March
2
Are we watching the 'Watchmen' backlash?
Beware: A fanboy's frenzy cuts both ways. The theaters are booked, the videos have gone viral (the above clip, posted to YouTube this morning, is the last one of a weeks-long campaign) and release of the long-anticipated, lawsuit-strewn "Watchmen" is just days away... but there are signs that a backlash tsunami could be brewing.
James Hunt at Den of Geek writes:
It might surprise you to learn this, but as a comics fan, I have no interest in seeing the Watchmen movie.... Frank Miller’s Spirit already demonstrated perfectly well why you might not want to see Watchmen. The beauty of Eisner’s comics was never anything to do with the pulpy characters – it was all about the design of the page, the flow of the storytelling, the very act of Eisner re-inventing a medium even as he worked within it. You can try to make a film reflect that, but the one thing you can’t do is copy it.
[snip]
By his own admission, Watchmen is nothing more than Snyder attempting to get people to read the graphic novel – and hey, I’m way ahead of him... this is one case where the book isn’t just better than the film – it makes the film unnecessary.
Well, then what about those of us who haven't been previously inculcated into the "Watchmen" cult? Variety's own Justin Chang (who read the graphic novel before reviewing the film but did not count himself among its original fans) says that the film offers little opportunity to inspire fresh converts:
Yet the movie is ultimately undone by its own reverence; there’s simply no room for these characters and stories to breathe of their own accord, and even the most fastidiously replicated scenes can feel glib and truncated. As “Watchmen” lurches toward its apocalyptic (and slightly altered) finale, something happens that didn’t happen in the novel: Wavering between seriousness and camp, and absent the cerebral tone that gave weight to some of the book’s headier ideas, the film seems to yield to the very superhero cliches it purports to subvert.
Oh. And as Anne Thompson points out, Anthony Lane at the New Yorker buries the film:
The problem is that Snyder, following Moore, is so insanely aroused by the look of vengeance, and by the stylized application of physical power, that the film ends up twice as fascistic as the forces it wishes to lampoon. The result is perfectly calibrated for its target group: nobody over twenty-five could take any joy from the savagery that is fleshed out onscreen, just as nobody under eighteen should be allowed to witness it.
A fanboy might ask: What do you expect? It's the New Yorker. Meanwhile, Fandango reported today that the film currently comprises 61% of the site’s sales, with dozens of midnight Thursday night showtimes already sold out. And there are plenty of critics swift to disagree with the naysayers; RT currently gives the film an 82% rating ("technical and thematic strengths overwhelm its narrative shortcomings").
Of course, "Watchmen" creator Alan Moore has long distanced himself entirely from this adaptation and any others that might stem from his works. Maybe his futuristic visions are even more accurate than we'd thought.
RELATED: Five graphic novels Hollywood needs to stay away from [MovieRetriever]
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Look.
Watchmen was conceived and written to be a comics masterwork ONLY.
It masterfully both implements and showcases storytelling techniques that can ONLY be done in comic book form.
So, if Alan Moore says it can't be filmed, it can't be friggin' filmed. Period. And no Ridley Scott wannabe, in his attempt to become the ultimate fanboy director (since they went gaga over the masterpiece of post-Heston, sandal-clad homoerotica that was 300), is going to pull it off -not even in the four-hour Pirate-comic-integrated director's cut.
The world was just fine without a cinematic adaptation of Gravity's Rainbow -to name just one of unnecessary adaptation we've been spared. The world and comics as a storytelling medium lacking in respect would both be better off had Watchmen never been touched by Hollywood and the world were forced to see it for what it is - not just a masterpiece of comic-book storytelling but a masterpiece of storytelling that just happened to be told in comic book form.
Posted by: Mark Bittmann | March 02, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Hey, comic book geeks, why don't you read a book instead.
Posted by: roberto diaz | March 02, 2009 at 11:53 AM
look. i think that the film will be amazing! from what I see it's amazing. there will always be a negative critic, like there are for ALL movies but any critic that says the story should stay to one medium is a retard. Stories, are stories and if they're good stories they can work for any medium. Any critic who hasn't read the book doesn't matter to me either.
Posted by: Daniel | March 02, 2009 at 12:22 PM
Where would we be without comics to adapt? Zoom into studio executive's head. Empty space.
Posted by: eve | March 02, 2009 at 01:03 PM
Daniel, shouldn't any movie, regardless of source material, be able to stand up on its own? To ignore the critics who haven't read Watchmen is to ignore the most objective opinions on the movie.
Posted by: sloanish | March 02, 2009 at 02:04 PM
Maybe it's because I'm in the sweet spot of M18-25 that critics think will be the only people to love this film, but I can't wait for this movie. The graphic novel is an epic masterpiece. Snyder is not trying to replace the graphic novel with a film, as have other, much more egregious Moore adaptations (LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMAN comes to mind though FROM HELL isn't blameless). Snyder by his own admittance is simply trying to make a cinematic representation of the book so that others may be led to what is unquestionably the definitive mature graphic novel of the 20th century (and I would argue 100 BULLETS to be that of the 21st - a must read for any crime fiction fan). I appreciate the criticisms of both those who have and have not read the book, though I hope ultimately curiosity will lead them to read the book nonetheless. Either way, it's hard for critics to be relevant when PAUL BLART, MADEA and the Jonas Brothers rule the box office. At least WATCHMEN is a film by adults for adults. That's what gave 300 a record breaking opening weekend. Here's to Snyder's sequel.
@Roberto Diaz - hey book nerd, why don't you get off your high Oprah's Book Club horse and read something for enjoyment? Just because I read graphic novels doesn't mean I haven't read wordy ones.
@eve - unless you wrote a script that is a Nicholl's Fellowship Finalist, I'd imagine the film ideas in your head are equally blank on the page. You know what they say about stone throwing and glass housing.
Posted by: killertv | March 02, 2009 at 02:55 PM
Daniel, shouldn't any movie, regardless of source material, be able to stand up on its own? To ignore the critics who haven't read Watchmen is to ignore the most objective opinions on the movie.
it depends. in the case of watchmen some of the things about the comic are what makes it unfilmable. the details, and everything. the corniness, etc. thats what makes the film. a critic would say there's too much of this, or that, the costumes are made without effort, etc. but a fan of the book would know this is how its supposed to be.
Posted by: Daniel | March 02, 2009 at 03:05 PM
Look, people just need something to be pissed off about. Oh for the days pre-Internet when people didn't have anywhere to spew their negativity. If you don't think Watchmen should have been adapted to film then stay your asses at home and read the comic a zillion more times. I personally will be at the midnight premiere screening with bells on.
Posted by: Irv Bitrman | March 02, 2009 at 04:19 PM
The people who say everything is fine with the way the business is being run right now could be the same people who said everything was fine with the economy a year or two ago. I hope Watchmen is going to turn out a good movie - I'm going to be watching it - but it does represent a way of doing business that's been increasingly starving audiences and filmmakers alike. At some point it will catch up...
Posted by: gunner | March 02, 2009 at 08:57 PM
Atleast this adaptation is directed by someone who deeply cares about the material. It could have easily fallen into the hands of a filmmaker who could care less where the story came from and truly obliterated the Watchmen legacy into dust. If ever there was to be a Watchmen movie-this is the best version of it we could have possibly gotten. And yes, I am stoked to see it. Looks as much like the comic panels as one could get.
Posted by: The Goose | March 02, 2009 at 11:15 PM
I saw the movie. Go see it. It's very good. As good as the book? No, but that's to be expected. Snyder has captured a solid chunk of Moore's book, and created a compelling movie.
I'm not sure why people are assigning some special significance to Anthony Lane's review. The man is a ignorant hack who pretends to be an expert about everything. What's amusing about his review isn't his opinions about the movie, but rather his sweeping statements about comic books, an art form about which he clearly knows nothing. However, those of us who read the New Yorker regularly are used to his reviews being filled with arrogant pronouncements that simply reveal his ignorance about the subject being discussed.
In general, reviews will be mixed but I think the film will be a hit.
Posted by: Dylan S | March 02, 2009 at 11:37 PM
I've seen the film and it's excellent. It was always going to split critics down the middle, but the fact of the matter is that this will be a massive hit. The action is fantastic, the aesthetic similarities to the novel unprecedented, the narrative dense, and beautifully complex with rewatching an obligatory commitment. It is a fantastic film, and it deserves to be one of the biggest hits of the year.
Posted by: Mike | March 03, 2009 at 02:21 AM
Well, what matters is that people care. That's more than 90% of movies produced every year, or for this already, it is a success.
Posted by: shann | March 03, 2009 at 09:10 AM
I saw the film last night... it delivers a visceral punch...
It will be divisive, but no matter which side of the line you stand, this is a significant film in a lot of ways....
Posted by: HuronBob | March 03, 2009 at 10:02 AM
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Posted by: NerdyShirts | March 03, 2009 at 01:29 PM
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get a clue!
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