Slashdot Mirror
Watchmen Movie Trailer Is Out
I forgot to mention the other bit of exciting comic book movie news this week: DaSpudMan noted that the Watchmen trailer is out — from the Director of 300, which spawns mixed feelings at our office. But it looks pretty good.
I think you missed the point. Spoilers ahoy.
Ozy isn't uttering forth a monologue; he's distracting everybody. He's already won. Further, he's not trying to show them how smart he is, daring them to outthink him, Riddler-style; he's giving himself up for judgement. He wouldn't have stopped any of the heroes had they decided to go reveal the plan; you'll note that he lets Rorshach go. Further, he seeks absolution from Dr. Manhattan.
In other words, the entire point of that scene is to send up the comic book trope.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
This is an important aspect that I think is critical for successful adaptations. The writer/developer/director needs to understand and capitalize on the advantages of the medium, rather than simply regurgitate the material in the same form as it was received.
The Watchmen did some interesting things by supporting the main comic format with letters, articles, and prose in order to flesh out the background of the world. In a book, brevity can be sacrificed for extensive levels of detail. In a movie, you've got the full focus of the audience onto the screen in order to present the director's imagining of the story. This can enable an inspired accounting of the material, but is a double-edged sword since he must take the reins of imagination from the audience and guide it in the most entertaining fashion possible in a 1.5-2.5 hour timespan. He's armed with both visual and auditory effects to bring the story to life...as long as he has the budget.
There are particular advantages and disadvantages to each medium that really need to be taken into consideration to provide the most entertaining experience possible. The presenter must recognize what was used in the original medium and what must be done to successfully execute the material in the presenter's medium. If the best aspects of the comic fail to carry over to the movie he'd damn well better find another way to make it succeed or it's just a cheap knock-off that never needed to be made in the first place.
In this particular case, the Watchmen is some pretty heavy material in a dense comic-book form. He's already been supplied with the storyboards, but he'll need to nail the right look and sound, while preserving the key aspects of the storyline. The storyboard should carry over fairly easily, but he won't have the supporting stories and reading material, which he may need to replace by squeezing in brief and/or subtle moments of insight in the course of the movie.
Most importantly, the movie better not have a happy ending.
When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.
c. s. Lewis