|
I hate to be one of those people who says "such-and-such book can't be represented on film," but Watchmen is really too vast for an effective onscreen treatment. Each character's backstory could arguably be a full-length movie in itself, though of course no one would bankroll such a project.
Rorschach's backstory in particular was hollow compared to its portrayal in the book, and Dr. Manhattan's origin--especially his relationship with Janey Slater--is much more vibrant in the book.
The film was a good effort but ultimately fell far short and felt hopelessly rushed. I'm not claiming that the book is perfect, because Moore often lapses into annoying self-indulgence, rendering whole swaths of the book unreadable for me. I'm not even saying that anyone else could have done better with the film.
Two very minor points that surprised me: despite the unflinching portrayal of graphic violence, the film shied away from the words "impotent" and "sperm." This isn't nitpicking, either; the scenes in which the words occur are central to the plot and are both portrayed in the film, but without these "icky" words, for some reason.
Apparently a meat cleaver to the skull is fine (though that's not how it happened in the book, either), but I guess the word "sperm" is too much for the moviegoing public.
|