If you don't read or haven't been into comics you're probably saying; "what hype?" it's just another comic book movie. The hype comes from comic fanboys who hold the graphic novel as the "holy grail" of comic books. Time magazine ranks it as one of the 100 best novels in English literature. It takes place in the 80's and Richard Nixon has served five terms as President. One note about the portrayal of Nixon; the actor playing RMN has a seriously ludicrous looking make up job. The prosthetic nose makes him look more like Cyrano de Bergerac or maybe even Bob Hope. Nixon's appearance is very exaggerated; which is obviously by design, and the character is supposed to be a caricature of Nixon rather than a realistic portrayal.
"Watchmen" was originally released as a 12 issue maxi series by DC Comics in 1985, and honestly, I didn't care much for it. It was way too dense and complex for a comic book. I've always viewed comics as cheap and quick entertainment because I don't have to put in the time and effort to read them like a novel. The story works much better as a graphic novel, which is how it should have been issued in the first place. I have recently re-read the story in graphic novel form and enjoyed it much more.
The story is about the murder of one of the members of the "Watchmen" superhero crime fighting group several years after they have been disbanded by the government. Who is behind the murder and why is the crux of the film. Like in the novel, the characterizations and back stories are what drive the film. It tries to answer the question, "what if real people were actually super-heroes?"
The casting of the movie is what works the best about it. The actors are largely not high profile and look amazingly like the characters in the graphic novel. All the performances are very good but Jackie Earle Haley's portrayal of the sociopathic Rorschach stands out from the rest. Zach Snyder, the director of "300", produces a visually stimulating film that is very loyal to the novel, which, for me took away any real tension in the film. I think this may be a film I will enjoy much more as time goes by. I give it a B+. Here is the trailer for "Watchmen".
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2 comments:
Nixon's ski-jump nose was the single exaggerated feature that editorial cartoonists relied on (like Carter's teeth) to identify him. It was not quite like Hope's but it's not as ridiculous as it sounds if you look back at editorial cartoons of the day.
I liked the comics back in the day although then as now I was appalled at the ending. I have not yet seen the flick but I will probably take it in in the next week or so.
Nixon's nose is what identifies him to many people but I thought it was distracting in the sense that the film wants us to look at the watchmen as real people but makes Nixon a cartoon.
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