Watchmen film

[Bosh]

I wasn't aware that it had any relevance to the plot, so I went "Oooooo. Cat with horns" and dismissed it as a cool-looking prop. Job done.

In the comic book Veidt's Big Plan involved a lot of genetic engineering rather than physics (i.e. force humans to unite by faking an aliens rather than forcing humans to unite by faking Dr. Manhattan Goes Crazy) so the cat served as an example of all the genetic stuff that Veidt is cooking up.

[Elok]

Did the movie include the part from the book where Veidt uses a variant of his own superhero-name as a password for his super-secret files? That was the part of the comic that I loved.

Anyway, I think everything you listed is vaguely explicable by the comic. It does refer to "All Along the Watchtower," largely on account of the two riders approaching the base. It's pretty pretentious, but all of Watchmen is at least a little pretentious. Dr. Manhattan's dislike of clothes is a sign of his alienation from human values brought on by his immeasurable power and something-or-other.

...okay, the antarctic base is still retarded.

[OzzyKP]

I agree there are parts that didn't make a whole lot of sense. But everything you pointed to is pretty basic stuff Asher.

[Elok]

I guess the film didn't explain clearly enough that Manhattan is basically omnipotent?

Oh, and Asher, if it's any consolation, it sounds like the film at least substituted something reasonable for the fantastically retarded ending of the comic. It involved creating a giant telepathic squid-thing and teleporting it into NYC, where it died on landing, sending out a psychic shockwave that killed the whole population of the city. Both sides take it as a sign of an imminent alien invasion and sign a truce. Yes, that was the super-smart guy's brilliant sinister plan.

[Asher]

I agree there are parts that didn't make a whole lot of sense. But everything you pointed to is pretty basic stuff Asher.

It's only basic if:
1) You knew the extra information in the comic that's not in the movie (as Elok explained)
2) You only watch the movie for its main plot arc and 'spoisions and ****, a category I'm sure you fall into

There was tons of the "basic" stuff as I mentioned, that was just the **** off the top of my head. There was so much "basic" stuff that seemed completely random to me that it was utterly distracting. The pretentious tone of the whole movie grated on me as well. It's a ****ing comic book movie -- stop treating it like anything else.

[Asher]

Apparently the original cut of the movie was four hours so I guess that's why a lot of **** just doesn't make sense. People who could substitute the backstory with their knowledge of the comic probably didn't notice, but now I'm understanding all of the reviews I've read which said fans of the comic would love it, everyone else would scratch their heads...

[Kuciwalker]

...okay, the antarctic base is still retarded.

He's a supervillain. If it wasn't in the Antarctic it would have had to be on the Moon, or in a volcano.

[rah]

Quick question. It has made it to HD cable so I recorded it.

I"ve never read the comic book and I didn't bother reading most of this thread. Should I take the time to watch this or should I just delete it. I am a big SF/FANTASY fan and my expectations on this one are not very high.

[Asher]

It depends how much you value 3 hours of your life.

[rah]

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Is there any redeeming social value, like great production value or anything.

[Asher]

The art style is unique and interesting for the first 30 minutes.

Frankly I hated the movie and just spent a dozen posts ranting about it. But others love it. I don't know, other people cut themselves too. some people like weird ****.

[Elok]

He's a supervillain. If it wasn't in the Antarctic it would have had to be on the Moon, or in a volcano.

Yeah, I don't get why all these supervillains can't just base themselves out of Africa:
-there's a constant supply of desperate locals skilled with AK-47s
-nobody gives a damn what happens there
-nobody would notice, as any large undocumented operations would be assumed to be (yawn) drugs or illicit mining or something
-some regions have an actual source of rare and valuable minerals for use in impractical superweapons
-despite the remoteness, air travel and other basic infrastructure is available without too much expense or unwanted attention
-the heroes could be attacked by CGI lions en route or something

Central Asia is a runner-up, but generally a bit too remote and full of Allah. South America is far too civilized. Russia is already run by supervillains, but if they just reached an agreement...

Also, somebody please tell me, did he actually use "Rameses II" as his password, and if so did the computer say, "ooh, close, try again" like in the comic?

[KrazyHorse]

Yes.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Quick question. It has made it to HD cable so I recorded it.

I"ve never read the comic book and I didn't bother reading most of this thread. Should I take the time to watch this or should I just delete it. I am a big SF/FANTASY fan and my expectations on this one are not very high.

I've never read the book either.

I really enjoyed the film, and didn't come away from it thinking that I hadn't understood any of it. It probably helps that most of the things raised as "concerns" are things I didn't really care about then or now.

So an Antarctic base is unrealistic? It's a superhero movie. Durp.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Oh yes- the money they saved by not having any big-name stars was clearly spent on visual design. The film looks great- the opening title sequence was one of the best I've seen in years.