"IT DOESN'T TAKE A GENIOUS TO SEE THE WORLD HAS PROBLEMS!"

Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias (Watchmen, 2009).

Jesus Christ! What the Hell is that?

To address a point raised in the review of the Watchmen, the ending for the film differs wildly to that of the comic, and this upset a lot of the die-hard fans. 

Before I can explain further, first I must talk a little about the two different endings.

Essentially, in theDC comic there is a minor subplot involving Ozymandias kidnapping artists and writers to work on ‘designing’ an alien life form which, through bio engineering, he intends to create in-the-flesh. These ‘fake aliens’ will be used to wage a false invasion on Earth, to give America and Russia (who at this time are on the brink of nuclear war) a reason to unite; to battle this superior foe. This is Ozymandias’ plan, his conceit is that if the world cannot be encouraged to live peacefully together, then perhaps it can be tricked- united in fear.

In the film, this whole plot-thread is cut, yet Ozymandias’ general principle remains intact. Instead of ‘creating’ an alien life form, Ozymandias instead frames Dr Manhattan with a terrible attack on Earth from his lair on the moon. He does this by ‘mimicking’ the nature of his energy. Again, this gives America and Russia (who at this time are on the brink of nuclear war) a reason to unite; to battle this superior foe.

Controversially, I prefer the film’s deviation from the source material. I always found the squid-alien out of place for a comic that tries desperately to root itself in some sort of believable world. It was needless, almost insignificant till the point of reveal, and daft. By inserting Dr Manhattan as the fall-guy (with minimal changes to the story, or the overall outcome) the film ties its endings together gracefully and more fittingly. Fall all of the film’s miss-steps, this is perhaps its most intuitive success. 

Sorry fan-boys, but get over it.

THE WATCHMEN, Carlisle's Final Word.

“Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. That's always been the difference between us, Daniel.” 

Rorschach.

Script Logic; 2/2 

Pace; 1/2

Acting; 1/2

Aesthetic; 2/2

Originality & Intention; 1/2

Final Score; 7/10

There is much to be said for the Watchmen, both good and bad, so I think I’ll return with a longer post at a later point…

Watchmen is a difficult watch, especially for anyone not familiar with the original graphic novel- a complicated story set over three decades, involving a number of characters, all played out to the backdrop of Cold War politics and paranoia. Hardly sounds like a laugh, and one of the film’s problems is its grim and humourless subject (although it would seem unfair to hold that against a film for sticking close to its source). The adaption is, by and large, faithful, and manages to fit in its running time an impressive amount of backstory, which on the flip-side alienated a large part of the audience who struggled to keep up with the almost endless exposition.

The film ‘looks’ perfect, and I can’t imagine the characters bought to life in any better visual sense (contemporary yet always respectful to the original designs), and most are well cast.

Probably my biggest gripe with the film is its depiction of the heroes in their ability: The Watchmen novel went through great pains explaining that (with two notable exceptions) the heroes of the story were ‘real’ people with no superhuman abilities. So why, oh why, does Zack Snyder include so many slow-motion action scenes where the characters fight like coked-up Spartans?

Obviously I still need to address the fan-rage caused by the alteration of the book’s ending, but that will have to wait for now. What I will say is that, so far as the film’s narrative is concerned, it was a smart move.

In the end, The Watchmen is a flawed diamond; an act of slavish devotion to material once considered unfilmable, and in that respect this is an impressive success. Not one for fans of regular superhero fodder, but for anyone who likes their violence dark or gritty, and your narrative murky with thick chunks of moral theorizing, then this going to sustain you nicely…

"RORSCHACH'S JOURNAL"

October 12th, 1985:


Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.


The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"


And I'll whisper "no."

Rorschach. The Watchmen (2009) 

One of my movie-inspired drawings, more of which can be found on the Facebook page: 

Invoke Creative Services.