The long-anticipated Watchmen is out today—and everyone’s got an opinion.What is Watchmen? An adaptation by 300 director Zack Snyder of a graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore (author) and Dave Gibbons (illustrator). Now, this isn’t just any graphic novel. It could be said to be the graphic novel of all time (though Gabriel McKee begs to differ). It won a Hugo award (the highest honor in science-fiction) and it made the list of top novels “of all time” by Time Magazine—the only graphic novel to do so. I’ve read most of it and have to admit it is very impressive in spite of its dark portrayal of human nature and behavior. Which isn’t to say exploring the darkness we humans are capable of is a bad thing. As far as it’s depiction in that arena goes, it’s spot on in my opinion. It’s just that is so spot on, and, while the light and hope in the story is there, it is very dim. But that’s only my opinion, heh.
And there are definately more opinions out there. My husband and I are planning on seeing the film, but since we won’t get to it until later this month, here’s some reviews and articles for you to consider. Russ Breimeier gives a solid background to the film as well as a review, giving it 3.5 out of 4 stars at Christianity Today, ultimately calling it “challenging and haunting.” Brandon Fibbs muses on A God Among Men and Peter Chattaway wonders How important is “accuracy” in a movie at CT’s movies blog. (You might also want to check out Chattaway’s blog for a hilarious Wall-E/Watchmen parody trailer.) Christian Hamaker sees both pluses and minuses in the film at Crosswalk. Tyler Kemp gives an analysis of the graphic novel and Adam Smith says Snyder tells “one of the most human stories of all” at Relevant Magazine. Aaron Kamp (who ultimately wasn’t all that impressed) asks Does the End Justify the Means at Hollywood Jesus and (not surprisingly) Unplugged doesn’t find much to like about it. Roger Ebert, on the other hand, reveals that for him the film was a “powerful experience.” You can get as slew of links to more mainstream film reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, where the film is running at 65% fresh.
And that’s it for now.
(Image: Warner Bros/Paramount)