Comments on: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?

By: Robin

Robin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:42:51 +0000

Hate to break it to you, but that happens with pretty much every movie and/or TV series filmed in Vancouver. The acting pool is much smaller than in Los Angeles, and there are tax incentives for hiring local talent. Plus, it's the hub of genre entertainment. The same faces show up a lot. Personally, I've turned it into a little game I like to call "Spot the Canadians".

By: Blackpanther

Blackpanther — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:12:27 +0000

I haven't read the graphic novel because Romania is a comicless country, but i have seen the film and i was unimpressed. The movie is too long and frankly, boring.

Even if hadn't read the novel i could tell the visuals were taken almost straight from the panels. Too much so. The movie drags on too long and i don't think the violence was necessary at all. Or at least not that much violence. The themes it tries to approach are interesting, but they have been done a lot better in a couple of other movies.

It was really hard to empathize with any of the characters who weren't much above the classic comic stereotypes. However Rorschach does stand out, both in performance and in characterization.

Not a movie i'd waste my time on again.

By: jeff

jeff — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:37:48 +0000

Shit, Zane was in the Watchmen too. That's def a consiracy.

By: Rhea Dee

Rhea Dee — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:38:48 +0000

I'm in love with Billy Crudup's soothing voice. For real. He's a gorgeous man, too (I mean in the flashbacks).

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:50:43 +0000

Did anybody else notice the abundance of Eureka actors in the movie? Both Taggert and Vincent popped up. Conspiracy? I think so… I think it's only fair that Fargo turn into Dr. Manhattan on the show.

By: Robin

Robin — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:25:03 +0000

I agree that both the graphic novel and the film take some digesting.

The reactions among the group I saw it with ranged from "Wow, that was great" to "I don't really need to see that ever again" and several degrees in between. Overall, I'm quite pleased with it as an adaptation. The degree of violence was a little surprising, even given the source material and the R rating, but at the same time it was completely in keeping with Alan Moore's starkly honest portrayals of human violence.

I think in order to truly appreciate both the book and the movie as two aspects of a single narrative, I'm going to have to go back and reread the graphic novel. Having the voice of Jackie Earle Haley in particular in my head will make Rorschach's dialogue that much more affective. And having all of the parts trimmed from the screenplay by necessity makes the story that much richer.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:24:34 +0000

Fantastic review, Sonia – very well done.

By: Samuel Walters

Samuel Walters — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Fantastic review! Very in depth and I enjoyed the perspective you brought to your commentary.

I've actually had the graphic novel in my possession since last summer, but chose not to read it until after seeing the film (I wanted to see the film on its own merits, without comparison to the source material) and what I find it interesting that your reaction to the graphic novel: "as a whole I could respect it in a way you should respect masterpieces, appreciated it, understood it, but couldn’t wholly love it." is pretty much how I felt about the film. And I agree … the more I think about it, the more Rorschach's character (and performance) stand out against the rest of the film.

Also, if you don't mind the conceit, here's my own review (from the perspective of someone who hadn't read the story before seeing the movie):

http://dauntlessmedia.net/film/watchmen-review.ht...