Watchmen Movie: Epic Fail

[onodera]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Wasn't there a Russian super hero movie which was loosely based on the Watchman? I think it was like two years ago or something.

No.

[Ming]

While the movie has it's own "charm"... it is nowhere as good as his original V stuff.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You think his original V stuff would have played well in a 2 hour movie?

[Elok]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And?

Just because Moore is a whiny ***** doesn't mean that the "V for Vendetta" movie wasn't good.

No, it was a terrible, stupid movie on its own (lack of) merits. The plot was idiotic and full of holes, the characters two-dimensional...even the action scenes were underwhelming crud.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
You think his original V stuff would have played well in a 2 hour movie?

If that was the choice, I'd rather it not have been made.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Which is fine, but really, take GePap's advice. You fanboys should have just stayed away.

I enjoyed the movie greatly

[DinoDoc]

What's the point of making a movie to show it to a larger audience if you rip the soul out of the story that made it appealing in the first place? Weren't you the one complaining about all the changes to the movie version of I, Robot when it came out?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Which is why I didn't go see it . Of course, unlike "I, Robot", this move (and the other Moore movies) actually started out based on the story in the first place. "I, Robot" was just a name bought out and slapped onto another screenplay (called "Hardwired").

And seeing the box office numbers and critics ratings of "V for Vendetta" apparently it still had plenty of a soul.

[GePap]

I never read "V is for Vendetta", in fact, I have not read any of Moore's work. That said, I liked Sin City as a movie, and did not like V for Vendetta as a movie. I made no attempt to watch 300 cause the previews were enough for me to know I would hate it, and League of Extraordinary Gentleman was just bad.

I don't pretend to expect a movie adaptation to ever be faithful to the book/comic anymore because cimena is too different a medium.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's like people whining that the "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie wasn't enough like the book.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Lazerus
Daywatch/nightwatch ?

Yeah it was something like that. Daywatch, nightwatch, darkwatch.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
It's like people whining that the "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie wasn't enough like the book.

Watchmen doesn't make sense if you change the ending.

[Wraith]

--"Upbeat"

Yeah, like the "happily ever after" ending they tried to tack on to Brazil. It'll probably work just about as well (ie. not at all).

--"There's nothing sacred for Hollywood."

Yes there is. You only have to see how jealously they guard their profits and copyright extensions to see that.

--"but that poster makes it look like the movie's costumes were designed by the same dude who did the ones from Joel Schumacher's mega-campy Batman flicks."

Well, that part could actually work. They're quite reasonably close to the designs in the original comic, which were pretty camp. There's several in-story comments about it, in fact.

--"Isn't "V for Vendetta" an Alam Moore work? That movie was kick ass"

Unfortunately, it completely missed the point of the original work. It's like watching Verhoeven's version of Starship Troopers. No matter what you think of it on its own, it utterly fails as an adaptation since it completely and utterly doesn't do what the original meant to do.

(Mind you, in both cases the stand-alone were pretty much crud as well, but tastes differ.)

--"You think his original V stuff would have played well in a 2 hour movie?"

See, this is the problem. Why insist on a movie? They approached Terry Gilliam to direct Watchmen, and he ended up declining, saying it wouldn't work as a movie. He wanted to do it as a mini-series, but they wouldn't give him the funding for it.

He was right. Which is why there's still some hope for HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. They're doing a mini-series, with a season per book.

--"was just a name bought out and slapped onto another screenplay (called "Hardwired")."

Yes, they unfortunately (hah) didn't bother do do any research before hand and didn't realize that was already the title of a cyberpunk book by Walter Jon Williams. Then some "genius" got the idea they'd slap Asimov's name on it and increase their audience. Wish I knew who in his estate agreed to the idiocy.

--"I made no attempt to watch 300 cause the previews were enough for me to know I would hate it"

The preview for Watchmen have given me the same feeling, at least as far as the cinematography goes. Snyder's work comes across as gimickry for the same of gimickry because he doesn't have any solid conception of drama.

Then again, one of my favorite directors is Yasujiru Ozu, who hardly ever does anything but still shots from one of two camera heights. When he does a pull or a pan you know it's important. You can do that if you've got talent.

--"Watchmen doesn't make sense if you change the ending."

Agreed, but that's Hollywood adaptations for you. The only one I can think of that even comes close to the original intent of the work off-hand is Hunt for Red October.

Wraith
"Beneath me, this awful city, it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children. New York."
-- Rorschach ("Watchmen")

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Yeah it was something like that. Daywatch, nightwatch, darkwatch.

Russian, yes. Originally books, not movies, though there has been a couple of movies made from the series (Night Watch, Day Watch, Dusk Watch). Not based on Watchmen, as far as I know. Very good series though

[Stefu]

According to what I've read (from people who have gone to advance showings) the ending is changed but not to an upbeat direction -

Spoiler:

the space squid is gone, instead Ozy blows up a bunch of cities and makes it look like Dr. Manhattan did it and the threat of Manhattan brings the world together, however they still kill Roscharch at the end and the line about doing it 35 minutes ago is there and so on.

Personally,

Spoiler:

the space squid

was always the most ridiculous part of Watchmen for me so I don't care too much about that, however something in the newest trailer rubs me the wrong way (might be the choice of music)