Who Watches the Critics? The Critic Response Thread

[AnorexicBatman]

SHE DISSED CLOCKWORK ORANGE AND FIGHT CLUB???!!
IS SHE MAD?

Oh yeah... she is...

 

[Monstera]

Just be glad you didn't have to hear Schlussel's obnoxious voice while reading her diatribe. She's basically a Stern Show wack packer.

 

[BlackLantern]

Maybe she should stick to those Left Behind films with Kirk Cameron.

...but. but Kirk is trying to spread the Word in an entertaining format....

 

[Mercurius]

The movie was almost exactly what I had imagined with the clues we had from the trailers and spots.

It was overall good to watch, with some highlights and a good deal of problems:

Dr Manhattan’s episode with Philip Glass’ music was, in my opinion, the best part of the movie. Although Manhattan’s CGI worked better when he was on suit, the acting was really on spot, and his soft voice was something that I couldn’t like in the trailers, but worked really well in the movie, almost like a humanized (a lil’ bit) HAL. Jon was well-done throughout the movie, but his impact as a technological fact in that frame was difficult to feel, because the movie had to hurry.

Nite Owl II (great performance): his was one of the most interesting parts, not only because of the performance, but because his best parts were intact: relationship with Rorschach, the hero gone soft aspect, his impotency, his anguish in a world he couldn’t control, his midlife crisis, summing up. The part in the end, where he confronts Veidt, was new, and was simply great.

(One serious problem was to leave Hollis Mason just as 1 talk. I’m sure they filmed his death and the effect of it in Nite Owl during his and Rorschach’s “visit” to the underworld. Mason has become one of the “loose ends” of the movie).

Rorschach was spot on, due to JEH of course, but what was chopped off his story damaged it seriously, especially Dr. Malcolm becoming almost just a visual citation. That part lacked seriously the psychological building the book has. Less action scenes by Nite Owl and Silk Spectre at the invasion of the prison could have given more room to do that, or a much needed bigger runtime.

And the girl murderer bit was weak: there wasn’t enough Rorschach story when it came, and it was heavily handed with the shoes on the bones, the silly murderer’s talk, quite different in tone from the original, and the cold-blooded Rorschach was changed to a nervous, weaker, offended one).

Veidt was a great surprise: he was quite different from the comickbook counterpart, and his evil David Bowie kinda thing was one of the best things of the whole movie.

Silk Spectre I was a major disaster when old. Carla Gugino’s overacting and her awful makeup, no to mention that absolutely ridiculous ending in Laurie & Dan’s house, destroyed all parts in which she was present. Her scenes in the forties were good, though (when she punches the Comedian her frightful reaction is quite good).

But she was spoiled her best lines, her most significant conflicts. She was not much than the rape scene. Her relationship with Laurie was not more than a few lines. Her argument with her husband avoided the most original and important lines in the book, where she tells him openly why she loved the Comedian.

Silk Spectre II: her case was complex. I do not agree with critics who said Akerman was bad. Her character was mutilated in the script, leaving her little to work on. All the emotional parts, which were very strong (and some disturbing in the book), were flattened in the movie, making her character just a tool to bring the other parts together.

She wasn’t allowed to cry, to appear somber, nor the script afforded the character that much. It was too fast paced to depict Laurie’s life as it should. The consequence, which is not Akerman’s fault, was this shallow character in the movie.

Comedian: I was expecting more from Jeffery Dean Morgan. He is good in his Comedian role, but wasn’t rough or dirty enough. He has quite a cheerful and friendly tone when speaking to Nite Owl, calling him Dan, for instance. He was a soft version from the book. But good, nonetheless.

As to the movie as a movie: it was going well, with minor problems, until the end of Doc Manhattan’s episode. Then it becomes really fast paced and the edition doesn’t let the narrative sink in: everything is dealt with in the same pace, an “emotional” part lasts the same as a fight, or a simple talk: it’s more like set parts that are struggling hard to fit together.
Even so, there are still fine moments: Archie going to Veidt’s lair with Jimi Hendrix playing “All along the Watchtower” throughout. That was a perfect scene, indeed.

Or Rorschach’s death scene with the new Nite Owl’s dramatic additions, which were really great for underlining the tension and the hopelessness.

The squidless plot, however, led us only to scenes of destroyed city and Armaggedon, with a plus of visual destruction. It emptied the Comedian monologue to Moloch, and left all the weight to be carried by the hero fights in Veidt’s lair, and the very fast agreement on silence.

Summing up: curious, and, at times, a good experience to see some of the great moments of the book nicely depicted. Sad, on the other hand, that the movie felt like a Frankenstein creature, uneven, mixing real good stuff, real good cinema, with bad performance, and the lack of good organized script at parts, the lack of exact editing work in the last half of it.

 

[Doctor Jones]

^ Well, at least we still have the DC. Which I'm sure all the fans will like better.

But you could tell they chopped out alot. Because lets face it, the GA want action more than talking people, I don't underestimate them because this is what they want.

 

[BlackLantern]

It will be tough for me to separate the film and the GN but maybe I should have a couple drinks before I go to the theater

 

[I Am The Knight]

I'll agree that some parts needed more breathing room, mostly at the end. That DC cannot come soon enough...

 

[BlackLantern]

It's a bit refereshing to see such a wide array from critics (who some people view as all the same)...the things that one might like about the film, the next person absolutely hated

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yup, that is interesting. Like Ebert and the other critics. It's puzzling to as why Ebert loved it aout of all the critics. I believe he gave it the best review.

 

[Showtime]

This movie seems to be splitting people, but the fan base seems to like it for the most part.

 

[BlackLantern]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/booksmags/chi-0307-mooremar07,0,4692358.story

a bit of a BJ piece on Alan Moore as it relates to the film

 

[itsthebatman]

Yup, that is interesting. Like Ebert and the other critics. It's puzzling to as why Ebert loved it aout of all the critics. I believe he gave it the best review.

Ebert has always been a big fan of comic-book movies, loved BB, SM-2 and TDK. Not too surprised he liked Watchmen, would have worried me about it's quality if he didn't.

 

[X Knight]

Hrm, well she does have one point there. If there are Watchmen action figures being sold at kid's stores such as Toys R' Us, that is undoubtedly marketing towards the youth. A demographic this film is absolutely not for. There's no arguing that.

Well, the Watchmen trailer was shown during American Idol last week, just as Wolverine was shown a few weeks prior. American Idol appeals to a more "family friendly" demographic, I would say. So, in that sense, I guess one could say it was being "marketed" to kids.

I'd say that the Trailers that I've seen so far ( including the 1st Teaser Trailer last year ) give the movie a more "PG-13" vibe and don't really give indication of just how "R rated" the movie is ( and the movie IS rated R ).

I can say, as someone who never read the GN and has zero knowledge or familiarity with the Watchmen universe, until I started reading through the threads here and some of the reviews, I had NO IDEA how much violence, gore, and sexual content was in this movie.

So, I can see the critic's point. Parents who are not very informed about the actual R-rated content of this movie, who see the trailer on a show such as American Idol, may take their young kids to see this movie, thinking it's just another superhero movie like X-men, Spider-man, etc.....

 

[-Arya-]

Well, the Watchmen trailer was shown during American Idol last week, just as Wolverine was shown a few weeks prior. American Idol appeals to a more "family friendly" demographic, I would say. So, in that sense, I guess one could say it was being "marketed" to kids.

I'd say that the Trailers that I've seen so far ( including the 1st Teaser Trailer last year ) give the movie a more "PG-13" vibe and don't really give indication of just how "R rated" the movie is ( and the movie IS rated R ).

I can say, as someone who never read the GN and has zero knowledge or familiarity with the Watchmen universe, until I started reading through the threads here and some of the reviews, I had NO IDEA how much violence, gore, and sexual content was in this movie.

So, I can see the critic's point. Parents who are not very informed about the actual R-rated content of this movie, who see the trailer on a show such as American Idol, may take their young kids to see this movie, thinking it's just another superhero movie like X-men, Spider-man, etc.....

This is the fault of the parent. Not taking notice of the blatantly obvious "Rated R" at the end of each trailer.

 

[X Knight]

This is the fault of the parent. Not taking notice of the blatantly obvious "Rated R" at the end of each trailer.

I totally agree. That IS the parents' fault.

I'm just saying that, what is portrayed in the Trailers, doesn't really indicate how graphic or "Rated R" the movie is, even though it has the Rated R label at the end of each trailer. Just watching the Trailers ( without doing any further research ) could give the impression that this is just another super-hero movie like Batman, X-men, Spider-man, etc.

The other issue is......should an R-Rated movie, like Watchmen, even be shown during a show like American Idol, which is more family friendly and IS watched by kids.

I guess that would be the more important question......

 

[-Arya-]

The other issue is......should an R-Rated movie, like Watchmen, even be shown during a show like American Idol, which is more family friendly and IS watched by kids.

I guess that would be the more important question......

Correct. This would be the fault of the studio in this case. Money and ratings are all that matters to them however.

 

[BlackLantern]

I totally agree. That IS the parents' fault.

I'm just saying that, what is portrayed in the Trailers, doesn't really indicate how graphic or "Rated R" the movie is, even though it has the Rated R label at the end of each trailer.

The other issue is......should an R-Rated movie, like Watchmen, even be shown during a show like American Idol, which is more family friendly and IS watched by kids.

I guess that would be the more important question......

It's in primetime...should every R rated film only be allowed to air trailers after 10 pm??....if they were airing trailers on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network (I think some have aired during the Adult Swim block after 11), then that would be an issue

 

[terry78]

See the issue is that R has a bad habit of being too wishy washy. The entire Matrix series I would be fine with showing kids that are about 9 and older, because that one was kinda iffy about the rating. There's light R, which is Matrix, and you get semi-medium R, I would say something like....Semi-Pro, and then hard R, which is this flick.

 

[JAK®]

Watchmen was an 18 in the UK, so kids just plain weren't allowed in.

 

[Sam]

The other issue is......should an R-Rated movie, like Watchmen, even be shown during a show like American Idol, which is more family friendly and IS watched by kids.

I guess that would be the more important question......

yes, it should. Trailers are edit as free rate to not have this kind of problem and be shown to the audience.

It is audience resposability to see if the rate is apropriate or not to take childrens or whatever. The rate is shown in the trailer, even the trailer itself is free-rating.

 

[Doctor Jones]

What the hell don't parents get about the big fat R at the end of each commercial? Do they actually read what's inside it. "Oh, it's rated R, so I guess it will be like X-Men."

 

[alexdunn]

Haha there was a kid right in front of me and everytime something really R rated happened I'd point to him to my friends. Haha poor kid missed half the movie with his mom's hand infront of his face.

 

[The Chris]

What the hell don't parents get about the big fat R at the end of each commercial? Do they actually read what's inside it. "Oh, it's rated R, so I guess it will be like X-Men."

I know man I know. I couldn't believe it when three little kids ran down the steps next to me. "What the hell are they doing here!" And then these parents get mad at the theaters and the studios for releasing it or not telling them it's rated R (which the studio of course did). No people, I BLAME YOU for not doing the necessary research, which really only takes looking at a commercial and seeing Watchmen RATED R! for crazy stuff not meant to be seen by youngsters with moronic parents. Take your kids to see Wolverine or something.

 

[danoyse]

This is the fault of the parent. Not taking notice of the blatantly obvious "Rated R" at the end of each trailer.

I agree. There are a million resources out there to inform them of the content of the film and the rating. It's just irresponsible for them to not to bother checking it out for themselves before being blindsided in a theater.

 

[LostSon88]

Two of my managers at worked asked me about the Watchmen because they were going to take their sons to go see it.

I quickly advised them NOT to let them see it. The moment the word, "rape" came out of my mouth in describing the movie, they were quickly convinced.