Some Additional Thoughts on Watchmen

NOTE: If you haven't seen and read Watchmen, this post will be of limited or no interest at all, and it contains Spoilers for both. If you intend to see or read Watchmen, bookmark this for later. Also, Giant Squid.

So, I finally finished re-reading the Watchmen graphic novel and have seen the movie twice. One of my first thoughts is that anyone who has any complaints about the film's deviations from the source material (from a plot / inclusion perspective) has incredibly unrealistic expectations. With the exception of the ending (more in a minute), this is one of the most faithful adaptations of a novel I've ever seen that still managed to work as a standalone movie. Some adaptations (the first two Harry Potter movies for example) stick so doggedly to the source material that the film suffers greatly... novels and cinema are different mediums, and what works in one wouldn't work in another. On the whole, Zack Synder did an awesome job, much better than I would have expected after seeing "300".

The Watchmen novel would have been an unwatchable five-hour movie with no momentum had they filmed it totally faithfully. For the sake of momentum, things have to be dropped. Major drops were minimal... the whole Tales of the Black Freighter story (which has been made as a separate movie), Hollis Mason's death, a lot of chatting at the news stands and more Dr. Manhattan on Mars. A few other minor encounters. And it's easy to see how adding those in would have pushed the running time past three hours, again killing the momentum. (And we may get a chance to find out. Most of that stuff was filmed and will be out on DVD.)

I do think some of the tonal changes / additions were a little much... As Abstract Citizen pointed out, the action-y fight scenes dilute the idea that the Watchmen (other then Dr. Manhattan) are just normal folks in peak physical condition, not actual superheroes. That created a bit of a disconnect. And the sex scene felt hyper cheesy. But both of those additions make the movie more accessible to the casual fan. (Anyone longing for a "normal guy" super-hero can go watch Billy Zane in "The Phantom" and tell me how much fun that was.)

As for the ending... at the risk of sounding heretical, the movie's ending was better. The Giant Squid was weird and cool, but it really comes out of nowhere and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The explanation of how the squid "works" is just kinda weak: The process of teleporting the creature kills it, and the cloned implantation of a psychic's brain sends an amplified death wave out, killing half the city and driving millions more insane. Ok then. Cool in context, but admittedly a little bit of a stetch. (Awesome visuals though.) The movie's choice to frame Dr. Manhattan as the source of Earth's potential destruction allows for more connection with the characters, a more closed circle and a more "feasible" future. The guys over at Chud put it well:

In the book? Veidt creates world peace by tricking the world into believing in aliens. The introduction of this "other" creates an new sense to togetherness that puts all differences aside.

In the movie? Veidt creates world peace by tricking the world into believing in GOD. An old testament kind of God. The watching, wrathful, Sodom and Gomorrah destroying type of God.

To me, that's a more affecting ending. The world already understands and fears Dr. Manhattan. The Giant Squid... well, it's a giant squid that wiped out New York. It's a little more abstract than the God Figure living among you for the past few decades turning on the world.

Both the Watchmen movie and novel are stand-alone artifacts. (I suspect it might be difficult to go into the movie completely cold, but I'm not sure.) I enjoyed them both equally and in different ways. And importantly, I'm glad they both exist.