For years, people thought that Watchmen would never be made into a movie. The story is very layered and takes place over a span of 40 years. Not only that, but half the story is told in flashbacks; the main narrative takes place in 1985, but the events leading up to the main story are just as important as the plot itself. Furthermore, superheroes were seen as a children's genre for a long time, but Watchmen is an adult story through and through. But with the success of The Dark Knight, which proved that superhero movies could be deep, and 300, which proved that R-rated comic book movies could be successful, Warner Bros. realized that the time had finally come for a film adaptation of Watchmen.
For the most part, the movie is extremely faithful to the book. The biggest change (as opposed to omission) is the ending, which stays true to the theme of what happened (to a degree anyway; there was an interesting article on Ain't It Cool News about why the changed ending isn't as thematically similar as it appears to be, but I can't seem to find it). There are omissions, because there is only so much of the 12-issue story that can be crammed into (almost) 3 hours. Most of the details of the original Minutemen were excised, some of the details of Nite Owl II's and Silk Spectre II's backstory were cut, and the "Tales of the Black Freighter" story was cut entirely. Although "Freighter" seems superfluous on its face, its deeper meaning and relevance to the "villain's" plan takes away some of the "villain's" sympathy.
Speaking of which, the portrayal of the "villain" was, sadly, not as impressive as a few of the cast members. The actor seemed to give off a sense of menace as opposed to... well, I can't say, but he/she didn't really strike the right tones. For the most part, the actors all did great jobs in their characters (especially Jackey Earle Haley as Rorschach), but there were a few weak links. I shouldn't go too far into this in order to avoid giving away various identities, but I was happy overall with the performances.
Watchmen wasn't a perfect adaptation, but it was still a commendable job. I'd say my biggest pet peeve is that Zack Snyder needs to lay off the slow motion, so at least it had nothing to do with the story. I still think that a miniseries would have worked better, but what we got was definitely a lot better than it could have been (especially based on previous versions of the script).
Up next: The end...
Showing posts with label Alan Moore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Moore. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Watchmen: There Are No Heroes Here
It is very hard to call Watchmen a superhero story because few, if any, of the main characters are "heroes", and only one of them is "super". The story takes place in an alternate 1985 (the 1985A timeline in Back to the Future Part II has a great reference to one of the alternate aspects), which has been affected by the presence of costumed crimefighters. The epic storyline reaches back to the 1930s, and examines the rise of masked vigilantes, a group of people who were inspired by superhero comics to put on gaudy outfits and fight crime outside the law. By the 70s, the public had come to revile their "heroes", and by the time of the present-day narrative, costumed crimefighters have been made illegal by an act of Congress. The story is one that uses adults in an adult world to examine adult themes, which had been pretty much unheard of in the superhero genre.
Moore wanted to examine what the world would be like if we actually had people running around stopping criminals while wearing tights. Although there is some over-the-top violence (in the sense that it likely could not happen in real life, but not over-the-top in the same sense as the movie adaptation), the characters are (almost) all human, and they cannot rely on superpowers to save them. Some of the heroes are in peak physical condition, and others have near-genius levels of intellect, but all of them could conceivably be found in our world as well. With one exception, that is. One character, Dr. Manhattan, AKA Jonathan Osterman, had the obligatory superhero "tragic accident" that turned him from man to superman. And I chose that term for a reason; Moore specifically used Manhattan as a Superman analogue. The difference between the two is that Superman is basically the world's most powerful boy scout while Manhattan is completely detatched from humanity. Moore posited that someone with godlike powers probably wouldn't be able to comprehend humanity. Granted, Manhattan is probably slightly more "godlike" than Superman, but both of them are indestructible, superstrong, and nearly omnipresent. Things that are potentially enormous problems for a human are meaningless to someone like Superman or Dr. Manhattan. What's more, the American government treats Manhattan like a weapon, which probably doesn't help his sense of humanity.
Dr. Manhattan may be the only character with superpowers, but he certainly isn't the only one with issues. Like real people, the members of the Crimebusters (the superteam that the six main characters belonged to for a short time) all have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Comedian/Edward Blake is very good at stopping crime, due to his powerful physique and love for violence, but these two things also put him in the criminal category at times (sometimes objectively, such as when he attempted to rape another costumed crimefighter, and sometimes subjectively, such as his activities in the Vietnam War). He is basically a bully who found a way to continue his love of beating up and degrading people he doesn't like. When the Keene Act passed, there was a loophole allowing former vigilantes to continue their work by doing it for the government. The Comedian didn't want to give up hurting people for a living, and under a conservative political administration, he was able to fight for values he believed in.
Rorschach/Walter Kovacs is another ultra-conservative Crimebuster who chose to continue his work after the Keene Act passed. However, he did not go to work for the government, so he is a criminal under the law (although he doesn't see himself this way; he can't, otherwise he would have to take his own life). Like the psychological tests he gets his name from, everything is black and white to Rorschach. He believes in moral absolutes and people are either good or bad. Good people need protection and bad people need to be punished. However, he believes every criminal deserves equal punishment, no matter what their crime is. For all intents and purposes, Rorschach is mentally unstable, but he is still able to discern the "innocent" from the "guilty". Then again, his definitions of those two words are nowhere near the definitons of a reasonable person.
On the other side of the political spectrum is Ozymandias/Adrien Veidt, who is probably the second-closest character to actually having superpowers. He is billed as the world's smartest man, and likely its strongest. He is in peak physical condition, extremely agile, and has an off-the-charts IQ. He became a masked crimefighter in order to make the world a better place. He ultimately gave up vigilantism because he felt he could do more as a buisnessman and philanthropist. However, these same strengths feed into his weaknesses. He is reluctant to see other people's points of view because he puts so much stock in his own. And he believes that the world can be helped in one fell swoop instead of a little aid at a time, due to his ability to rationalize.
Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg and Silk Spectre/Laurie Juspeczyk are both "second-generation" crimefighters. Each one took up the mantle of their aliases from their originators; Dreiberg took over from a man he admired while Juspeczyk inherited the title from her mother. Dreiberg voluntarily became Nite Owl in order to feel special and important; as a man, Dreiberg is meek and impotent, but as Nite Owl, he can make a difference in people's lives. Juspeczyk on the other hand was forced into her life as Silk Spectre because her mother had trouble giving up the glory days (Incredibles reference!), which has caused Laurie to resent her mother. These two are probably the most "heroic" characters in the book because they legitimately want to help people as individuals, as opposed to wanting to help the world or punish criminals. But that doesn't mean they aren't flawed.
Up next: Did I fall asleep?...
Moore wanted to examine what the world would be like if we actually had people running around stopping criminals while wearing tights. Although there is some over-the-top violence (in the sense that it likely could not happen in real life, but not over-the-top in the same sense as the movie adaptation), the characters are (almost) all human, and they cannot rely on superpowers to save them. Some of the heroes are in peak physical condition, and others have near-genius levels of intellect, but all of them could conceivably be found in our world as well. With one exception, that is. One character, Dr. Manhattan, AKA Jonathan Osterman, had the obligatory superhero "tragic accident" that turned him from man to superman. And I chose that term for a reason; Moore specifically used Manhattan as a Superman analogue. The difference between the two is that Superman is basically the world's most powerful boy scout while Manhattan is completely detatched from humanity. Moore posited that someone with godlike powers probably wouldn't be able to comprehend humanity. Granted, Manhattan is probably slightly more "godlike" than Superman, but both of them are indestructible, superstrong, and nearly omnipresent. Things that are potentially enormous problems for a human are meaningless to someone like Superman or Dr. Manhattan. What's more, the American government treats Manhattan like a weapon, which probably doesn't help his sense of humanity.
Dr. Manhattan may be the only character with superpowers, but he certainly isn't the only one with issues. Like real people, the members of the Crimebusters (the superteam that the six main characters belonged to for a short time) all have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Comedian/Edward Blake is very good at stopping crime, due to his powerful physique and love for violence, but these two things also put him in the criminal category at times (sometimes objectively, such as when he attempted to rape another costumed crimefighter, and sometimes subjectively, such as his activities in the Vietnam War). He is basically a bully who found a way to continue his love of beating up and degrading people he doesn't like. When the Keene Act passed, there was a loophole allowing former vigilantes to continue their work by doing it for the government. The Comedian didn't want to give up hurting people for a living, and under a conservative political administration, he was able to fight for values he believed in.
Rorschach/Walter Kovacs is another ultra-conservative Crimebuster who chose to continue his work after the Keene Act passed. However, he did not go to work for the government, so he is a criminal under the law (although he doesn't see himself this way; he can't, otherwise he would have to take his own life). Like the psychological tests he gets his name from, everything is black and white to Rorschach. He believes in moral absolutes and people are either good or bad. Good people need protection and bad people need to be punished. However, he believes every criminal deserves equal punishment, no matter what their crime is. For all intents and purposes, Rorschach is mentally unstable, but he is still able to discern the "innocent" from the "guilty". Then again, his definitions of those two words are nowhere near the definitons of a reasonable person.
On the other side of the political spectrum is Ozymandias/Adrien Veidt, who is probably the second-closest character to actually having superpowers. He is billed as the world's smartest man, and likely its strongest. He is in peak physical condition, extremely agile, and has an off-the-charts IQ. He became a masked crimefighter in order to make the world a better place. He ultimately gave up vigilantism because he felt he could do more as a buisnessman and philanthropist. However, these same strengths feed into his weaknesses. He is reluctant to see other people's points of view because he puts so much stock in his own. And he believes that the world can be helped in one fell swoop instead of a little aid at a time, due to his ability to rationalize.
Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg and Silk Spectre/Laurie Juspeczyk are both "second-generation" crimefighters. Each one took up the mantle of their aliases from their originators; Dreiberg took over from a man he admired while Juspeczyk inherited the title from her mother. Dreiberg voluntarily became Nite Owl in order to feel special and important; as a man, Dreiberg is meek and impotent, but as Nite Owl, he can make a difference in people's lives. Juspeczyk on the other hand was forced into her life as Silk Spectre because her mother had trouble giving up the glory days (Incredibles reference!), which has caused Laurie to resent her mother. These two are probably the most "heroic" characters in the book because they legitimately want to help people as individuals, as opposed to wanting to help the world or punish criminals. But that doesn't mean they aren't flawed.
Up next: Did I fall asleep?...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Watchmen: Legal Troubles
I try to keep my posts fairly neutral when it comes to politics and stuff like that. The Other Worlds exists to showcase films, television shows, and books to people who may be unfamiliar with them. Furthermore, there are plenty of other people on the internets who have been putting their two cents in on this subject, and normally, I wouldn't feel like it was my business throwing mine in as well. However, I have a perspective on the whole issue that I have not yet seen in any other entries, so I thought that I would share.
For those of you who don't know, there has been a legal battle regarding the movie rights to Watchmen. 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights the comic book many years ago, but never made the movie. I do not pretend to know why. Maybe they tried and never got a script they liked (unlikely though, because they could have an awful script, and people would still turn up to see it). I'm not sure exactly when Fox got the rights, but it has been at least 15 years. Anyway, Warner Brothers finally made the movie themselves (they likely have some kind of rights to the property, because Warners owns DC Comics, which published Watchmen). And then, with about half a year until the film was to be released, Fox sued Warner Brothers for their copyright interest in the film. A few days ago, this happened: a federal judge ruled for Fox. Fox now has some distribution rights, and will likely use them to earn a shit-ton of money from the movie's box office receipts. Even though they did absolutely no work.
As many of you know, I am currently in law school, and I recently completed my first semester. One concept we learned about was laches. Basically, laches prevents someone with a legitimate interest in something from making a legal claim for that interest if they allow too much time to pass. The example given in my handy dandy legal dictionary goes something like this (certain details have been changed for comic effect):
Let's say someone owns a piece of property. We'll call him Rupert. Along comes a builder. We'll call him Zach. Zach believes that he has the right to construct a building on Rupert's property. Rupert says nothing. Zach completes the building and wants to rent out the space to a group of watch makers. Rupert sues for ownership of the land and demands all revenue from the watch makers. According to my dictionary, there are not one, but TWO reasons why Rupert should shove his claim up his ass. First, he knew of the construction, and waited until it would benefit him, and second, he will benefit at Zach's expense. Keep in mind that I am just a lowly first year law student, and there is likely much more at play, but this laches arguments seems pretty solid to me.
Up next: Enter Sandman...
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