Ain’t It Cool News has reported… well, non-reported… some interesting news on the Watchmen film.
Apparently there’s an embargo on the reviews. For those not in the know, that means they’ve made a deal with Warner Bros., Zack Snyder, or someone else that they will not release the review until X date.
But as AICN reports…that only seems to be held for U.S. reviewers. Thank goodness there’s another continent or two that might be able to pinch-hit — and according to reports… WATCHMEN IS GOOD!
That was PonderPop. How about Devin Faraci’s non-review review from CHUD? Here’s a highlight:
Snyder had crafted a movie that flirts with honest to God greatness, that doesn’t just capture the events of the comic but also the humanity and the emotion. It’s a remarkable film, and an uncompromising one. It’s the sort of movie that major studios are simply not supposed to be making now that the 1970s are over. Watchmen doesn’t hold your hand and walk you through the story; in fact Snyder’s movie dares the audience to keep up, demanding something much, much more than the passive viewing experience so many expect when watching even the best superhero movies.
Want more? How about Empire‘s four-star review?
That Snyder has gotten a version to the screen at all is a triumph. He has found a way — although this is 160 minutes of a dense, geek-orientated blockbuster for grown-ups. Inevitably, but hardly catastrophically, it fails to truly capture the cascade of ideas and bracing cynicism of Moore’s writing. Yet there is a challenging, visually stunning and memorable movie here, moored halfway towards achieving the impossible.
We might not know who reviews the Watchmen, but these early reports are at least a bit exciting.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
At first I was worried when I read the second paragraph, since the usual reason for not sending the movie out for review is that it sucks, but I feel better after reading the rest of the article.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
What strikes me as odd (but it doesn’t) is the fact that people praise the story and the looks. Nothing beyond that? We already knew about the story. What about the film-making?
What about the overdose of effects?
Anything?
I don’t trust this.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Uh, why would you not think that the “looks” doesn’t encompass the special effects?
February 24th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Looks good, though that Empire reviewer either doesn’t know the origins of the Watchmen characters or else is trying use references more appropriate for a general reading audience who don’t know anything about the Charlton characters.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I question the professionalism of this Ponderpop guy. He’s supposedly a hardass? He’s slobbering all over this movie! Sounds like a geek. And, not knowing an actor’s name if you’re going to speak about his performance is super, super amateur.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I saw the movie at the premiere last night, and I agree with pretty much everything the Ponder Pop reviewer says. The movie is excellent. To answer Claudio R, the film-making is excellent, and there isn’t an overdose of effects – obviously Dr. Manhattan and his powers involve a lot of effects work, but it doesn’t overwhelm things, and they are incredibly well done.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
..
You get what you come for,
be ready to go
Cause it’s one in ten thousand
that come for the show
..
February 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Gentlemen, start your engines!
The first negative review and EVERYONE who has been critical for the past few months about this film will use it as a tool to put down the film.
I have to see the film. I remain objective…but I’m glad to see some good comments so far.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I saw the movie last week and I just want you guys to know that these reviews aren’t plants. Watchmen is the real deal. If anything, the movie should be seen solely for its cinematography and editing. There’s a scene in the middle of the movie that acts as a segway between a “Warriors-esque” fighting scene, intercut with Dr. Manhattan being set-up by the media in an interview, scored to a phillip glass/ramones hybrid beat and literally takes it up to another level from there with the origin story of Dr. Manhattan with Glass’ Prophecies blaring full blast. It was unreal guys, I can’t wait to see it again.
February 24th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I might take what that ponderpop guy has to say a _bit_ more seriously if he wasn’t wearing a watchmen t-shirt and telling me to buy the blu-ray and interviewing the director and two of the stars.
And on another note – what’s wrong with doing a second take? Lights suddenly go out? Can’t remember a name? Just start over again dude.
February 24th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I want to see it a in theater with good sound and picture quality and the only thing I can think of is IMAX! Seeing multiple times and getting all the little detials should be fun, granted it actually makes big box office for several weeks in the US. who knows for sure? Just get here already!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
The Empire guy could have chosen better analogues. Yes, it’s possible that he was distilling the less popular Charlton characters for the uninitiated. However, these guys are more than satires of archetypes but perhaps fragments of the superhero mindset and eventual fates.
Ozymandias is the superhero desire to save it all, no matter the cost. It is the superhero imposing his moral code on others . It is the hero playing God.
Dr. Manhattan wrestles with the nature of having super powers that put you above humans and hence poses the threat of hubris. It is the hero looking down on the masses.
Silk Spectre is the legacy aspect of the superhero. It is the superhero dealing with the past shadows she has fought so hard to outgrow and fight from.
Night Owl is the embodiment of the superhero past his prime. He portrays the hero that has outlived his usefulness, in a world that doesn’t need him and wherein he no longer fits, nor has the power to adjust to it.
Comedian shows the superhero giving in to the real world and playing by their rules. It is the real world hero, letting life come to him and mold him into what he has become. His morals, or lack thereof reflect environmental factors that have wore down his core and hardened him to this frustration of a hero.
Rorschach is the uncompromising determination that brings a hero to do whatever it takes, for justice. Refusing to give up the fight in a world he no longer belongs in. It is the superhero seeing the complex world in black and white, and performing the role of the grey.
These are not just archetypes but rather the possible paths, albeit the darker more failed ones (considering success is also a possibility but not represented here) that one who takes on the task of changing and saving the world (even if it’s just one perp at a time) might endure.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Joe, great breakdown of the characters. I hope the viewers understand this, rather than thinking “Batman pastiche, Superman stand-in”, etc.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
What’s Alan Moore think of it? Post his video review.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:26 am
There won’t be one. Alan Moore has already gone on record saying that he won’t be watching this movie. A shame, really.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:31 am
I’m actually wondering if he’ll see it, too. Based on his comments about V it seems like he at least knows about what is happening with films based on his work (whether or not he cares is a different story). I wonder if he’ll see how they filmed the “unfilmable” work.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Really looking forward to seeing how this translates. I’m glad that folks who don’t know about the comic are interested (at least the ones I’ve talked to about it).
February 25th, 2009 at 1:15 am
Alan Moore won’t watch it. He hates movies. But he read the script and called it adequate, which is the Moore equivalent of any other writer bouncing off the walls and singing unadulterated praises of the movie adaptation of his work.
And Joe, great job describing the characters. I’ve never heard better.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Please don’t promote videos from Blunty3000/Ponderpop. The guy threw his fiancee against a wall last year and it’s disgusting that YouTube allows him to keep an account there.
Do a search on YouTube for “blunty3000 domestic abuse” to see what I’m talking about.
February 25th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Well, I saw the movie six months ago at Zack Snyder’s home and it wasn’t that great. After sitting through it I asked him, “Rorschach’s mask is supposed to be made from a futuristic latex compound that Dr.Manhattan invented, why did you put him in sackcloth?” He just shrugged.
Those guys are definitely plants, especially that Ponderpop geek.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Just for the sake of clarification/lending a bit of credibility to your story Carlos, who exactly are you that Snyder would care enough of your opinion to invite you into his home and show you the movie which, six months ago would still have been largely unfinished as far as post pro is concerned? Industry insider or just a good friend of the guy?
February 25th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Hey, I saw it in Zack’s Malibu screening room three days before Carlos. I saw it and said to Zack, not bad, but why not get rid of Dr. Manhattan’s shorts? I also suggested the Silk Spectre wear her hair long with bangs.
And I told him to drop the depressing ending.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Uh-huh. Well, I doubt teh both of you, but fact or fiction, it’s probably not worth getting into an anonymous argument on the interweb over so whatever.
I will see the film and reserve my judgment until then. Highly excited at this point though…
February 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
After what Hollywood did to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen I don’t blame Alan Moore for not wanting to watch it!
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