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CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
Zack Snyder Turns ‘Watchmen’ Into Loud, Disjointed, Brutal Mess
Submitted by BrianTT on March 6, 2009 - 12:29pm
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Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Watchmen” review.
‘Watchmen’ stars Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Matthew Goode, and Patrick Wilson. ‘Watchmen,’ which was written by David Hayter & Alex Tse and directed by Zack Snyder, opens on March 6th, 2009. It is rated R.
Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach.
Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
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 Rating: 2.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – For years, fans of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s masterful and influential “Watchmen” have been waiting for a filmmaker willing to faithfully and slavishly adapt their favorite graphic novel. Well, we got what we wanted in Zack Snyder’s frame-copying vision of this legendary book, but as someone once said - You should be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.
Snyder’s take on “Watchmen” is like a karaoke singer who hits most of the notes but doesn’t understand the lyrics to the song. The filmmaker has recreated a majority of the panels from his source material, but he’s compiled them in such a way that makes for a brutal, disjointed, misguided experience.
| Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Watchmen” in our reviews section. |
There are enough good ideas in the original that people unfamiliar with it and still refusing to read it may have something to talk about after seeing “Watchmen” but those elements that work are in spite of the people who made this film, not because of them. Except for a few strong performances (balanced out by a few awful ones) and the strength of the ideas at the core of “Watchmen,” the film is a complete disaster, one of the biggest disappointments of the last several years.
The opening credits to “Watchmen” arguably make up the most effective sequence in the film. Set to “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” Snyder introduces us to his alternate universe, one in which masked crusaders have come and gone and Richard Nixon is still President in 1985. The world is on the edge of nuclear armageddon as the U.S. and U.S.S.R. have their nuclear weapons pointed at each other, held back from launching them by the existence of a God-like figure named Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup).
Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Watchmen” review.Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II, Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach.
Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
More disappointing than Da Vinci Code?
If you read the graphic novel, you will be very disappointed in this film. The film makers basically took images and sentences directly from the novel. I was expecting an adaptation of sorts…creativity was lacking indeed.
If you didn’t read the novel and saw the film, I feel sorry for you. You were probably left asking a lot of questions and I can’t blame you.
The novel had excellent character development and was always building towards a climax. In contrast, the film glazes over important details and reveals a very anticlimactic finale.
If you have read the novel, don’t watch this film.
BrianTT was bang-on in his review. Cheers!
Watchmen movie
Watchmen is none of the above. Its certainly anything but disjointed and in fact the films cohesiveness is one of the things that took me by surprise. If youve got a very short attention span then dont go see it. Most critics seem be suffering a degradation of their attention spans which is probably caused by a life spent sitting through the latest dumbed down hollywood junk. Ive seen the film twice and it is not disjointed at all.In fact, Snyder did a great job of weaving the whole experience together even if it does lag briefly at times. I think the real problem is that the critics just dont know what to think of the film.
Malin Akerman nude in 'Watchmen,' topless in Maxim
Malin Akerman nude in “Watchmen” and topless in Maxim: see the new Malin Akerman shots in Maxim here.
I don't think he watched it past the credit sequence.
For what that source material was, I felt the story was fantastically well connected, even though (and fans of the novel will notice this more) the middle was a little shortened and muddled than what was in the comic book. Certain themes were omitted but nothing important. For those new to the Watchmen universe, it was one hell of a ride through this alternate time-line. I saw it with five friends who never heard of the Watchmen until this year and they all loved it. To take such a complex story and condense it to just over two-and-a-half hours, and keep an audience fresh to the material enthralled, took skillful camera work and writing. Celluloid storytelling at its finest.
Now, to flame Brian TT. Clearly, he didn’t watch the movie, or if he did, didn’t pay attention. And if he paid attention, it was just over his head. If all this guy saw was loud, messy, and disjointed film, then that’s what he went in to it expecting to see. This was a review written as fast as possible to get it out to public and generate hits on his site. Don’t listen to this guy, or anyone else for that matter. Watch it first and form your own opinion and debate later. Really, if your unsure about this one, get the Alan Moore novel at your local library. The movie stays pretty true to it both visually and story wise.
Oy vey..
I guess the story was a little to advanced for you. Sorry if there aren’t 50 explosions and 20 high speed chases in Watchmen, it’s not that kind of story. Your review sounds like what a 10 year old boy would say “It sucked dude. They talked way too much..Seeing that chicks boob was cool though”! Your review is crap, the movie was excellent, get over yourself.
WATCHMEN Review - I waited in line for this????
First of all let me start by saying that I’ve never read the graphic novel so I’m not going to comment on how good/bad the film stayed true to its original format.
However, after spending 3 hours in the theater I walked out wondering what the heck was that? The complicated and confusing plot/subplot lines make absolutely no sense. LOST is easier to follow (and I love that show).
The movies does at times have it’s moments. Artistically the angles, slo-mos and 360 degree effects make it look like a comic book which I found interesting to watch making it appear like a live action comic but I found the characters one dimensional, uninteresting and at time cheesy.
None of it makes any sense, every day people with no superpowers who put on silly costumes and become vigilanties to fight crime. Batman is much better. It’s so bad that two of the characters Night Owl II and Silk Specter II can’t even come up with original names I mean COME ON.
However, there is also a lot of steamy sex and nudity. SPOIL ALERT!!!! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED.
First Dr. Manhattan clones himself several times so he can “pleasure” Silk Specter II while he continues his experiment in the other room. When she opens her eyes and sees what’s going, she confronts him. He says that he was concentrating on her the entire time (yeah right) then she storms out.
Late Night Owl II gets it on with Silk Specter II in “Archie” as they hover open the city. She’s so anxious for a “real man” that she doesn’t even stop to take off her hip high boots.
During the last half of the movie, we are forced to watch Dr. Manhattan walk around naked showing off his glowing blue “member” (can you say toxic rocket?)
Unless you are a die-hard fan of the novel, on a scale of full price, matinee price or rental, I’d have to go with rental. Stay home save your money and wait for it to come to Red Box for a $1.
Superficial much?
You really really did not get it. On top of that you’re not even mature enough to handle a flaccid penis. Get over it, men have penises. Let the adults do the reviewing.
Best Review I've read of this steaming coil
” Snyder’s take on “Watchmen” is like a karaoke singer who hits most of the notes but doesn’t understand the lyrics to the song. ”
Brilliant summation, couldn’t have put it better.
Have loved this book for twenty years, Snyder and Hayter simply don’t understand it.
” the film is a complete disaster, one of the biggest disappointments of the last several years. ”
And then some.
Except for J. L. Haley, it would be Ralph Bakshi’s ‘Lord of the Rings’.
Oh well better luck next time.