The Film Library

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Occassionally there comes a book that I never, never, NEVER want to see turned into a movie. Watchmen is one of those books. It's something I've tried, to little success, to explain to friends who always assume that, as a comic book fan and Alan Moore fan, I'd naturally be really excited about the prospect of a Watchmen film. However, instead of just pointing to the horrible track record of Moore adaptations, I try to explain how wrong the entire idea of a movie is.

Watchmen is, even more so than Spiderman or Batman or Superman, a comic book. That of course goes without saying, but it's worth stating because Watchmen is a comic book to it's core. There has never been, and possibly never will be, a subject more suited to it's medium. Watchmen NEEDS to be experienced as a comic book. The format is as important and integral to the story as any other characters. Removing that format removes a lot of the story's import.

Last night I watched the comic-con panel from 2007 where director Zack Snyder came out and answered a few questions. It did little to assay my fears, even if Snyder came off as a generally well-intentioned person. I don't mean that as an insult, I mean to say that Snyder seems to really want to make this movie, and not just for monetary reasons. However he also doesn't seem to know what he's talking about, exactly. However, I have to give it up for a cast that includes Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach, which is just awesome(a lot of the cast is younger than their characters in the comic, but Snyder says they were cast at an age where they could age them up or down depending on the flashback instead of hiring several actors per part).

Now, I'm not saying Watchmen can't be a good movie, and certainly I have as much faith in Zack Snyder as I would in any other person(politics aside, 300 was a perfect adaptation of that comic work), I'm just not sure a movie could ever do such an epic story any form of justice. Either way, we'll have a bit of a wait to find out; the movie isn't scheduled for release until 2009.

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

Well, Abby, it appears we might be the only people in this group really interested in Watchmen.

I have to admit, when I saw that trailer for Watchmen in front of The Dark Knight, I started hyperventilating. Everything looked photo perfect(although a bit of it was too... glamorous for the original work), and seeing Doctor Manhattan in full makeup and on Mars was awesome. The whole internet seems to be talking about it, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in.

I reread Watchmen this week, for, seriously, the 16th time(I bought it as a teenager and have read it at least once a year since). And suddenly I'm not as excited as I was. Like I said, I think Snyder can do as good a job as anyone, but I am suddenly sad that the movie will be the first introduction to Watchmen for most people. There's so much that they COULD cut out of the book and still keep the story, but there's nothing that they SHOULD cut. Everything in that book(down to throwaway lines and backpage ephemera) is essential and ties in and reveals more about that universe. It truly is a genius work in the comics medium. I'm a little worried that in a film they may ignore what comic was trying to do(deconstruct the entire superhero myth), and go for just darker and flashier. Like I said, I'm not entirely despondent, but I'm still nervous.

However, it can't be a coincidence that the song in the trailer is a remix of the Smashing Pumpkins song from Batman and Robin(The end is the beginning is the end). Can the fact that they took a song from one of the most infamously over the top and crass comic movies of all time, and then played the slower, darker version of the song be a subtle hint as to what they're trying to do with the movie? I'm holding on to the hope that it was intentional, because that would mean the film-makers are really on top of this thing.

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

TheWorkingDead:

However, it can't be a coincidence that the song in the trailer is a remix of the Smashing Pumpkins song from Batman and Robin(The end is the beginning is the end). Can the fact that they took a song from one of the most infamously over the top and crass comic movies of all time, and then played the slower, darker version of the song be a subtle hint as to what they're trying to do with the movie? I'm holding on to the hope that it was intentional, because that would mean the film-makers are really on top of this thing.

I read somewhere that this was intentional.

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

Hey Aaron, I finally read Watchmen just in time for the movie!  I thought you'd like to be the first to know.  I was hooked pretty quickly.  Rorschach is one of the most interesting characters.  All of the parts feature him were my favorites.  Although I was disappointed in how absurd it got by the end!  I also wished we were able to hear more about Hooded Justice.  We never found out about his background, but I guess he wasn't a main character.  Also, at first I was bored and confused as to why they kept showing this pirate comic, but by the end the pirate comic was one of my favorite parts.  I wish Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons would work together on an entire pirate/sailor graphic novel!

Anyways this was my first graphic novel and it has made me more interested in the medium for sure.

Thanks!

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

Risselada:

Anyways this was my first graphic novel and it has made me more interested in the medium for sure.

Thanks!

The absurdity of the ending(I'm assuming you mean the catastrophic event) is something that makes sense, in the scheme of Moore's plan with the book, but definitely seems a little tonally off. It's something that I don't quite view as a hindrance, because I think the premise was at fairly adequately explained, although it's easy to miss. Did you read all of the backmatter? The excerpts from Under The Hood and that article about birdwatching? They can be hard to get through, and certainly I skimmed through them the first couple times I read the book, but they have some pretty good background information, concerning Hooded Justice(still only get rumors, he's supposed to be a mystery), the writer of the pirate comic, and in fact details(or at least foreshadows) how Veidt accomplished his world-changing plan.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm a minor superfan of Alan Moore, and would definitely recommend just about everything he's written. I'd probably suggest the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen after this, although it isn't as dark or epic as Watchmen.

Re:Who Watches the Watchmen?

TheWorkingDead:

Risselada:

Anyways this was my first graphic novel and it has made me more interested in the medium for sure.

Thanks!

 

The absurdity of the ending(I'm assuming you mean the catastrophic event) is something that makes sense, in the scheme of Moore's plan with the book, but definitely seems a little tonally off. It's something that I don't quite view as a hindrance, because I think the premise was at fairly adequately explained, although it's easy to miss. Did you read all of the backmatter? The excerpts from Under The Hood and that article about birdwatching? They can be hard to get through, and certainly I skimmed through them the first couple times I read the book, but they have some pretty good background information, concerning Hooded Justice(still only get rumors, he's supposed to be a mystery), the writer of the pirate comic, and in fact details(or at least foreshadows) how Veidt accomplished his world-changing plan.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm a minor superfan of Alan Moore, and would definitely recommend just about everything he's written. I'd probably suggest the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen after this, although it isn't as dark or epic as Watchmen.

Aaron, I'm so glad to see you make an appearance here!

I did read all of the backmatter as you call it.  I considered it essential.  I don't know how anyone could read it and skip it.  Some of it was just as much or more interesting than the comic portion.  It was cool how the story could utilize these different forms of written medium.  Is this a common feature of many graphic novels or not?