Monday
Mar302009
Who watches the Watchmen - well me
Monday, March 30, 2009 at 11:02PM
Watchmen blew my mind.
I had been looking forward to the film, I had read the reviews, seen the costumes and was excited, In the past I had read the graphic novels and enjoyed them and had high hopes for the film. I was not disappointed
As far as the comic book films go this is definitely grown up fair. It does not mince its words and it paints a harsh picture of fame and its consequences and how power is perceived, It even asks the question of what would a higher power do if it came to earth and looked at the way we behaved. Set in a cold war America the film looks at what could happen if there really were Capes among us
There are some really interesting parallels at play when you look at the film and todays society. With the rise of reality TV we are making Joe Public famous and then taking delight in watching things fall about their ears. You don't have to look to far to see the parallel here. We even have the question of who looks over those who look over us. Who will be there if those the say they will protect us turn out to not be doing their job?
Aside from the more moral aspects and questions it is a really pretty film. The imagery, special effects and costumes work really well and I was blown away by the aging makeup. Seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan made up to look in his late 50's was amazing and it was far better than I thought it could be.
While it is a long film, at just over 3 hours, a remarkable amount is crammed into it. The first 15 - 20 minutes could be a film in and off its self let alone what happens throughout the remainder and the masterful use of a soundtrack of well known tunes helps guide you to where we are in the film when the plot really starts.
Another thing that I was very impressed with was the way that they managed to age the characters up. Jeffrey Dean Morgan in particular was aged very well and it was hard to see where he was made up and where it was his real facial features. This was also the case for the other characters but it was most noticeable on Morgan.
I know that there have been a lot of people who were not happy with the end of the film because it was different from what was seen in the graphic novels. Personally I thought that the end of the film worked really well and while it was different it did not detract from the the overall film experience.
All in all I would have to say that it is one of the most enjoyable superhero films that I have seen in a very long time. If you are wanting to see something that is about folks flying about while saving the world and looking cute then this is not the film for you. If you are happy with a gritty film that is more about the psyche of the characters and their flaws as people then this could be it for you.
I had been looking forward to the film, I had read the reviews, seen the costumes and was excited, In the past I had read the graphic novels and enjoyed them and had high hopes for the film. I was not disappointed
As far as the comic book films go this is definitely grown up fair. It does not mince its words and it paints a harsh picture of fame and its consequences and how power is perceived, It even asks the question of what would a higher power do if it came to earth and looked at the way we behaved. Set in a cold war America the film looks at what could happen if there really were Capes among us
There are some really interesting parallels at play when you look at the film and todays society. With the rise of reality TV we are making Joe Public famous and then taking delight in watching things fall about their ears. You don't have to look to far to see the parallel here. We even have the question of who looks over those who look over us. Who will be there if those the say they will protect us turn out to not be doing their job?
Aside from the more moral aspects and questions it is a really pretty film. The imagery, special effects and costumes work really well and I was blown away by the aging makeup. Seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan made up to look in his late 50's was amazing and it was far better than I thought it could be.
While it is a long film, at just over 3 hours, a remarkable amount is crammed into it. The first 15 - 20 minutes could be a film in and off its self let alone what happens throughout the remainder and the masterful use of a soundtrack of well known tunes helps guide you to where we are in the film when the plot really starts.
Another thing that I was very impressed with was the way that they managed to age the characters up. Jeffrey Dean Morgan in particular was aged very well and it was hard to see where he was made up and where it was his real facial features. This was also the case for the other characters but it was most noticeable on Morgan.
I know that there have been a lot of people who were not happy with the end of the film because it was different from what was seen in the graphic novels. Personally I thought that the end of the film worked really well and while it was different it did not detract from the the overall film experience.
All in all I would have to say that it is one of the most enjoyable superhero films that I have seen in a very long time. If you are wanting to see something that is about folks flying about while saving the world and looking cute then this is not the film for you. If you are happy with a gritty film that is more about the psyche of the characters and their flaws as people then this could be it for you.
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