Watchmen... (spoiler-free)

...in which Bryan gets on his soapbox


I haven't seen it yet - it's on my schedule for next weekend. After twenty-odd years, I can wait another week. Now, looking around the intarwebs we see an interesting shift from uninformed speculation to nit-picking grumble.

Firstly based upon Alan Moore's blanket disowning of movies based upon his stories (and let's be fair, he has plenty of reason), we have those who took his general lack of involvement and interest to to be a specific condemnation of each movie as it's come along: The Ego from Northampton objects, therefore I, faithful acolyte shall too object (but go to see it anyway and buy the DVD later), to those earnest souls who look at any mention of an adaptation with horror and take any spoof to be a true representation of the final offering. These are the people who will in advance, brook no deviation from the original story line, no omission or reordering; they will make no allowance for the difference in media between comics and films.

Then we have the second phase: It's too close to the original. This doesn't work on film, that should have been left out. There was no need to be so graphic: I didn't like that bit of the original, why leave it in here?

In short, if you really want to know what a film is like, ask someone who watched as a movie, not an adaptation of the source material. These latter are called "fans" and with them, you can't win. You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

And before paranoia hits, this was written before the reviews flood LJ, so it can't possibly be about you. You know I'm talking to you, right?

Watchmen... (spoiler-free)

...in which Bryan gets on his soapbox


I haven't seen it yet - it's on my schedule for next weekend. After twenty-odd years, I can wait another week. Now, looking around the intarwebs we see an interesting shift from uninformed speculation to nit-picking grumble.

Firstly based upon Alan Moore's blanket disowning of movies based upon his stories (and let's be fair, he has plenty of reason), we have those who took his general lack of involvement and interest to to be a specific condemnation of each movie as it's come along: The Ego from Northampton objects, therefore I, faithful acolyte shall too object (but go to see it anyway and buy the DVD later), to those earnest souls who look at any mention of an adaptation with horror and take any spoof to be a true representation of the final offering. These are the people who will in advance, brook no deviation from the original story line, no omission or reordering; they will make no allowance for the difference in media between comics and films.

Then we have the second phase: It's too close to the original. This doesn't work on film, that should have been left out. There was no need to be so graphic: I didn't like that bit of the original, why leave it in here?

In short, if you really want to know what a film is like, ask someone who watched as a movie, not an adaptation of the source material. These latter are called "fans" and with them, you can't win. You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

And before paranoia hits, this was written before the reviews flood LJ, so it can't possibly be about you. You know I'm talking to you, right?