Damn bitches blasted the Watchmen movie, Push, and The Spirit. I realize that Push isn’t based off of a comic, but if I hadn’t ignored the reviews, I probably would have missed out on some awesome action and storyline. Same goes for the Watchmen movie, the reviews were generally negative and I contemplated not watching the movie.
Well, it is their opinion, however wrong they are, and they are entitled to it. It is also my choice whether or not I listen to the reviews. Perhaps if I had listened to the reviews for Daredevil, I wouldn’t have wasted two hours of my life and $3.50 (I rented the movie). I thought, “Nah, those reviews are just hating.” I was wrong. I mean, I have been wrong a few times.
Lately, it seems as if the critics have been disillusioned with the movies that are based off of the comics. Perhaps it is because the movies are more hardcore than mainstream and they can’t wrap their tiny brains around the subtle jokes that are lost in translation for those who “Don’t get it.” I’m not saying Frank Miller is god (however, I will not say so while around my idol of Frank Miller, which happens to beside my idol of Alan Moore), but damn, The Spirit followed the same formula of Sin City.
Well, I have to agree that having the character talk directly to the audience is totally something a comic book would do, it is more funny when it is in the movies. Also, the action in comics have to be over the top or it is kind of hard to know the damage. You can’t tell me that two characters using props to beat each other down isn’t funny, because it is very funny. It would only be an error, if the director and writers did not mean for it to be funny and well, that will have to wait for the commentary on the DVD (if there is any).
Same thing with Push, critics were upset with the child actor, acting like an adult which, okay, I can understand how it might throw people off who then have to explain to their kids that, “No, you may not drink to increase your mental powers… What you see doesn’t matter in the real world, because in the real world she wasn’t actually drinking and if she was, she would have a much nastier headache.” I get that, I do, not because I have kids, because I don’t, but because it is an logical argument that parents have to deal with or so I’ve heard from parents giving me similar lines.
I very much enjoyed the movie, it fell right in line with many of the other anime, books, and movies that I enjoy. The story line was somewhat unique in its delivery of mixing and matching elements from other sources. I like that, and if you are into any amount of anime that follows the same formula, Naruto, Bleach (not so much, Bleach is more like Dragonball Z formula), Beet the Vandel Buster, Yugioh, Pokemon, etc. I can pretty much go on and on and no, I’m not saying all anime follows this pattern, just the ones that are popular and go on and on forever.
Pretty much 80% of the anime on Cartoon Network follow this pattern. A lot of manga follow this pattern as well. So I was kind of confused after watching Push, about what the critics were on. Yeah, it is repetitive, but what matters the most is the story, characters, and the like-ability of the overall story. Stories can be good, when the main character is all powerful and kicks everyone’s ass, but there is something to be said about a movie that takes a “weak” character and builds that person up. People like the underdog while undertaking all odds and beating them down. People can relate as much as they can with a fictional setting.
That works for the hardcore fans and those who are tuned to that market. However, for a movie to really take on new levels it has to reach the mainstream and that is difficult. Not every movie can be Spiderman and for every Spiderman, you have a Daredevil or Punisher (although, it was not a bad movie, it just didn’t appeal to that many people or enough people). I think what Marvel is doing with comic book characters is what they should have done from the start. Who else knows the characters better? Who else can give them the love and care they need? You don’t want some asshole executive taking the character and raping it under the pretense that they know what people want, because they’ll displease both the hardcore and the mainstream.
In as much of what I like about the Watchmen graphic novel is what was in the movie as well. Sure, they had to restructure a major plot line to make the movie work in the time it was given. I would hate to think the length of the movie, if they had added in the parts needed to make it work with the plot in the graphic novel. So reports that Alan Moore didn’t like it, so I was wearily of seeing it. After I’ve done so, I don’t see what the fuss is about. I’ll need to see what his objections to the movie are, I’ve not seen anything of what he has stated.
The mainstream will be slightly confused with several parts, so you do kind of have to read the graphic novel to understand what the hell is going on in the beginning and how the characters are. It is mentioned later with descriptions about the deaths of the characters in the beginning, but people are most likely not going to understand how it is relevant. The movie also explores parts of the message and themes that made the comic so great. Then again, you kind of need to have read the graphic novel to understand it better.
The movie brushes the surface of the themes that are in the comic and I like that the movie keeps everything mostly scientific. The comic goes into the supernatural, as well as scientific and I’d hate to have to watch another hour just for those parts to be explained.
The iconic parts are there and for that I’m happy. Those who have read the comic should be happy with the newspaper man trying to shield the young man who would read his stuff and never pay. The fat apprentice at the independent newspaper picking up the journal that holds all of the facts and the banter between the editor and the worker.
If that doesn’t get you, then the sex scene should. I could do without Dr. Manhattans penis, but the breasts totally make up for it and Dr. Manhattan is CG anyway.
Overall, I’m going to pick out the movies I’m interested in seeing based on the story and not some hack, excluding a few critics (hell, they are professionals and what do I know). So, the next movie I’m going to see are going to be Star Trek and Harry Potter. I envision that there will be a few more, but then again, there are also a few I’m going to rent.
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