dog carcass in alley this morning.

Kat's Journal: March 9, 2007
Cramming the final pages in as the opening trailers attempted to distract me and a cell phone light lit the panels, I finished the critically acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen. Then, I watched the movie.

The opening credits set the tone for the whole film, and as a huge Bob Dylan fan I was smitten from the start.
The transition from novel to film was not designed for a die hard novel fan though, it appealed to a wider audience. This was a sacrifice, but one that had to be made in order to make the film marketable and profitable.
The changes in plot did change the overall vibe of the ending though, and I don't want to be a spoiler, but it changed the enemy from unknown intergalactic invaders to something less unfamiliar. This kind of took away from the unity that was acheived, I think. But to make up for it, the whole first half of the movie was dead on to the book, and at certain points the shots were taken right from the panels, which is a necessity when going from graphic novel to film.
The effects were good, the only problem I had was an overuse of slow motion. At some points it was completely unnecessary and annoying, but the Mars scenes were outstanding. The overall look of the movie was edgy and fit well with the story.
I am in love with the soundtrack. All of the recognizable songs gave a familiar feel to the film and tied well with the story. EXCEPT HALLELUJAH. i use that song as an alarm clock and kind of despsie the way they used it in the movie. Also, I think Tyler Bates did a great job composing, especially with "I Love You" it's a really good song.
The nudity of the film was a problem to some people? I found that I didn't mind Dr. Manhattan walking around naked because I was preoccupied with the fact that he was blue.
The violence was horrifying, but we're adapted straight from the novel so I can't complain. It was just so harrowing to see something so horrific brought from pictures to film, it made the actions and scenes a lot more disturbing seeing them acted out. That's another point I'm going to make about the adaptation, it made a lot of things feel more real than just reading it. I connected more with the movie than the book, but I enjoyed the plot of the book more.
My favorite scene in both, though, is Dr. Manhattan on Mars. I don't want to give anything away, but the meaning and emotion behind the whole scene coupled with the amazing effects just made it awesome.

Overall, I liked the movie. If I hadn't read the book I would've loved it. As usual, I guess, the book is so much better.


but really, don't even bother about what I say, just listen to what Pruane2 has to say