Watchmen, the movie

When I heard the big boys over at Hollywood were planning on making a movie based on the Watchmen comic book by Alan Moore, I couldn’t help but thinking how tough it would be to move that story from book to screen and still have something that was coherent… After the movie came out, I read some reviews and some viewers comments on how much the movie sucked compared to the book and so on…

Last night, I’ve finally watched the DVD and was not expecting much from it… I was pleased with the first few fighting scenes and pretty much with the overall movie itself. The cast was good; it was probably made with the book in mind as I found most actors resembled the characters they were incarnating with the exception of Adrian Veidt. I just thought the actor (Matthew Goode) wasn’t looking alike his character at all…

Regarding the story, lots of things were left off which means some secondary characters that had been more present in the book barely appear on screen… But the movie is already lasting something close to three hours so some skimming was obviously necessary… Then again, when the movie was announced I thought it’d be a trilogy. In that way they could have included all the side stories, maybe even raise some funds to keep the real ending of the story!!!

Yes, you read it well, the ending differs from the book… Which is a pity as it was my favorite part and actually made the book what it was. But apart from that, I found the movie was well conceived and pretty entertaining… I’m happy I watched it at home, though, as my wife kept on asking me to explain what was going on… Imagine me explaining it to her in the theater, without being able to pause the movie! And she’s the kind who asks the ending prematurely as well (if she knows you know) which would not be nice to those who paid their tickets and would be sitting next to us.

Watchmen completed!

… and what a trip it was! I went through the final chapter last night and by the time I flipped the last page I was like “Wow!” and I understood why it spurred so much interest. I won’t talk about what happens inside or anything as I wouldn’t want to spoil your read by giving out any hint on what happens. But I’ll just say it’s really worth putting the time reading the story… So to those of you who have not purchased a copy yet, it’s Xmas time soon so go buy one or get your girlfriend to offer it to you or something…

Still reading Watchmen

I have now reached the 8th chapter and am now really caught in the story. The first 2 or 3 issues were a bit “slow” to me… But after setting up the story and introducing the main characters it really became interesting to read. Add to this a good share of violence with a zest of sex and I was hooked up.

As I read through the different issues, I realized the story was set up in a parallel reality in which U.S. actually won the war in Viet-Nam and took the advantage over Russia. The only thing is they lose their edge and the Russians cease the opportunity and start invading Afghanistan which makes a lot of people go even crazier than they might have been to begin with. The story also lets us know more about some of its principal characters along the line. You get to understand their nature a bit more and see clearer in the way they behave which is always nice.

At first, I really didn’t see why this book was considered as one the bests, if not THE best comic book ever… But after going through those 8 chapters, I really got into the story, really got myself involved in the characters messed up lives, wanting to read on and on as I’m eager to know the end of it. Those 2 guys managed to pull out a trick that really worked on me… It’s not only the story itself but also the way it’s being built in the book, the storytelling part… You really have to read it as it’s difficult to explain with words… It’s a bit like trying to explain to somebody why Pulp Fiction is great. There’s just “something”… And talking about movies, Watchmen is also supposed to come out on the big screen, but honestly, now that I’m reading the book, I wonder how they’re going to reproduce that atmosphere and that gut feeling you get page after page.

And the winner is… Watchmen!!

Wrath of the Lick King has arrived and everybody’s playing it now, busy leveling up their toons as well as their professions. I wasn’t lucky enough to get my copy the day it went live and am still waiting to receive it. Noone’s willing to do any heroics, let alone 10-man raids like Karazhan or Zul’Aman so I spend my time exploring Kalimdor at the moment. Discovering parts of the map and farming ores for the auction house at the same time is only fun for a bit, that’s why I had to decide quickly on which book I was going to read after flipping the last page of Dark Victory.
Yesterday, I finally picked Watchmen as I heard many good things about it. It’s considered to be “the bible of comic books” (replace bible by what suits your religion best) and I usually enjoy Alan Moore’s work so that works for me.

At first, I was a bit “shocked” by the art that seemed a bit too “old fashion” even comparing to those Batman titles I was reading that came out more or less at the same time (mid to end 1980’s). But I got used to it and it didn’t matter anymore after a few pages.
Their style is quite fun to read… Or maybe I should say “not read”. You can get several panes without any dialog at all, just a guy walking around a crime scene, inspecting for any proof that could have been left behind. I also liked the way it started and ended: from extreme close-up to far-out. I am not sure it will be the case for all the chapters as I’ve only read the first one so far but I guess it is going to be.

The story takes place in New York City and it seems most of the super heroes have been “retired” by the government. Some accepted and began living a normal life, some did not and went rogue. That’s what the main character of this story, Rorschach, did… And although he seems to have quite an attitude, he’s kind enough to visit his old masked mates, who quit being super heroes, to warn them of potential danger coming their way.

That summarizes the first part of the story. Nothing revolutionary but Rorschach seems to be enough of an asshole for me to want to read further. I’ll keep posting as I read on.