Watchmen A Review
March 8th 2009 14:48
It is time to do a review of Watchmen.
Now you will read reviews by people who have read the graphic novel and then reviews by those that have not read the graphic novel and you will hear the opinion of all manner of critics and I feel like I should throw my hat into the ring.
I read Watchmen for the first time in 1997. I read it in one sitting from 10pm to 4am probably not the best way to take in the greatest graphic novel of all time but that was my first experience. The book was so compelling that I just couldn't put it down.
I have not read it in full since that day. I have picked it up and read bits and pieces but i have not sit down and read the whole thing again. So I have a familiarity with the work but not an obsessive memorization of the graphic novel.
So with that preamble out of the way on with the review.
Watchmen is a film that succeeds for me because it is really entertaining and it shows a fierce love of the source material. A book that lives on such a large amount of subtext, it is hard to contain in a movie. So just as Peter Jackson did with Lord of the RIngs. Jack Schnider has taken what he has judged as the cinematic essance of the story and crafted a fantastic film.
It is not a perfect film. The Nixon character is god aweful and really hard to accept. But each of the main characters is represented on screen so fantastically that it is hard for me to dwell on any of the faults.
I was impressed with the way that the director cast each of the roles so elegantly. Each actor inhabited the role so perfectly that it was hard for me to see them as anyone other than the character they were portraying.
The violence and sexual content of the graphic novel were not shied away from in this film and each of these elements were made even more impactful by there appearance on the big screen.
I will let other reviewers give deserved praise to each of the actors and the director all I need to say is that everything that you have heard about how spectacular people are in this film is correct and worthy of any accolades they receive. I think that watchmen will settle the debate about Heath Ledgers oscar. If any actor from this film is nominated then Heath would have been nominated. If this film is ignored then it shows you how much the academy will award not for the work but for personality.
What I will mention is that this film is such a fantastically plotted work. The director has done enough work on this film and it is enough of a departure from the original work that it is worthy of recognition. What they managed to do with the story to create a tight and effective narrative that manages to lock in elements of the work that were not related in such masterful way shows me how effective good adaptation can be.
So in closing Watchmen is a fantastic film and will be on the want list once it hits Blu - ray.
I will give it 9 out of 10.
Great Movie.
As a final note. To the mother and father who took there very young children to see the same session as me WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??!!!
Please if you know someone who is interested in this film or mentions that they want to take there children to this film please stop them. This is incredibly inappropriate for children.
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