If the ending is EXACTLY the same...

[ShadowBoxing]

Do you think the general public will understand it/appreciate it? Or do you think this movie would end up being one only a select few, comic book fans notwithstanding, could appreciate?

I kind of wonder myself. Alan Moore's Watchman ending is very...complicated...since it relies on a subplot and also is a commentary on comic books in a lot of ways, as is much of the comic. I read Watchmen a long while ago, and have been meaning to reread it, but I remember my friends, that I loaned it to, didn't really "get it". They liked it, some of them, they just...ah...missed the boat.

So, just so we're clear, this is not a debate about how faithful this movie will or won't be, it's a debate about whether being faithful would work for a mass audience.

For the record, I couldn't give a flying f*** what the general audience would think...

 

[Katsuro]

Hmm, tough to say. Which part are you specifically referring to that they might not get? The general concept of Veidt taking out New York to prevent a war, or the squid itself?

I can see the squid being seen as kinda silly and hokey, but I think (hope) people will appreciate the idea behind the ending, and what it all meant. I hope it'll spark interesting thoughts about whether what he did was right or wrong. Because that's kinda the point of the ending, to me. You don't have to agree with what he did to like the book, it's supposed to make you think.

And even those who don't like the ending might possibly appreciate the movie for other reasons. There are so many facets to the story, i think it'll get all kinds of people to like it. Some people might even just like it cuz they think Rorschach's a badass.

 

[CaptainGenerica]

Some people might even just like it cuz they think Rorschach's a badass.

That and the pure hawtness of Doctor Manhattan.

Am I right?

 

[MaskedManJRK]

I honestly don't see how it's complicated: the "heroes" of the story have to allow the "villain" to get away with his genocide in order to keep world peace. I think the main problem, though, will be people not wanting what some would call "escapist entertainment" to end like that.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Hmm, tough to say. Which part are you specifically referring to that they might not get? The general concept of Veidt taking out New York to prevent a war, or the squid itself?

I was referring more to the space squid, but also the villain being allowed the live.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

It's no more complicated than terminator 3

i.e. Arnie not wanting to stop judgement day and allowing it to happen in order to save john conner so the future had some hope. They/John Conner of the future programmed a terminator to not stop judgement day but to save himself in order to give the future hope.

 

[Sun_Down]

I don't think the ending is all that complex. There have been plenty of successful films that are way more complicated (No Country, Syriana, Babel, etc). In my opinion, the ending is one of the simpler parts of the whole story.

 

[Odin's Lapdog]

It may not be complex but can the viewing audience accept that superhero role models could stand by and let genocide occur whatever the outcome?

 

[S.A.A.D.]

I think if the ending sticks,then IMO the movie would be heavily criticized for having what one would call an anti climatic ending.
I wouldn't care if the movie ended that way as long I really liked it.

 

[darknight11]

Like people have said, the ending is supposed to trigger thought in the audience, regardless of their opinion.

I say keep the ending 100% faithful to the comic no questions asked. Not all films hollywood spews are about "escaping" reality. Many films end in a grim and depressing way.

Not that the watchmen ending is THAT grim and depressing. I think its more thought provoking.

The story itself is the gritty and grim portion of it. Personally, as perfect as it is already, (and I get the whole "there are no hereos" theme it has going) I would have liked it more if it had just ONE true hero, to show at least the smallest "glimmer of hope" so to speak.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

The problem is that the ending was an Outer Limits rip-off. The whole plot, to be honest. It's a very often used idea.

 

[kainedamo]

I think if the movie is done well, then people that genuinely love movies will get the ending.

The general audience may not necasserily get it. But like ShadowBoxing said, who cares if they don't? Just as long as its good enough for intelligent movie goers to enjoy.

Sometimes the most simple of plot points go over the collective heads of the general audience.

When I worked at the cinema Sin City was showing. You'd be surprised by the sheer amount of customers that thought something was wrong with our copy because it was in black and white, and people thought the movie was all jumbled up.

 

[kainedamo]

The problem is that the ending was an Outer Limits rip-off. The whole plot, to be honest. It's a very often used idea.

What exactly is a rip off?

Very few ideas in science fiction are truely original.

 

[CaptainGenerica]

I just had an idea. What if they took a page from horror movies and left Veidt's plot (the squid) somewhat ambiguous? After all, the Cloverfield monster designer has been brought on board, if I remember correctly. All the viewer would know is that Veidt created something that destroyed half of NYC, and we would see all the physical destruction and the nightmares etc., but the threat itself is left unseen. It could be the squid, some other kind of creature, a weapon, a rip in the space-time-continuum; we wouldn't know. It would be up to our imagination.

It avoids the risk of being corny (which the full-on squid, god bless it, would probably turn out to be), and might actually be scarier. We all know Snyder can do horror. It also avoids a drastic change to the ending (it isn't not the squid), which might appease some of the more rabid fanboys. Then again, it might just come across as a cop-out...

Just a thought.

 

[Katsuro]

I just had an idea. What if they took a page from horror movies and left Veidt's plot (the squid) somewhat ambiguous? After all, the Cloverfield monster designer has been brought on board, if I remember correctly. All the viewer would know is that Veidt created something that destroyed half of NYC, and we would see all the physical destruction and the nightmares etc., but the threat itself is left unseen. It could be the squid, some other kind of creature, a weapon, a rip in the space-time-continuum; we wouldn't know. It would be up to our imagination.

It avoids the risk of being corny (which the full-on squid, god bless it, would probably turn out to be), and might actually be scarier. We all know Snyder can do horror. It also avoids a drastic change to the ending (it isn't not the squid), which might appease some of the more rabid fanboys. Then again, it might just come across as a cop-out...

Just a thought.

Thats actually a great idea.

 

[darkseid26]

the ending is pretty much "kill millions to save billions", thats how i'd put it.

 

[craigaat]

It'll be the giant space squid that people have a problem with.

 

[DanTheDevil]

I don't think anybody will have a problem with the squid if it is done properly.

The part they may have the problem with is allowing Veidt to live. I think most of us had the initial thought of "They can't let him live!", and were slightly disappointed in that ending until we truly thought about it. Once you sit and think you realize it was the right ending, and it was a great ending, but many people won't get past that initial disappointment of justice not being served.

There are people that criticize the ending for that very reason, and I think that may be more prevalent when this story is exposed to the masses. Undoubtedly we will hear the complaints about the ending, the question is whether these complainers will be a minority or a majority.

 

[The Guard]

I just really don't think it will matter to the average person whether Veidt lives or dies. Because the ending makes it obvious that on whatever level...he won't get off scott free.

 

[Lobster Charlie]

I totally agree with The Guard. And I'm betting if they decide to end the film *exactly* the way the graphic novel ends, most audience members will glean a bit of hope from Seymour picking up the copy or Rorschach's journal to run in The New Frontiersman.

 

[chamber-music]

I really hope they stick to their guns and end it how it was in the graphic novel.
They changed the ending to I Am Legend becuase the test audiences didn't like it and the ending was pretty much what gave the whole concept meaning.

I believe that Hollywood should not go for the traditional ending where everything is tied up neatly all the time. Mixing things up is what keeps things intresting and the ending is one the most powerful parts of the book. Its also what seperates Watchmen from alot of other comic book stories.

 

[The Guard]

And I'm betting if they decide to end the film *exactly* the way the graphic novel ends, most audience members will glean a bit of hope from Seymour picking up the copy or Rorschach's journal to run in The New Frontiersman.

Hope? That so many people effectively died for nothing? That the world would be plunged right back into the "clock" cycle?

 

[Lobster Charlie]

You know how audiences can be. I'm betting most will have a hard time swallowing the "good" that came from millions being killed for the sake of world peace. And since Rorschach is one of the more popular characters (even though Alan Moore never wanted him to be the "hero"), I'm sure a lot of folks are going to love seeing him potentially having the final say.

Watch--if Matthew Goode makes Veidt into a true d*ckhead, the crowd isn't going to like him, even after he saves the world. They're going to want to at least have the feeling that he will "get his."

But hey, I could be totally off base.

 

[Gotham]

It's unlikely that we'll receive the Squid in a live-action capacity, but I wouldn't mind a hint that it's what Veidt created. It's hard to really think of another ending that would do the novel's ending justice.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

I just had an idea. What if they took a page from horror movies and left Veidt's plot (the squid) somewhat ambiguous? After all, the Cloverfield monster designer has been brought on board, if I remember correctly. All the viewer would know is that Veidt created something that destroyed half of NYC, and we would see all the physical destruction and the nightmares etc., but the threat itself is left unseen. It could be the squid, some other kind of creature, a weapon, a rip in the space-time-continuum; we wouldn't know. It would be up to our imagination.

It avoids the risk of being corny (which the full-on squid, god bless it, would probably turn out to be), and might actually be scarier. We all know Snyder can do horror. It also avoids a drastic change to the ending (it isn't not the squid), which might appease some of the more rabid fanboys. Then again, it might just come across as a cop-out...

Just a thought.

I like this idea, and nice job invoking Cloverfield. You could seriously even show some of the "squid" too without giving it away either. It would be a nice way to appease the fans without trying to get the audience to wrap their heads around the science fictiony/outer limits aspects of the graphic novel.