tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650597844872004791.post316930926481963084..comments2023-03-15T04:49:58.645-05:00Comments on ... And Maybe An Occasional State Pun: In case you're wondering what I thought about WatchmenEric Garneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18246089282669221524noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650597844872004791.post-69707979102398607802009-03-08T14:44:00.000-05:002009-03-08T14:44:00.000-05:00Unfortunately, Marc, you and I come from two diffe...Unfortunately, Marc, you and I come from two different schools of criticism... in my world economic concerns like profit don't get to factor into the final analysis of a film as art. You have to let a movie stand based on what you see, not what you hear about its box office numbers, and I feel like Watchmen fails to stand on the one thing it wanted to do more than anything else (and again there is evidence of Snyder's hopes for the movie IN THE FILM, most notably the excessive amounts of violence). So, yeah, I feel like Watchmen is a failure. I'm glad you enjoyed it though. Quite a few people did. Facebook is showing me not quite as in the minority as I thought I was, though, and there is a pretty slick discussion of the film's merit/lack of it going on over there on my imported version of this blog.Eric Garneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18246089282669221524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650597844872004791.post-71721944480221525582009-03-08T14:04:00.000-05:002009-03-08T14:04:00.000-05:00To judge a movie by it's mission may be... unclear...To judge a movie by it's mission may be... unclear. Snyder may have said that his Watchmen film set out to "do to superhero movies what the book did to superhero comics..." but in reality ALL movies at this level of release have 1 goal, and 1 goal only. That goal is to make a profit. Movies are given accolades, and awards, etc. but at the end of the day the only thing that matters to the industry (including it's directors, actors, writers, producers, etc.) is that the films make profit. Any loftier goals, including the scope of the film, it's artistic merit, or how it resonates with fans... is all afterthought and really up to opinion.<BR/><BR/>At the end of the day, I think it's up to the interpretation of how you read the source, and how that provided you with a desire for how the film might turn out. Those didn't match, and because of it, you didn't enjoy it. <BR/><BR/>For what it's worth, I felt the film captured exactly what Moore had intended on the page, and it matched the tone in the book in its story extremely well, which is why I enjoyed it as I did.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650597844872004791.post-1502069714592333212009-03-08T09:45:00.000-05:002009-03-08T09:45:00.000-05:00All I can say in response to you, Marc, is that fo...All I can say in response to you, Marc, is that for me it's not about the tweaks Snyder made... I was actually okay with most of his changes. It was about the tone of the movie. It was hyper-violent and incredibly long and slow and I don't feel like it needed to be either. Someone on the Beat made an interesting comment that the film is a faithful adaptation of the book's panels but not of its story, and that may be pretty close to how I feel.<BR/><BR/>Also, I don't believe judging the film on what it set out to do is so wrong. Numerous people have said that it would do for superhero movies what the comic did for superhero comics. You hear that a lot. I heard it so much that I assumed it was the "mission" of the film. If the film failed in its mission, which to me it 100% did, then I feel like it is fair to call the film, at least in that respect, a failure. It would be like if one of Will Eisner's instructional army comics from the 50s did not actually succeed in telling someone how to put together a gun or tune up a jeep... I'm sure the pictures were pretty but the whole point of the thing was something else entirely. Granted, an instructional comic is not the same as a comic book movie, but I think my point stands.Eric Garneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18246089282669221524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3650597844872004791.post-80179441640027628382009-03-07T14:39:00.000-06:002009-03-07T14:39:00.000-06:00Suffice to say, on basically every point you made,...Suffice to say, on basically every point you made, I completely disagree. <BR/>"Fans of the comic probably did not get the fun of seeing a beloved work adapted in a satisfactory fashion..."<BR/>I am certainly a fan of the source material, and I def. had fun watching the movie. I knew going into it that it would be as faithful to the source as it could be, while trying to still be a movie. The real issi=ue here is Alan Moore's masterpiece stands as the single best created representation of what a graphic novel could be. And no movie, however well made it be, could be deemed a "movie to end all movies" based on this material. The point of the watchmen was as much a discussion on the state of comics as it was a comic itself. And don't cite the hype of this movie to bring it down Eric. Zack Snyder was given funding to do essentially, a dream project. So if he boasts or misrepresents himself and this film to appeal to the masses, he's no different thank Frank Miller going on about the Spirit (a movie more deserving of your marks for this one I believe.)<BR/><BR/>Ultimately, you're entitled to your opinion, and I'm saddened to see that you didn't enjoy the film. I personally have said "The movie met my expectations, and to be honest, given the source material, I never figured my expectations could be more than met." <BR/><BR/>You say you didn't have fun, but if you read this book, you know that the watchmen was never about fun. Not to say the film was perfect--it's not. And the dark knight was better... because face it. You didn't know what to expect there. Here, you had the book in hand not a week ago, and here on screen, things don't play out as they did in your head. Characters don't sound like they did on page, and the tweaks made for the "hollywood folk" did take the story and certain characters in directions we the fanboys did not necessarily vibe with.<BR/><BR/>Ultimately, I enjoyed it, and am sad to see it didn't do so much for you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com