But opening day crowds are not a guarantee of a good movie. So what did I think of it?
Visually the film is awesome. The sets are highly detailed, with everything you might expect to see on a New York City street, plus a few subliminal messages here and there. It's dirty and crowded, in fact you get the impression that the city, like the world of the Watchmen's 1985, is angry and chaotic. The images of Mars are breath-taking (and a bit of commedy if you pay attention to the last scene there).
The soundtrack though leave a bit to be desired. Honestly much of the music is annoying. Perhaps the only song that felt like a good fit for what was happening was Jimi Hendrix's Watchtower. Beyond that, the music can be jarring at times.
The plot can be summed up as roughly 80 - 90% of that found in the graphic novel. Huge portions of the film are exact translations of panels. Often the dialogue is a direct quote. So at times this is great, and at others it's a little awkward as it's just slightly out of touch with what you might expect.
A couple of other things that are important to keep in mind is that this is not a film for kids. This film lives up to every reason a R rating exists. Frontal nudity, of male and female characters occurs more than just once. Full on sex, virtually what you might expect from a porn movie is shown. I mean it. Naked bumping and pumping, everything but penetration for an extended 2 - 5 minute scene.
And violence. Lots of it. Against men, women, kids - in fact everyone in this world seems to have suffered and then doled out their own portion of pain.
But is the long film good? Yes it is. It keeps yur attention at virtually every step. In fact a friend that saw the movie with me stated that except for the length of the introduction (that gives a pretty clear background on how the superheroes rose and fell)the film felt like it wasn't overly long.
The acting was particularly good too. The casting was well done, as there seemed a natural affinity among our heroes. They may disagree from time to time, but its like an old friend that you forgive even when they are dead wrong and you are angry.
I felt that The Comedian, and Rorschach were the best done of all the characters. In both characters the wrongs of society shone the brightest. The Comedian with his jokes that won't make you laugh, and Rorsach with his intense and absolute belief in every wrong being punished absolutely. One line I particularly liked was the statement of Rorsshach in Prison
"You all don't seem to understand. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked in here with me!"
But no movie is perfect. And like any translation there are changes made. Some are good, but others just don't work. One of the key changes was to the ending. An alteration of how things happen and how various characters react. It's just too simplistic and empty. It beguiles the imagination. Truely it annoyed me.
Still a couple of minutes after the climax of the film is no great lost, except if you are more of a purist about the graphic novel.
Be warned, this is not a fun film. By comparison the Dark Knight movies are a Charlie Brown special. As bad as the Joker might be (a sociopath to be sure) it's nothing compared to watching the Comedian shoot a pregnant woman. Or the attempted rape scene in the film. Or the cold blooded passionate murder of a criminal (not to mention the crime he commited to cause the event). That's just a few of the scenes that will change the opinion of what is justice, and what makes a hero.
Overall I recommend this film. It's not for everyone. Especially if you want to feel uplifted about your heroes. But if you want to be taken through a trip of human flaws and the shades of grey that is right and wrong, this movie will take you there.
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