So, yeah, I saw it too.

[thebitterguy]

Rorshach's Diary: The Early Years.
"Coach showed up drunk today. Obvious signs of moral weakness. He lives with another man, very fastidious. Possibly homosexual. Must investigate further."

A lot of people have talked about the film, and opinions range from the Very enthusiastic to the slightly less so.
Visually, I think they did a bang up job recreating the book's look, which is I suppose one of the advantages of adapting a hyper-detailled graphic novel. Much like a fantasy epic that's been envisioned by the Brothers Hildebrandt.



Narratively there were a number of issues. A lot of them have been talked about to various degrees, but the one that just got under my skin was the way Night Owl's arc was handled. In the original graphic novel, as things progress, he decides to spring Rorschach from prison, and the result of this is he ends up nearly destroying his life. His secret id is compromised, and his mentor is murdered as a direct result of him and Silk Spectre freeing Rorschach from jail.

Sure, in the end him and SS make a place for themselves in the Brave New World, but only at the cost of their old ones.

As for the sex scene, well, they just showed the guy was impotent. Snyder needed to make sure we knew he wasn't just turned into a premature ejaculator instead.

Take that last bit as serious as you want.

Comments

[oakthorne.livejournal.com]

As for the sex scene

The funny thing is that I considered that sex scene, following as closely on the heels of the impotence scene, to be utterly vital not just to that character in question, but to Moore's original intention behind the series as a whole.

These people aren't normal. In the real world, no one would go out and do the sorts of things they did just for truth, justice and the American way. There's something bent in each of them, on some level, and the fact that even arguably the best of them, Night Owl, couldn't get it up until he'd been out superheroing tells us that he is driven by more than the need to just be a do-gooder.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

What I thought was interesting was the choice of music during the sex scene. Must muse on whether that song - and indeed, that version of the song - was the best choice.

[thebitterguy]

I think the main issue is that it just went on in the movie. I'm surprised they didn't go for the whole Skinemax run around the bases.

Seriously, if it had gone on that long in the book, the sex scene would have been issue 9.

Did you see cargoweasel's post about Zach's portrayals of homosexuality?

[oakthorne.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

And no, I didn't. I shall have to take a gander.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I think the main issue is that it just went on in the movie. I'm surprised they didn't go for the whole Skinemax run around the bases.

Prude :)

They clarified the scene for me with Dr. Manhattan(s) and Silk Spectre. I've always thought a girl should know when she's got a good thing going.

[graveyardgreg.livejournal.com]

I just saw it as not being able to get it up until he did some superheroing.

Superheroes are pretty fucked up, yes?

[thebitterguy]

That is one of the book's themes, yah.

[skaiser.livejournal.com]

I agree. But it seems to me that the subtler points were often missed.

I did not like the fight scenes in particular. They were too overdone, too gratuitous. Dan smashing an arm almost in two in the alley fight was ridiculous. And Night Owl and Silk Spectre II beating up all of the criminals in the prison was also shot in way too Kewl a manner. The book was drawn in a very ordinary manner. The fight scenes were ordinary looking in the book. Making them out to be super ninjas on wires reduced a great deal of the mood that the story is supposed to be telling.

As for the sex scene, well I thought it could have been done more tastefully, but wasn't horrible. Except for the song. In fact I would argue that the music choices throughout the film were poor.

Also, all of the Vietnam scenes looked like they were shot in a 6ft room with a painted curtain in the background. Mars looked more real.

However I did enjoy the opening credits a great deal.

[thebitterguy]

Oh, the fight scenes for sure I did not like. It felt very different from the original with the neck twisting and limb snapping.

I did not hate on the 'Nam scenes as much. It looked sufficiently unreal that I could buy it.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind the stylistic choices for the fight scenes -- or even the increased damage levels, really. If you're going to try to deconstruct action films the same way Moore did comics, showing the brutality of a fight scene serious enough to batter people into unconsciousness is not a bad decision.

I DID mind the obvious FATALITIES when Dan and Laurie were going at it. There's at least one deliberate neck-snap in the alleyway. That undercuts the whole idea that where Rorschach went over the line was in killing criminals, and that Dan in particular was hesitant ("too soft") to kill ("do what is necessary").

Maybe that was the point, though; demonstrating some level of hypocrisy in the approximately-sympathetic characters.

[thebitterguy]

It just seemed to be off. I don't know if the maker of 300 is able to deconstruct anything.

I preferred how, in the source, the only character who had Fu, as it was, was Ozzy. Everyone else seemed to be a brawler of some level, even as well trained and competent as SS2 & NO were in the alley fight in the original.

[thebitterguy]

But, yes, I agree that they were fighting a little overly aggressively. I think there was a broken limb or two in the original, but no one got stabbed in the neck.

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

I liked the movie. Of course I have never read the comic books so I didn't have any preconceptions about it.

Some of the music seemed a bit out of place, but otherwise I thought it did a good job at drawing you into an alternate history of Earth.

I thought the comedian looked like Robert Downey Jr.s Steroid popping maniac uncle *lol*

And I wish Dr. Manhatten would have worn some frigging underwear once and a while... sheesh. I didn't need to see "Mr. Manhatten" bouncing around the big screen. I can imagine that was a fun job in the CGI department.

"Okay, today we are drawing straws to see who spends the next 3 months animating Dr. Manhattens junk."

"Tough luck Timmy."

[thebitterguy]

I think it may be easier to enjoy the film on its own terms, rather than running a constant comparison to the original in your head.

I'm thinking of maybe seeing it again.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I'd heard so many comments that I thought the guy was going to be *huge*.

Yeah. Whoopee. He's naked. He's no Jason Mewes.

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

I am just surprised they showed it at all. I mean that used to be an NC-17 rating showing full frontal male nudity. And especially for a superhero movie, surprised the censors and ratings board didn't have a cow about it.

But then again, I suppose if I had god-like powers, I would run around completely naked too. I mean who i going to stop you? *lol*

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

Zach and Miri had the same rating, and Mewes wasn't animated. :)

[thebitterguy]

Actually, that entire movie had him in claymation.

Most people don't know that.