Superman: Man Of Steel (2013)

[Dark Jimbo]

For me, the big Watchmen movie mistake was...

For me it was Rorschach's death scene. Tears streaming down his face, ripping off his mask (why?), screaming, 'Do it!!!! Do it!!!' If I remember rightly all the characters were stood around watching sympathetically, like the denoument of the old He-Man cartoons where the cast assembled at the end to discuss that week's events before Orco did something clumsy and/or hilarious.

Much prefered how he went in the GN - quiet, resigned, knowing the Doc's about to blast him but turning his back anyway and getting on the skidoo. Best of all, none of the other characters even know he's died, rendering it almost unbearably tragic.

[Jim_Campbell]

Much prefered how he went in the GN - quiet, resigned, knowing the Doc's about to blast him but turning his back anyway and getting on the skidoo.

I don't think you're remembering it quite right.

(That's a massive spoiler if you haven't read the book, BTW.)

Cheers

Jim

[Dark Jimbo]

Clearly not! I've only read it the once, mind, and that was a good few years ago.

[Recrewt]

Without being rude to anyone, some of the posts have made me think similar.

I respect if people do not like this movie, but in response to some of the latest posts:

There have been some comments re the intestine scene with Dr Manhatten, but I don't think that is a massive diversion from the comic:



And I am also surprised that people though his physique was drastically different from the comic, he always seemed to be in pretty good shape to me:



I also thought the scene with Ozmandias and the assassin was still in line with the comic:



And this one even surprised me when I was looking for some pictures, the much criticised toilet scene:

[dracula1]

There's some good evidence. As mentioned a great movie and attempt at capturing the genius of Moore's book.

[Goaty]

Do you know there is new superman film out this Friday?

[Jim_Campbell]

And this one even surprised me when I was looking for some pictures, the much criticised toilet scene:

There's no suggestion in the comic that that's blood — it's only red because the entire scene is coloured that way because of the emergency lighting and fires in the prison. Rorschach and Nite Owl's dialogue makes it very clear that Rorschach has stuffed Big Figure in the toilet. In the film, the liquid is unquestionably blood.

Cheers

Jim

[Recrewt]

I spent a few minutes looking at that and I couldn't really decide either way - I can see that it could just be water and the red in it reflects off the wall and such but at the same time I couldn't say for certain there was no blood in it. 

The surprising part for me was because I forgot this whole scene was even in the comic!

[TordelBack]

I think the main point being made is that while all those scenes and images are fairly faithfully reproduced visually, the manner in which they are handled in the film is worlds apart - the Big Figure toilet scene being a case in point.  in the book, the masked heroes (with the exception of Jon and Adrian) are just faintly ridiculous people who can handle themselves in a fight, in the film they are all Neo on a homicidal rampage.   As Jim mentioned earlier, you just have to contrast the alley fight with the one in the book: two cold superhuman killers having a workout, versus two out-of-practice people getting hot and sweaty seeing off some punks, the narrative point of which is not that they are frackin' kewl pwners, but rather to highlight a shared physical experience that foreshadows the odd nature of their sexual relationship.

I admit to having enjoyed looking at the Watchmen movie (seeing Archie in action, the opening montage, Malin Ackerman, all great), I just didn't enjoy watching it.

[Jim_Campbell]

the manner in which they are handled in the film is worlds apart - the Big Figure toilet scene being a case in point.

Also worth observing what immediately precedes Big Figure's death in the film and book. In the book, Rorschach forces Big Figure to have one of his henchmen cut the other's throat. Pretty horrible, but not horrible enough for Snyder — oh, no! In the film, we get to see a guy have both his arms cut off with a power saw, which is waaay cooler.*

Cheers

Jim

*Sarcasm.

[Recrewt]

I am starting to feel guilty about derailing this thread so I don't think I will say much more about Watchmen.

I personally thought the alley fight in the comic was not too different from the movie, they seem to be able to handle themselves in both:



Some of this is down to the individuals reaction and I can see how people think the movies glamourised the violence more.  For me though, it came across as brutal and cruel, like it does in the comic.

With reference to the prison scene with the guys throat cut - that always seemed a strange thing to do in the comic as he did not need to do it - the guy was not in the way, they could have cut the door without killing him (or they could have tried cutting the door and even if that did result in killing him, then no loss).  The movie version for me plays a bit better - the guy is clearly in the way so they remove his arms. 

[radiator]

There have been some comments re the intestine scene with Dr Manhatten, but I don't think that is a massive diversion from the comic:

*takes deep breath*

Well, it was different in the sense that we saw loads of intestines hanging off a chandelier - a needless, gratuitous, distracting exaggeration of gore and violence which is not in the comic. It's emblematic of the film which always goes out of it's way to do so.

And I am also surprised that people though his physique was drastically different from the comic, he always seemed to be in pretty good shape to me:

I always got a Leonardo Da Vinci illustration vibe from Manhattan in the comics - he is well built - like a perfect specimen of man. In the film he looks like a roided-up bodybuilder. There's a difference.

I also thought the scene with Ozmandias and the assassin was still in line with the comic:

Yes it is - that isn't what I was arguing - my problem with it was the 'awesomeification' of it, with Matrix-lite slow motion bullets breaking someone's glasses in half. Needless, gratuitous, stupid. In the book the assassination is brutal, unshowy and sudden, like you know, real violence often is.

And this one even surprised me when I was looking for some pictures, the much criticised toilet scene:

That is water. In the film it is blood. Again - needlessly ramping up the violence to appeal to the stunted adolescents audience, while making what is on paper a quite bleak and unflinching story into an exploitative, nasty one that wallows in and glorifies violence.

Sorry mate, but these subtleties and distinctions are clearly lost on you.

[radiator]

I personally thought the alley fight in the comic was not too different from the movie, they seem to be able to handle themselves in both:

Oh FFS, in the comic THEY DON'T KILL ANYONE, STAB ANYONE OR BREAK ANYONE'S NECK! That dramatically changes the entire tone of the scene, and essentially breaks the characters of Dan and Laurie from a narrative point of view.

[Frank]

That is water. In the film it is blood. Again - needlessly ramping up the violence to appeal to the stunted adolescents audience, while making what is on paper a quite bleak and unflinching story into an exploitative, nasty one that wallows in and glorifies violence. Sorry mate, but these subtleties and distinctions are clearly lost on you.

You mean there's no good reason to believe it's anything other than water. If you don't think that subtle distinction is important, maybe you can understand why the subtleties and distinctions you mentioned just don't seem as important to Recrewt as they are to us. That means the film works best for an audience which is different to that which enjoyed the book. SOAP summed it up best when he described it as a story transposed from one medium to another, rather than adapted - that means it's every bit as faithful as Recrewt insists, but it also means that (as with Sin City and 300) I'll never feel the need to watch the film again in my life.

[Recrewt]

I always got a Leonardo Da Vinci illustration vibe from Manhattan in the comics - he is well built - like a perfect specimen of man. In the film he looks like a roided-up bodybuilder. There's a difference.

Sorry mate, but these subtleties and distinctions are clearly lost on you.

I think you're right, I cannot see any difference: