The Official "Watchmen" Fan Rate & Review Thread - Part 1

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[Kane52630]

What did you think of Watchmen

Spoiler Tags is a must in this thread

 

[Travesty]

I went back and watched The Ultimate Cut last night, and I gotta say, it really is a great movie. Sure, there are some things I would have changed, and also, some things I think needed to be added or addressed better, but overall, I think it's one hell of movie.

While I was watching, I was thinking of doing a big write up for The Ultimate Cut, and talk in depth about what I liked, and what I think would have made it even better, but I don't think anybody would actually read it, or even care that much. So, just know, while I like the book more, I think The Ultimate Cut is still a good adaptation of the GN. 9/10

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I still don't understand the scene with the cops after Rorschach figures out Blake is the Comedian.. That scene literally has no point.

 

[Hurm...]

The Director's Cut of the film elevates it so much. I wonder if Snyder will ever top the film. Good drama, most of the cast is fun to watch(Except Akerman, who is still good to look at haha), and the action couldn't have been better. Not only that, but it was a great companion to the book. The ending was a good compromise by Snyder, and the film's visuals alone is a reason to check this film out.

Very proud of Snyder and co. They pulled it off.

 

[The Guard]

The scene with Rorschach and the cops is twofold. It paints Rorschach as something of a bogeyman, heightens the perception of his skills by the cops, and shows why they hate him so much. I didn't have too many issues with it.

The Director's Cut was amazing. I haven't seen The Ultimate Cut yet.

 

[LegendaryCaleb]

The Directors Cut is pretty amazing...but its somethin that not a big group of people agree with me about here...
One of those movies I pop in from time to time to watch when I'm by myself

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Watched the Ultimate Cut a few weeks ago that included Tales of the Black Frieghter. Didn't care for that being in there, but overall the rest of the Director's Cut was amazing.

Probably gonna watch the motion comic tonight.

And I also forgot to vote on the poll when the movie came out. 10/10

 

[Travesty]

Watched the Ultimate Cut a few weeks ago that included Tales of the Black Frieghter. Didn't care for that being in there, but overall the rest of the Director's Cut was amazing.

See, the thing about The Black Frieghter that I wasn't so thrilled with, was that it looked EXACTLY like a cartoon. I know, I know, it was released separately, and I get why it looks the way it does, but when accompanied with the movie, it seems out of place, as it's a cartoon that comes on out of nowhere, and it doesn't feel like it's someone reading a comic.

Now, in order to improve, I would have made it looked "pixeladed"(I don't know if this is the right term?), like the old-school comics, and I would also have bubbles go over the characters head while they were talking. Yes, I would have had it look like a motion comic, so the audience knows for sure, that it's a comic.

What do you guys think about that idea? Would it be an improvement at all?

 

[NewYorkSpider]

It would have been an improvement. It would have made more sense that you were looking at the comic the boy was reading throughout the movie.

 

[JTStarkiller]

I'd give it a 10/10. Absolutely loved it. Ultimate Cut has some pacing issues, but as a fan of the book, I think it's still the best way to watch the film.

If I have one relatively major complaint about the film though, it's the fight scene in Adrian's lair. I really hated all the flying around and whatnot. It was toned down in scenes like the alley and prison, but I really hate it at the end.

 

[Kane52630]

I couldn't find a general watchmen thread but I found out today that TNT is going to show Watchmen this Saturday night right after 300.

 

[Russell Nash]

Are we rating the theatrical cut, or the extended "so long I want to blow my brains out" cut?

 

[Travesty]

Are we rating the theatrical cut, or the extended "so long I want to blow my brains out" cut?

Extended cut is the way to go, but yes, it's longggggggggggg. t:

 

[psylockolussus]

Nice production and visuals but it was a bit boring and too wordy. You really have to listen just to understand the movie.

 

[Karelia]

I couldn't find a general watchmen thread but I found out today that TNT is going to show Watchmen this Saturday night right after 300.

Thanks for the heads up, bud. t:

Still think this movie is fantastic. One of the best CBM's, IMO.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I'll put in my rating. 10/10. Along with Kick Ass my all time favorite comic book movie. Not exactly sure what comes in 3rd after those two...but it's not really close. (edit) (slaps forehead) Hellboy of course....sheesh... I've been less impressed with other comic book movies since those two came around.

I have the Director's Cut....is there something other than the Black Freighter included in the Ultimate Cut? I don't really care that much about the Black Freighter, so if that's the only extra thing I'll just skip it.

 

[Travesty]

I have the Director's Cut....is there something other than the Black Freighter included in the Ultimate Cut? I don't really care that much about the Black Freighter, so if that's the only extra thing I'll just skip it.

Extended/deleted scenes are added, as well.

 

[Brain Damage]

when i first watched this movie i had a very "meh" attitude towards it. Some parts were a lot better than expected, others were worse. But having rewatched it recently, i can say that it's a certainly a much better film than i originally gave it credit for.
It feels very much like the comic book, and when you stop to think about how much dialogue is lifted straight off the page, its pretty great. My main issue is with the whole style and tone of the film. It's way too stylized to be Watchmen. Watchmen was 9 panels per page, dramatic shots, but not SPECTACULARINYOURFACEADLASHD. I suppose that's the difference between an 80s comic book and a 2009 comic book film.
Also Adrian is played up way too obviously to be the villain. That really annoys me. There's so much to love about this flick, but I just wish it had gone a step further and and a step in a different direction and been even closer to the perfect Watchmen film. I wish instead of devoting so much time to needlessly extended action sequences they would have spent more time developing characters like Dr. Long.
But again, considering what we COULD have got, I certainly am happy with the movie. For a 21st century blockbuster, it managed to keep a lot of the grit and grime of the source material, as well as a lot of the message. Plus, a movie is different than a 12 part comic series, which has to have a rising and falling action with each issue, a movie has to maintain a certain pace and tension, so obviously some scenes will be rearranged, and no, no self respecting fan likes it, but it helps the overall film.
A better director might have taken it closer to the comic, but that's just talk, we got a solid Watchmen movie we should all be content with.
And say what you will about the rest of the film, but Jackie Earl Haley is perfect. And the scenes focusing on him were by far the highlights of the movie.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Still love the director cut of this, its a great movie and hopefully Zack can deliver with MOS as Sucker Punch was a bit of a step down for me.

Strange to think this was DC's last good comic book movie though. Jonah Hex was terrible and Green Lantern was average at best.

 

[kewlmatto]

I have rewatched this maybe once a year since release. Every year it seems to get better - I appreciate it more and some of the 'Snyder' cliches become far more tolerable. I loved it from the beginning, but gradually it's becoming one of my favourite comic book films, rather than one I used to see as a great but flawed film (I guess that's the way I see TDKR now).

I think there is some chance to take the best of the Before Watchmen comics and create a decent prequel. I just hope it's done with some care.

 

[The Epic Beyond]

Watchmen is up there as one of the best adaptations in terms loyalty to the story, casting and visuals. I think in some ways it improved on the source. Namely Night Owl cared when Rorschach was killed, and there was more condemnation and horror to Ozzy's actions.

In other ways it fell short. I don't care how silly it was I miss the giant squid alien at the end. It changes the moral of the story. Having everyone unite against a common foe is alot deeper than Nixon saying "We'll be good so Dr Manhattan wont punish us again. Check out my article about this: Nerd Rage: Watchmen Adaptation Distillation

 

[EliteF50]

I love the theatrical cut, but the director's cut makes Watchmen my third favorite superhero movie of all time.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^Same here, I loved the TC, but the DC made this one of the best CBM's for me, even to this day, TDKR, Dredd and The Avengers have all been great this year, but would have to watch them a few more times to know if they were better than Watchmen: DC, which still remains in my top 3.

If MOS ends up better than Watchmen, we will have some movie on our hands.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Joe Silver Reveals Original ‘Watchmen’ Movie Story Twist

“It was a MUCH much better movie [...] I mean, Zack came at it the right way but was too much of a slave to the material. I was trying to get it BACK from the studio at that point, because I ended up with both “V For Vendetta” and “Watchmen” and I kinda lost “Watchmen.” I was happy with the way “V” came out, but we took a lot of liberties. That’s one of the reasons Alan Moore was so unpleasant to deal with. The version of “Watchmen” that Zack made, they really felt the notion. They went to Comic-Con, they announced it, they showed things, the audience lost their minds but it wasn’t enough to get a movie that would have that success.”

What Terry had done, and it was a Sam Hamm script–who had written a script that everybody loved for the first “Batman”–and then he brought in a guy who’d worked for him to do work on it [Charles McKeown, co-writer of "Brazil"]. What he did was he told the story as-is, but instead of the whole notion of the intergalactic thing which was too hard and too silly, what he did was he maintained that the existence of Doctor Manhattan had changed the whole balance of the world economy, the world political structure. He felt that THAT character really altered the way reality had been. He had the Ozymandias character convince, essentially, the Doctor Manhattan character to go back and stop himself from being created, so there never would be a Doctor Manhattan character. He was the only character with real supernatural powers, he went back and prevented himself from being turned into Doctor Manhattan, and in the vortex that was created after that occurred these characters from “Watchmen” only became characters in a comic book.

“So the three characters, I think it was Rorschach and Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, they’re all of the sudden in Times Square and there’s a kid reading a comic book. They become like the people in Times Square dressing up like characters as opposed to really BEING those characters. There’s a kid reading the comic book and he’s like, “Hey, you’re just like in my comic book.” It was very smart, it was very articulate, and it really gave a very satisfying resolution to the story, but it just didn’t happen. Lost to time [...] But I did like the [2009] movie, very much. Zack did great stuff in it!”