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Author Topic: Watchmen (2009) Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 03-06-2009 09:21 AM                     Perhaps if I were a fan of the comic book, I would have enjoyed this movie. Not having read the comic books, I was bored to tears during the first hour and a half of this movie. I so wanted to fall asleep, but I was too hyped up on Mountain Dew. The last hour was better, at least the minimum amount of action you would expect from a superhero movie. The acting seemed like they were reading off of cue cards, and the special effects, especially Mr. Manhattan, just seemed out of place. If I were a fan, I might rank it higher, but as I am not, I give it 1 out of 5.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 03-06-2009 10:48 AM                        Perhaps if I had ever heard of the Watchmen, I might be interested. Now where's the movie chronicling the adventures of Archie and Jughead?  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-06-2009 01:00 PM                     Too much character development and not enough plot. Effects are OK but not great. I have not read the book, and while watching it, it felt like I was missing something. The makeup is really bad...Carla Gugino's old age makeup was especially terrible, as was Nixon's. Most of the actors seemed to just be going through the motions, letting the effects carry the film. HOWEVER, this review is only from the film's first hour and 40 minutes. I did not see the rest of the film because the projection team at the AMC EASTON TOWN CENTER 30 spliced one of the reels in upside down (this was an Imax Junior film showing, so upside down is very possible.) This was the second public showing of this print, and I don't see any excuse for this to happen. They told me they had a problem at the midnight screening and they "thought" they had fixed it, so there are now 500 angry patrons who have not seen the end of the film. From looking at 1570.com, most of the folks there got their prints well in advance so things like this should not happen. When I pay a premium price for a movie ($3 extra), I expect a premium presentation. This sure wasn't one. Meanwhile, I'll be checking THEMOVIESPOILER.com to see how the thing ended. I sure don't want to sit through that first 100 minutes again. And the story intrigued me enough that I will try to get it to read. [ 03-06-2009, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: Mark Lensenmayer ]  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 03-06-2009 01:57 PM                        From some of the negative reactions from people who are not familiar with WATCHMEN and never read the comic books,s I feel I may find myself not liking the film too even after I tried watching the new in motion comic book on a Blu Ry disc. I do not know if the video was a good way to become familiar with the characters and the story but I was totally bored from the very beginning and did not know what was going on. Perhaps it was a man reading all of the character's parts or the inclusion of all the printed text as it appeared in the comic books which I found totally distracting. I will still see the movie only because I want to check out IMAX Jr with my $7.50 ticket coupon I got when I bought the Blu Ray disc. Who knows, I might enjoy the movie. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Master Film Handler Posts: 405 From: Canton, MI, USA Registered: Oct 2007 posted 03-06-2009 03:36 PM                     Full disclosure: I have not read the "graphic novel" (comic book), and I don't care about it. Movies are a separate beast, and must be judged on their own merits. I was as super pumped for this as I have been for anything since The Duchess, albeit more animatedly. And, much like The Duchess, I was supremely let down. I'm sorry, I thought this was about... well, anything. The first two hours of this long, drawn out behemoth were just a jumble of seemingly unrelated plotlines, none of which was compelling at all. The characters were all quite dull, with the possible exception of the Rorschach fellow, and I thought he was overacted like a high school play. I was constantly checking my watch, and it took a supreme exertion of willpower to stay, especially since I was missing the season finale of Burn Notice. Eventually, something intelligible started happening, but I was still bored by it, and by that time I was disenchanted by the whole thing anyhow. None of the "plot twists" were surprising, and all of the characters were deplorable. The premise of the ending was somewhat interesting, but nothing new or unique. In the end, I just really didn't care if everyone died. out of 5. Worst movie I've seen in a while.  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 03-06-2009 04:27 PM                        CINEMA: Warren Moore, Moore, OK AUDITORIUM: 8 PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital Cinema DLP/THX PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: One of the trailers had really low volume RATING: One star (out of four) WARNING: I had a spoiler quote from the movie about Earth and the need for life to go on, but I can't remember it now. Anyway...spoilers... The Warren is all about atmosphere, so much so that they have a crackling fireplace sound effect they pipe in by the gas fireplace in the restroom waiting area. But if the sound effect is on and the fireplace isn't... Four big fat guys (even by MY standard) sit immediately in front of me. Three are excited to be here, and one is excited to ruin it for them. He basically says this. He also paws one of them repeatedly as he makes kitten noises and licks the back of his hand. THE PLOT: A comedian dies. Wackiness ensues. So there's this group of superheros who think somebody's trying to kill them. You have a Flash Gordon wanna-be, a Xena Warrior Princess wanna-be, a mediocre Batman, a big blue naked philosopher, and an asshole with a squishy mask. There's a beautiful opening credit sequence montage that handles a lot of back story...or so you think until the next TWO HOURS of back story montages. Montage after montage after montage after...zzzzzzzzz. The biggest action sequence in the first two hours is...of all things...premature ejaculation. Then comes the final hour of movie and the big action climax. Or the anti-climax. It's just fucking stupid.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-06-2009 05:29 PM                     quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren I was as super pumped for this as I have been for anything since The Duchess, albeit more animatedly. Just out of curiosity, why those two movies? Anyway, I actually liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. As a fan of the comic, I didn't quite see how it could be adapted into a movie. But they made about as faithful an adaptation to the story as possible. On a lot of levels, the book is very much the CITIZEN KANE of comics. It's a simple story which is used to deconstruct the medium, and then reconstruct it in a way which makes the reader think about things differently. The story itself is almost secondary, and outside of the comic's tight formal structure, it lacks a great deal of significance. Because of this, adapting it into another medium creates a watered-down product. I mean, would there be much point to a novelization of CITIZEN KANE? Sure, it would still be a good story, but on its own merits, people would be left wondering why the movie was so acclaimed. To simplify, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but there's not much going on in there. I have a feeling it's not going to stand up too well to repeated viewings, and that over time, my appreciation for it will diminish.  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-06-2009 06:38 PM                        Mark, that is appalling. Did they refund everyone's money, or did they try to hand out free passes? If the dumb-asses at that theatre can't properly put a film together, I guess it makes the case for switching to low-res digital projection. Message to movie-goers - wait for home video. Or if you can't wait, pirate the thing. At least on your computer, it won't be upside down. *Disclaimer: I've never put a film together. Is it hard?  |  IP: Logged Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Master Film Handler Posts: 405 From: Canton, MI, USA Registered: Oct 2007 posted 03-06-2009 07:57 PM                     quote: Mike Schindler Just out of curiosity, why those two movies? The Duchess because I love Keira Knightley (although she is in a lot of bad movies), and I had a standee up in my lobby for two months. It was just the first, most recent film I could think of that I was super pumped over. As for Watchmen, I like superhero type movies, and the teaser trailer that I played on a bunch of stuff was fantastic and led me to believe that this was actually a movie about people beating things up. Although, I am glad they didn't twist the anti-nuclear proliferation aspect into stupid global warming bs.  |  IP: Logged Robert John Jeromson Master Film Handler Posts: 264 From: Auckland, New Zealand Registered: Jul 2004 posted 03-06-2009 07:59 PM                     Changing the mood a little I really enjoyed this, I have read the comic but I think I probably would have liked this regardless, totally my kind of film. The adaptation was fairly faithful, save for one major difference. I liked the characters and the performances, Patrick Wilson and Jackie Earl Haley in particular. Good effects, great sound. Saw this in IMAX, which is the first DMR transfer I have seen and I was quite impressed. 4 out of 5 from me.  |  IP: Logged Justin Gorka Expert Film Handler Posts: 174 From: High Wycombe, England Registered: Apr 2006 posted 03-06-2009 08:54 PM                     Not being a comic reader (I stopped reading the Beano 40 years ago) I was unsure what to expect.....bit long but enjoyed it! 3/5  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-06-2009 09:01 PM                        quote: Geoff Jones *Disclaimer: I've never put a film together. Is it hard? No, but there are a lot of ways to screw it up if you're not careful (or an idiot).  |  IP: Logged Chad Souder Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 962 From: Waterloo, IA, USA Registered: Feb 2000 posted 03-06-2009 09:03 PM                     I haven't read the comic yet, but I liked the movie quite a bit, so now I will. I thought it was full of plot. I think when watching, you must remember the state of the union during the time this story takes place. Unlike V For Vendetta, they didn't try to modernize and change the story and destroy it as a result. If anything, there wasn't enough character development. I was left with many questions on many of the characters. I assume the graphic novel will fill in the blanks for me. Overall, it is definitely worth watching again.  |  IP: Logged Emma Tomiak Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Carrollton, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 03-06-2009 09:12 PM                        This is a film for fans of the book. If you didn't like the book, I doubt you'll like the movie. If you didn't read the book, you'll likely end up saying "Meh. It was ok, too drawn out, but OK I guess." or "This sucked and was too long." It is not going to do as well as everyone hoped, and won't live up to the hype. I love the book, and really enjoyed the film. It left out a story line that was alluded to at the very end of the film, which I thought should have been included. Also, the ending was changed from the book's ending. I think the film ending is more appropriate for the film than the book's ending (even though I wish they'd stuck to the original). 3.5 out of 5 for me.  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-06-2009 09:37 PM                     quote: Emma Tomiak It left out a story line that was alluded to at the very end of the film, which I thought should have been included. Which storyline is that?  |  IP: Logged

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