By Dan Mecca
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching these clips Warner Bros. have been putting out, and the whole thing’s just not registering with me. Having read the graphic novel (very recently), I am still reeling from the effects caused by what Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons offer the reader throughout the entire narrative, up to and most definitely including the brilliant finale. By book’s end, there is so much to consider and think about; so much to discuss with your friends.
And why? Because the picture the novel paints, literally (and psychologically), is so vivid and real that it forces the reader to take Watchmen seriously.
Watching these clips, the sense of realism and core message feel lost, or at the very least extremely hollow in comparison. Just a couple of aesthetic questions:
-Why does Rorscach have the Batman growl?
-Why does the Nite Owl’s costume look badass? Did Snyder not remember how raggedy and goofy his costume was in the novel?
-Will Snyder use slow motion in EVERY scene in the film?
The only clip of the four released that really worked for me was the “Rescue” clip, which felt a lot like the novel and recalled much of Gibbons’ original artwork.
Continuing on the plus side of things, I like that they have Matthew Goode playing Ozymandias (a.k.a Adrian Veidt) as a full blown Aryan specimen of beauty and power – essentially the prime example of Hitler’s “superman.” Thinking back to the graphic novel and all of its allusion to the human form and war and the like, it seems like Veidt will be played as the earmark problem/solution, at least on the human scale. So that’s interesting. I cannot wait to witness his monologue at film’s end explaining himself – I think one of the best written parts of the entire novel.
The biggest problem with Watchmen (the film) is the marketing campaign, which most cost nearly as much as the actual film production. This thing is being built up to astronomical proportions, including a July theatrical release of Zack Snyder’s director’s cut.
I mean I swear, if I see “From the visionary director of 300” one more time, I might flip shit. I have got a certain amount of faith in Zack Snyder, but he has yet to prove himself as visionary. I’ve actually got a lot more faith in the casting director Kristy Carlson, citing her mostly pinpoint slection of relatively unknown actors to play the parts (although I’ve got a little problem with the attractive Patrick Wilson as Dreiberg – kind of the same problem I have with the Nite Owl costume now that I’m thinking about it).
At the end of the day, there’s is no doubt in my mind that Watchmen will be at least as good as 300, and certainly as stylish. But, dear God, I hope it’s better than 300, which resonates to me, upon second viewings, more as a drippy painting with a couple of great action sequences and a whole lotta horrible dialogue than a “visionary” accomplishment.
Unfortunately, I do believe Watchmen just may harbor many of the problems 300 had, most directly style over substance. It appears that Snyder and co. are aware of how BIG Watchmen is and are determined to make epic in size, scope and scale. That being said, the best parts of the graphic novel are the subtleties within the BIG message it presents. (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ WATCHMEN) The idea that the inherent violence and selfishness of human nature can never be completely scrubbed out, never remedied, is offered in the final panel of the novel, not to mention the revelation that Rorscach’s journal will be discovered by the seedy journalist’s and possibly exploited.
The alternate history is used to suggest a fickle American people, easily led astray with enough propaganda and spilled blood, a parallel to our time period which SHOULD make this film more than just entertaining, but important as well.
If Snyder has chosen to make Watchmen visually epic at the sacrifice of narrative depth, it will be apparent early on and potentially destroy what at first looked to be a flawless adaptation.
There’s a lot going against Watchmen as the release date draws nearer and nearer. When first writing this, I was going to warn reader not to watch the released clips with fear they would disappoint. But now, as I come to the end, I feel as though you, reader, should probably watch the clips and bask in their overall mediocrity. Perhaps this will bring down the expectation level, and when the film actually comes out it will be just as great as you think it will, because by that time maybe you will think it will just be very good.
Or wait and don’t watch them, and keep the faith. A lot of people liked 300 a lot more than I did. Either way – God speed.
What do you think? Will Watchmen be an overall disappointment? How do you feel about the casting? The slow motion use?