscharch, still operates on the streets, and he gets involved when The Comedian is killed. A mystery is there to be solved, and a conspiracy to be discovered, all with the shadow of nuclear war hanging overhead.






I liked Watchmen...the costumes and effects were great, and the acting was well done, especially Rorscharch, played by Jackie Earl Haley. Rorscharch was one of my favorite characters from the book, and Haley brings him to scary, uncompromising life. The film stays very close to the original book...this is a very adult look at superheroes, and there is violence, sex, and other adult situations, so this is definately not a kid-friendly flick. The one major difference from the film and the book is the ending...purists may not like it, and I have mixed feelings abut it myself, but all in all it's pretty faithful to the source material.






If you're in the mood for a dark tale of very human superheroes, check out Watchmen. I give it four out of five clawmarks.









5 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Glad to hear that. I also really liked the graphic novel. I'm looking forward to seeing this one for sure.

Heff said...

Never even heard of this title before the movie was being made. I'm sure I'd be totally LOST if I went to see it.

laughingwolf said...

thx scott, will check-er out...

Scott said...

Charles,

I think you would like it.

Heff,

No prior knowledge of the story is necessary...a friend of mine went into it cold and loved it.

Laughingwolf,

I think you'll be glad you did!

Michelle's Spell said...

Hey Scott,

I need to go see a movie -- it's just the thing to get one through the winter/spring malaise! I'll check it out!