Watchmen (Snyder, 2009) — The Reviews Thread

[scott1598]

Movie:
"Watchmen" (Starring: Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman)

Release Date:
3/06/2009

Rating:
R

Running Time:
163 min. (2h. 43m.)

Rotten Tomatoes Reviews:
Fresh:170 Rotten:96 (64% as of 7/14/09)
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/watchmen/

Info:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/

Trailer:


Poster Art:

[scott1598]

*Please continue pre-hype discussions in the already bustling threads:
Box Office Predictions
Zach Snyder Talks Watchmen

**Please do not post unless you have seen the movie or you have anything relevant to a review.

[notvandnobeer]

Got to see the film at an advance screening on Imax this past Friday at Wondercon. Dave Gibbons came out before the film and sort of introduced it, then he watched the movie with the rest of us. I personally loved the film and feel that it was extremely faithful and I was surprised how much Snyder actually got in there. I didn't mind the lack of the squid because the tone and meaning of the ending were there. Overall, no complaints from me because I can accept that this was an adaptation and not a replacement for the comic. One more thing, I heard some people complaining about Rorshach's voice as being to similar to Batman's voice in the Dark Knight. I say whatever to that. It didn't bother me in the Dark Knight and it didn't bother me with Watchmen. I thought Haley was fantastic and the end with him and Manhattan was incredible. I'm going to go see it again on Friday and encourage any fans of the comic to check it out.

[Solid Snake PAC]

So...in a comic book movie scale..where does it stand?

[Elpresidentepez]

I went to the same wondercon screening and I enjoyed the heck out of the flick. It was very faithful to the Graphic Novel, there were some minor changes and one major change (the squids not there get over it.) I gave it four and a half stars, but I probably should have given it four. My only complaint was while each scene was very close to the graphic novel they left out enough sequences that each character's arc felt rushed, and some. I'm looking forward to seeing it again this weekend. Like the novel I plan on revisiting it several times.

[Elpresidentepez]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake PAC

So...in a comic book movie scale..where does it stand?

Just from my sleepless convention haze, I would put it slightly below the Dark Knight. That might change after more thought. I think the director's cut could place it far above TDK.

edit: I could also be in a Phantom Menace type of denial...but my heart says no.

[Solid Snake PAC]

wow.

[Suprmallet]

I will post my thoughts after I see it tomorrow night.

[notvandnobeer]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake PAC

So...in a comic book movie scale..where does it stand?

I will probably have a better feeling for where it stands after I see it again on Friday, but I put it just below Dark Knight which is my favorite comic book movie. To be fair though, Watchmen has a few things working against it compared to Dark Knight. Since Watchmen is an adaptation of an actual story, I already knew the story and what was going to happen, so there were no real surprises. Dark Knight was certainly influenced by different Batman stories, but was an original story. Plus, Heath Ledger's Joker was the best performance I've ever seen in a comic book movie. This is in no way a slight on Watchmen because it was still damn exciting watching it play out.

[Damed]

The so called "top critics" over at RT who have seen it (all 4 of them) agree.

They don't like it.


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/watc...itic=creamcrop

[scott1598]

Originally Posted by Damed

The so called "top critics" over at RT who have seen it (all 4 of them) agree.

They don't like it.


http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/watc...itic=creamcrop

'dan30oly' must be lumped in with these guys as well, since he apparently saw it and gave it 0 stars. would love to know his thoughts...

[The O]

I will say this about the film: Jackie Earle Haley deserves award consideration as Rorschach. He's terrific.

[Bill Gibron]

Originally Posted by The O

I will say this about the film: Jackie Earle Haley deserves award consideration as Rorschach. He's terrific.

Ditto.



BILL

[jjcool]

Originally Posted by scott1598

'dan30oly' & 'jjcool' must be lumped in with these guys as well, since they apparently have seen it and gave it 0 stars. would love to know their thoughts...

Saw it, and just didnt like it. It was as simple as that.
Who gave it 4.5 stars and why?

[scott1598]

Originally Posted by jjcool

Saw it, and just didnt like it. It was as simple as that.
Who gave it 4.5 stars and why?

k. the others posted in this thread with their views.

[jjcool]

Originally Posted by scott1598

k. the others posted in this thread with their views.

I see that others have posted their opinions, but who specifically voted 4.5 stars? I only ask, because you saw fit to post the names of the people that voted 0.

[Eric F]

Yeah, like Gibbons is going to say he dislikes the movie, especially in front of an audience. Not...gonnna...happen.

In any event, if this movie is anywhere near as good as Spidey 2 and TDK, then it will be something amazing.

Lastly, let's keep this thread spoiler free.

[maxfisher]

Originally Posted by jjcool

I see that others have posted their opinions, but who specifically voted 4.5 stars? I only ask, because you saw fit to post the names of the people that voted 0.

Bill Gibron and Elpresidentepez voted 4.5, but you could've seen that yourself. So what elements of the film were so horrible to merit a 0?

[jjcool]

Originally Posted by maxfisher

Bill Gibron and Elpresidentepez voted 4.5, but you could've seen that yourself. So what elements of the film were so horrible to merit a 0?

Do you really want a big old thread crap?

[Navinabob]

Some people will like the movie, some will not. I put a little bit more merit in reviewers from certain print magazines and newspapers over the guys at Rotten Tomato due to the fact that the guys at New Yorker probably have an education in film and not just a computer in their mom's garage.

With that said I'll follow a few guys on AICN and trust their opinion because the movies they really liked I had as well, I find that much more relevant then say "MrRobot453" views. Perhaps we should name the last 5 movies we saw and loved and then grade Watchmen. That way if MrRobot453 gives Watchmen an D+ and gave an A to Media Goes to Anything and Paul Blart Mall Cop I'll know that I have nothing in common with that person's opinion and can then discard it.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by jjcool

Do you really want a big old thread crap?

I think just expounding on your review a little bit won't be taken as a threadcrap. This is a review thread after all. Good AND Bad. I'm curious as well to think what posters here think about the movie.

[scott1598]

Originally Posted by jjcool

Do you really want a big old thread crap?

expressing your negative opinion about a movie you saw is not in anyway a threadcrap, i don't think. reviews threads will have varying opinions across the board. from the very much like to the very much dislike. expressing reasonable opinions either way is what it is all about and most are interested in all the different views.

[jjcool]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

I think just expounding on your review a little bit won't be taken as a threadcrap. This is a review thread after all. Good AND Bad. I'm curious as well to think what posters here think about the movie.

I will try to be as spoiler free as I can here.
Probably the biggest problem that I had with the film was that I hadn't read the comic beforehand. Going into the film I wasn't a fan, and I definitely didnt come out a fan. My guess is that, from reading a couple reviews online, is that if you were a fan of the book you are gonna love the film. Maybe if I had read the comic beforehand, I wouldnt have found alot of what happens in the film to be just off the wall weird. Going into it, I thought I was a comic book movie fan. X-men, spiderman, superman, Ironman, etc. In fact I thought two of the best films last year were The Dark Knight and Ironman, but this was not at all what I was expecting. It isn't your typical Hollywood comic book movie, and for fans of the comic, that is great. But for non-fans, like me, it leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. I have a feeling that this film is going to be huge in its first week, but fall off very rapidly. You need to be a fan of the book to enjoy and fully understand the movie. Alot of backstory that left me saying "huh?" and "what the hell just happened".
Where to start with the acting. Lets start with the good. Jackie Earle Hailey was good. His performance as Rorshach was top notch. You could really tell what was driving him. He almost seemed to be like Batman taken to an extreme.
The Bad: Not necessarily "bad" per se, just not as good as I would have liked. Most of the other main actors. Just didn't seem that believable to me. I know, it's a movie and I should suspend disbelief, but even with that suspension most of the other actors seemed a bit off. Almost like they were trying too hard. I so wanted to be able to say that Jeffrey Dean Morgan rocked this, as he does indeed rock as Big Daddy Winchester, but alas, even his performance fell flat.
The ugly: Malin Akerman. She isnt exactly ugly, but her acting definitely was. At times she was wooden and stiff, and at other times it seemed to me that she was reading off of cue cards. She was definitely the weakest link in this ensemble.

The effects and whatnot. After 300, I was expecting alot more from Zack Snyder. This didnt deliver. I was going into a comic book movie expecting lots of action, and, sure there was some, but the action sequences seemed weak at best. The overall backgrounds, which I assume were mostly (all?) CGI, were way too dark at parts. I addition, some of the effects seemed way too comic booky for the film. Maybe I saw a bad print, or the guy running the theater fucked up. I dont know.

Summing it all up, I left the theater very dissappointed in the film. I think that is going to be a common sentiment amongst viewers that have not read the comic. I am curious to see what more of the diehard fans of the original source material have to say.

[edstein]

^^^ Excellent review. I have yet to see the movie but a few of reviews I have read seem similar to the post above. If your a fan of the comic you'll love the movie. Otherwise it falls short. I'd still like to see the movie but I'll wait a week after the first weekend crowd dies down.

[jjcool]

Originally Posted by edstein

^^^ Excellent review. I have yet to see the movie but a few of reviews I have read seem similar to the post above. If your a fan of the comic you'll love the movie. Otherwise it falls short. I'd still like to see the movie but I'll wait a week after the first weekend crowd dies down.

I have the feeling that the crowd is going to die down pretty quick, as this seems like a pretty genre specific film. I'm curious to see a view from the other end of the spectrum though.