Finding a heroic figure in Watchmen is tricky, although the off-duty cop may be it. I can’t go with the psychiatrist, who is largely motivated by the kind of book he can write about his experience. The news vendor… Man, probably so, it’s been a bit since I’ve read the book so I’d have to go back!

At any rate thanks for commenting! Despite much inner turmoil I’ve actually picked up the “Ultimate Cut” off of eBay and plan to re-review when I check it out…

Ozzymandias is a mass murderering ego maniac. His moral relativism would only be excusable if the dilemna wasn’t a fake one of his own design. He was taking over the planet the whole time. It was more important that he alone save the world than it was to save the world, mnore important that he’s alexander cutting the gordian knot. one example: he didn’t regretfully kill the comedian, he personally broke into his apartment and beat him to death, because he hated him. he could’ve just as easily hired a sniper or something. “someone really had it in for this guy”

also note, accidentally learning of ozzymandias’s plot cracked the comedian, a deliberatley amoral man.

another example: removing doc manhattan increased the danger of nuclear annihilation. quite a calcuated risk, on his part, but like they say.. if you want to make an omellette you gotta break 50 million eggs.

the worst thing about the movie is, kitty genoviese and the psychiatrist’s awakening is left out. the good this movie could have done! at least then it would be harder to interpret ozzymandias as a saviour. does get people wondering about it though

ALSO, I AM GAY.

I totally agree with the music point you make, though I found All Along the Watchtower to be the one that really rubbed me the wrong way, spoiling what little gravity Snyder was able to muster and changing the entire tone of the ending. The whole thing unravels in the end rather than coming together. None of the actors seem to be in same room, the editor fell asleep and the unnecessary change in plot and characterization just suck.

In terms of remediation, Snyder is a clutzy film maker working with deft source material. The decisions to change content versus leave alone speak more to a laziness on the film’s part, falling back on the source material when it suits the director’s sensibility rather than reasoning through how to present the material on film. Dr. Manhattan’s cock and Rorshach’s split dog head are both aspects of this–Snyder seems to be using them both to show his devotion to the source, but he isn’t able to present them in the same light of the comic’s portrayal. Instead there’s a juvenile insistence on adhering to and even ramping up the violence, which again throws the whole work’s emphases off-kilter. The realizations become paltry, the visuals of Mars become new-agey.

I’d say Snyder needed to do his homework on comic arts, but also realize that the movie viewer carries a different bag of associations than the comic viewer and actually adapt the comic rather than pasting it up on screen.

They remind me of my addiction to really lousy B flicks I watch just for the appearance of Bruce Campbell. Except on a scale ten fold of my little fanboy craving for Ash in “Ice Breaker” or “Maniac Cop”.

I will return with a post, but can’t help thinking about director douche bag Snyder. Did he just read the book because it was number one? or has he actually read a couple of other titles…I think this is the main problem and probably what may have led him in the wrong direction. Also following his 300 “master piece” – a simply told story by simple Frank Miller…we can see why.

Frank Miller already fucked up Will Eisner’s “the Spirit”, so even the comicbook maker can’t even see why the medium cannot always transfer over. perhaps he should have read a few books on sequencing of imagery and the comic as a medium first…it may have spurred something in his mind about the fact that it’s not always what is in the frame…but between them. An that is something a film cannot replicate. Will eisner wrote a couple of books on that…but they probably were not popular enough for Snyder to read.