Watchmen

[wansbrough]

I had high hopes with this one and to be honest I still don't really know what I thought of it. I have since done a bit of research into the origins and story and perhaps understand it a little clearer. It is quite a long film and there is a lot of background filling in to most of the characters which didn't always make sense to me. I will probably benefit more by giving it a second go.
I think I am probably gauging it against the X-Men series as it is comic based which is probably not the thing to do. DC comic characters don't seem to convert to the big screen as well as Marvel (with the exception of the "The Dark Knight" which was top drawer.
Overall I think I will give it a 7 out of 10, not the best but far from being the worst either.

[GRINCH]

I haven't seen the movie but the complain I kept hearing was that the movie was too long. I saw the cartoons version a few days back on ppv and they are a bit complicated. You have to really see everything from the beginning to understand.

I will wait for it on dvd.

[dirk8837]

watched this one last night and i must admit i think it spent way to much time introducing you to all the charactors, not really much action apart from the end, and then when you have an indestructable man who seems to be able to do anything it sort of removes any suspence, i think it should have focused a bit more on some action myself, fighting the bad guys rather than just keep going back to the past to introduce the heros, also every hero needs a weakness, as this is used to help create some suspence as it gives the bad guy a chance although we all know they will lose in the end.

My overall view was quite dissappointed tbh, its definitly watchable but not the best comic book apatptation there is i give it a reasonable 6 out of 10

[GRINCH]

Dirk that's probably cause they will continue the story.

I know the cartoon version is a few chapters, and like I said that was the complain about the movie. They tried to cram too much info in 3 hours.

[dirk8837]

it wasnt Necessaryly to long its just there was no real suspence, i have to admit not knowing much about the comic but what is dr manhatten's weakness? does he have one, how does the bad guy get the better of him? what creates the impression that the bad guy could win?

[wansbrough]

it wasnt Necessarily to long its just there was no real suspense, i have to admit not knowing much about the comic but what is Dr Manhattan's weakness? does he have one, how does the bad guy get the better of him? what creates the impression that the bad guy could win?

Dr Manhattan's big weakness were his human emotions. By making him think he had given his close friends cancer, he turned his back on earth.
I have done a bit of reading up on this and it is based on a 12 comic book series. I assume the 12 comics are the whole story. None of the other Costumed Heroes had any super powers. Although watching the film it would give the impression they had. The more I have thought about this one the more I sort of understand it.

Plot

In October 1985, New York City police are investigating the murder of Edward Blake. With the police having no leads, costumed vigilante Rorschach decides to probe further. Discovering Blake to be the face behind The Comedian, a costumed hero employed by the United States government, Rorschach believes he has discovered a plot to terminate costumed adventurers and sets about warning four of his retired comrades: Dan Dreiberg (formerly the second Nite Owl), the superpowered and emotionally detached Doctor Manhattan and his lover Laurie Juspeczyk (the second Silk Spectre), and Adrian Veidt (once the hero Ozymandias, and now a successful businessman).

After Blake's funeral, Doctor Manhattan is accused on national television of being the cause of cancer in friends and former colleagues. When the U.S. government takes the accusations seriously, Manhattan exiles himself to Mars. In doing so, he throws humanity into political turmoil, with the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan to capitalize on the perceived American weakness. Rorschach's paranoid beliefs appear vindicated when Adrian Veidt narrowly survives an assassination attempt, and Rorschach himself is framed for murdering Moloch, a former supervillain.

Neglected in her relationship, and no longer kept on retainer by the government, Juspeczyk stays with Dreiberg; they don their costumes and resume vigilante work as they grow closer together. With Dreiberg starting to believe some aspects of Rorschach's conspiracy theory, the pair take it upon themselves to break him out of prison. Doctor Manhattan, after looking back on his own personal history, places the fate of his involvement with human affairs in Juspeczyk's hands. He teleports her to Mars to make the case for emotional investment. During the course of the argument, Juspeczyk is forced to come to terms with the fact that Blake, who once attempted to sexually assault her mother, was in fact her biological father. This discovery, reflecting the complexity of human emotions, re-sparks Doctor Manhattan's interest in humanity.

On Earth, Nite Owl and Rorschach continue to uncover the conspiracy surrounding the death of The Comedian and the accusations that drove Doctor Manhattan into exile. They discover evidence that Adrian Veidt may be behind the plan. Rorschach writes his suspicions about Veidt in his journal, and mails it to a small, right wing New York publication. The pair then confront Veidt at his Antarctic retreat. Veidt explains his underlying plan is to save humanity from impending Atomic war between the United States and Soviet Union by faking an alien invasion in New York City, which will annihilate half the city's population. He hopes this will unite the nations against a perceived common enemy. He also reveals that he had murdered The Comedian, arranged for Dr. Manhattan's past associates to be diagnosed with cancer, and staged the attempt on his own life in order to place himself above suspicion, all in an attempt to prevent his plan from being exposed. Finding his logic callous and abhorrent, Dreiberg and Rorschach attempt to stop him but discover that Veidt has already enacted his plan thirty five minutes ago.

When Doctor Manhattan and Juspeczyk arrive back on Earth, they are confronted by mass destruction and wide scale death in New York City. Doctor Manhattan notices his abilities are limited by tachyons emanating from the Antarctic, and the pair teleport there. They discover Veidt's involvement and confront him. Veidt shows everyone news broadcasts confirming the cessation of global hostilities, leading almost all present to agree that concealing the truth from the public is in the best interests of the world. Rorschach refuses to compromise in the face of armageddon and leaves, intent on revealing the truth. As he is making his way back, he is confronted by Manhattan. Rorschach tells Manhattan that Manhattan will have to kill him to stop him from exposing Veidt and his actions, and Manhattan responds by vaporizing him. Manhattan then wanders through the base and finds Veidt, who asks Manhattan if he did the right thing in the end. In response, Manhattan states that "Nothing ever ends" before leaving the Earth for a different galaxy. Dreiberg and Juspeczyk go into hiding under new identities and continue their romance. Back in New York, an editor complains about having to pull a two page column due to the new political climate. He asks his assistant to find some filler material from the crank file, and the series ends with the young man reaching towards a pile of discarded submissions, near the top of which is Rorschach's journal.

[dirk8837]

yeah i understand that but it makes his weakness, that he couldnt give a fuck about humans and earth really, which is a pretty poo weakness, plus if he really wanted he could probably cure there cancer, he appears to have the ability to turn anything into something else so why cant he turn cancerous cells into healthy ones?, i think maybe i'll try to investigate the comics a bit more, i just didnt find the film what i would expect from a super hero movie if you know what i mean although as i said it is quite watchable

[GRINCH]

Just finish watching this one, very good start but then it got weak. I liked how they showed each character and explained the relation to The Comedian. The end was like "huh?", I guess we will see what happens in part 2.

Good music by the way...

My overall was 7 out of 10.