With all the early reviews coming out for Watchmen buzz is escalating and I am near wetting myself with anticipation. But I found an article today that really sums up my fears I have about its reception. Are the casual movie patrons ready for Watchmen?
Reviews of Watchmen have started to leak online, and the consensus thus far is the movie is extremely faithful to the graphic novel (with exception of the ending) and possibly to a fault. Most fans of the graphic novel seem to love the film, but some wonder if viewers who haven’t read the book might think. For example, Time Blogger Matt Selman says it was “one of the most powerful experiences” he’s “ever had” but later wonders if mainstream audiences will be “utterly baffled, bored, or totally love it?”
When I found out that Watchmen was going to be a feature film, I re-read the book and came to much of the same conclusion.
I can forgive them for altering the ending so this has a little more of a Hollywood climax. Without giving anything away, this character rich and deep thought provoking milestone in comic books didn’t exactly ramp up to a heart racing action scene, however it does leave you with an event that will forever change the world around them and leaves you with a sense of completion of each of the characters’ conflicts.
I think fans of the book will get that. Even with a Hollywood ending.
But with people absolutely trashing Superman Returns for its story driven screenplay and criticizing its lack of action, is the general public going to appreciate Watchmen, or will they be drawn to the movie for its dark and intriguing trailers and walk away unsatisfied?
All the buzz around this film is seemingly coming from those familiar with the book, and I honestly don’t know if this is going to be a big hit or not.
At very least this release will be a fan tribute. Finally after so long we can see the graphic novel on screen and even if it fails at the box office I know I will have a bluray copy of this to add to my collection and the circle will be complete.
