Watchmen

Post Reply New Topic

I saw the movie first, and liked it so much that I asked my wife for the graphic novel for Christmas. I think The Watchmen is in my humble opinion the best superhero movie EVER. You had characters who were clearly dysfunctional (Rorschach), down right despicable (the Comedian), and more and more disconnected to the point of becoming autistic (Dr. Manhattan), just to name a few problems showing up on page and screen. And yet, you can't help but pull for them (well, with the possible exception of the Comedian). My only real complaint was the choice of actor playing Ozymandius. I thought a better choice of actor would have had more muscularity, once I read the comic,rather than that living stick they got to play him.
But the two characters who I liked the most had to be Rorschach, and Manhattan. For the former, I suppose you can't help but like a homicidal maniac who kills for good. As for Manhattan, I seriously believe he acquired Asperger's when the nuclear experiment destroyed his former incarnation as Osterman.
Anyone else here think Manhattan has Asperger's?

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

... this awful city, it screams like an abattoir full of ret*d children. New York.

i remember the when the graphic novel came out but never read it......i LOVED the movie....... Rorshcach was my fav. character (Jackie Earle Haley was great for him)....as for Jeffrey Dean Morgan he might be able to pull off Batman (saw him in The Losers and i think that gives more credit to that possibility)

I loved the graphic novel, its one of my favorites. The movie was pretty good too, not as good as the book though.

I've read the novel and I did enjoy it, though it was a little bit over-long and convoluted for my taste. I think V for Vendetta is superior, but both are very good.

I agree that the genius of the original work largely lies in the acknowledgment that people who would put on costumes and fight crime are likely a bit "off" mentally, and exploring the implications of that. I also like that the characters defy easy "armchair diagnosis", Rorschach and the Comedian display certain sociopath like tendencies, but neither truly fits that diagnosis either, with Rorschach tipping more towards delusional and the Comedian being a brutal realist. Silk Spectre II and Night Owl II probably are the least damaged of the bunch, having been motivated by family pressure and hero worship respectively, but still are not what you'd call "normal" people by any stretch. Part of why I liked the movie so much was that it made these superficially unlikable characters sympathetic and realistic, even when the plot itself dealt with extraordinary events.

I read the graphic novel years ago, and was constantly waiting for the film since I was keeping up on the production blogs. I wasn't disappointed. Probably the reason I like it is because it brings a sense of motion to stuff that needed energy not available on the printed page(like the 1977 riots scene, that always should have been in motion), and the production design, it's just so freaking amazing! Also, the book was missing something whenever I read it that could make it feel more whole, and they didn't take advantage of the alternate history concept. There, I said it.

The comic is great for reasons that don't need to be said because they've been said a million times before. Reading it in the middle of the 90s as a teenager blew me away, and I still think it's the best comic ever written. As for the movie, I would have liked it more if it hadn't stuck so close to the book. They should have used David Hayter's original script that took place in the present and addressed present day issues. Keeping it in 1985 makes it almost irrelevant to today's world. Overall, though, it's pretty damn good, easily Zack Snyder's best work.

Love the graphic novel...read it almost a decade before the movie came out. I thought the movie was very good, though it falls just short of being as good as the graphic novel.

I like the books. I don't think they are the great comics they are made out to be. Movie was a good adaptation. I have watched it a couple of times and I enjoy the movie ending more than the book ending.

terrible movie, my attention deficit brain couldn't keep up. because it was a parallel universe i couldn't tell when it was the past or present and there were too many story lines. wow, just terrible.

one of the best graphic novels ever written. i loved Rorschachs chapter especially- that was just sick and doctor manhattans was good too. i liked the non linear view of time. it was one of those really good reads that just left you feeling meditative and satisfied after reading it. i just held it and sat and thought after i read the final page. i havent watched the film. i hear its a good reproduction in terms of detail but the changed ending worries me. and i think the comic in a comic bit was taken out too and turned into a separate cartoon. want to watch it just to see if it works.