I'm glad you guys liked it, but don't argue that it was unassailably perfect, because it certainly wasn't that.

And yeah dude, I miss LOST. The LOST TB made it back into the Top Ten this weekend, which was extremely dead, bc LOST made it up there with a whopping 7 new posts.

However, the acting didn't help at all. Akerman was flat and uninteresting. Goode made a warm, complex character into a two-dimensional villain. Haley was not given the emotional beats Rorschach had in the comic; though he arguably was the best actor in the bunch, he had little to work with beyond a stereotypical psychopathology. Morgan took it over the top even in quieter moments, chewing his cigar and pulling faces rather than showing us the fear behind Blake's bluster (though the Vietnam scene wasn't bad). Wilson's problem is the problem Dreiberg faces in the comic - he is provided with no backstory and must force us to sympathize with him via just a few brief moments. The sex scene, one of those moments, was laughable and cost Wilson and the character a goodwill that Dreiberg gains in the comic at that point. He's also harmed by the ending, where he sees Rorschach's death and beats on Veidt. It's a naive thing to do, and Dan, while a romantic, is not naive.

For me, these flaws in both the writing and the performance of the primary roles hurt the film irreparably. Of course, I'm of the opinion that no "Watchmen" film could have worked. Time was its deadliest enemy. That it was designed to work in comics, that it was a work of graphic storytelling, that it played with the conventions of the superhero within the form itself, was the second enemy. It's like filming a stage performance. It always looks weird and artificial.

I'll even disagree with people that say it's all about the characters. It's not. It's about the genre and its conventions. You can even say it purposely has flat characters, since superheroes from the 40-60s typically have very dry. Hell, the entire DC universe is made up of one-note personalities.

I'll give Snyder a bit of credit, though. He did his best. If you try to inject the characters with too much personality, it no longer is accurate to its source material. I find his Dr. Manhattan origin sequence more compelling than the comics. It's actually the highlight in the movie.

But both versions of the story are dry. I could give a damn about any of the events, since I don't give a damn about any of the characters.

For the nimrod that thinks that the original Dawn of the Dead's only social commentary was the appearance of shopper zombies...you obviously didn't see the movie. Or at least weren't intelligent enough to understand it. The main characters are the social commentary. They're holed up in a center of consumerism. They go to great pains to make it their home. But it's all for naught. There's a great sequence of them growing comfortable there. They want to defend it from other people. But soon, they realize it's not enough. Having all your material needs at your fingertips doesn't lead to a complete life. They have to leave the mall and risk having a more complete life outside of its walls.

Snyder took this entire concept and flushed it down the toilet. He didn't fill the movie with believable characters. Not one of them is believable. They're one-note and make nonsensical decisions. Instead of developing the characters he has, he just introduces more paper thin characters half-way through. The only inspiration he brought is separating the gun shop and putting it in a different building. Although this was probably more to do with the fact that gun stores aren't in malls anymore.

Okay, I'm done.

http://tinyurl.com/6bz3rh

Of course, a mini series would have been a more realistic way of telling the story, but I think people are missing the point here regarding converting a lengthy GN to film.

I think this film will gain more respect over time, just like Blade Runner. Not that I'm comparing the two.

But I will say that, as this summer has progressed, Watchmen hasn't dropped out of my top 3 of the year. Seriously, is this not the worst summer for movies ever?

First, I am no white knight. You want a white knight, go to the ScriptGirl talkbacks and talk to Chromedome, JNR, and JTC. I never defended BobOrci, I merely called out the asshole Talkbackers who were engaging in dick behavior. YOU were never named in that group, and I even told you (after you got upset) that I wasn't referring to you. But for some reason, it appears you have still managed to take offense to it, otherwise you wouldn't be so angry...

Also, regarding this Snyder cameo, what's the big deal? You're accusing him of being egotistical and yet you say its different from a Hitchcock or a Jackson cameo where you can clearly tell its them... yeah, what's more egotistical here, putting yourself out in the open, making it obvious to the viewer that you, the director, is now in the frame... or hiding yourself in some dark corner where they'd never see you? You might want to consult a dictionary and recheck the meaning of the word.

And so what if he pointed out his cameo (Which I suspect was merely a joke anyway)? That means dick. He's just having fun with his commentary, pointing things out to the audience that they would never know otherwise... which is sort of the point of a commentary, is it not? Why get so agitated over that?

Now look, you can get upset and start cursing at me (again), like I'm sure you're going to do, but really, what's the point? Do you really want to be an asshole? Just take a deep breath, step back from the computer, and look at what we're arguing about here.

And finally, I know lots of Professionals, I've worked with many Professionals, and you sir, are no Professional.

Retard.

i understand i sound like a hater in the transformers forums... but jesus grow some fucking perspective. Giant robots and explosions with audiance enjoyment, including laughter and clapping - vs dark brooding ugly with audiance walking out in discust at the unfriendliness of it all.

what is going on here with this site lately? it all started around the time Xmen came along

Enjoy your time here at AICN. I'll continue to call out douchebags when I see them, and if we meet in another TB, we might just have something to agree upon. TTFN.

The novel did two things exceptionally well that the movie didn't: the novel NEVER called them "Watchmen," as that's a blanket term for ANYONE with power - costumed adventurers, police, the army, the President, the United States. By calling the "superhero team" "Watchmen," Snyder marginalized the entire point of "who watches the watchmen?"

Next, replacing the alien invasion with bombing cities and blaming it on Manhattan? Dumb. Why? Look at the novel - there are PAGES full of twisted corpses, blood, gore, etc. And it's inferred that those who DIDN'T die will be insane or tormented FOREVER. In the movie, you see nothing - except a smoldering hole where the city was. Horror? What horror? Where's the VISCERAL impact of the event?

So, I loved the movie and have pre-ordered the Blu-Ray - but I enjoyed it as a well-made movie, not an accurate representation of the novel.

And for the love of God don't compare this to 9/11. We're talking about a MOVIE, not a real event. A MOVIE is SUPPOSED to manipulate you into feeling something - and in this particular instance Snyder dropped the ball. Seeing an empty hole evokes NO revulsion or horror - especially when it's preempted by 180 minutes of violence simply for violence's sake. THAT moment was the money shot of the movie, period. Don't believe me? Watch the first eight minutes of "Private Ryan," a masterful piece of direction that DID take a real event and horrify us with the results.

Also, minimizing "Watchmen" (the umbrella theme of the piece) means you minimize the entire novel AND movie. "Watchmen" wasn't some hip and slick "team name." It was a theme and a word that evoked a pretty serious cautionary tale. Snyder forced the "neat team name" on the public to make it more palatable. For shame.

Finally, you'd best re-read my first post. As a movie I enjoyed it - thought it was a quality piece of work and extremely well made. Your problem is you're so invested in the thing you can't recognize any sort of critique. A shame, really, but regardless, I have the Blu-Ray on pre-order, and will enjoy watching a well-made movie when it arrives - just not a well-made Watchmen movie.