The Problem(s) With Zack Snyder's Watchmen

The graphic novel titled Watchmen might be one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. Creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created a true masterpiece that many have tried to adapt over the years. When Zack Snyder brought Watchmen to the big screen, at first it was seen as the most accurate adaptation of it's source material. Though upon further inspection, Zack Snyder's Watchmen may suffer from almost being too faithful. Coming off the back of his hit adaptation of 300, it seemed Zack Snyder was truly the one that could bring Watchmen to the big screen faithfully, but did his commitment to the direct translation end up hurting the film overall?

#watchmen #zacksnyder #alanmoore #nerdstalgic #dceu

[_The_Archive_]

Fun Fact: Jackie Earle Haley was the only one of the main cast who was already familiar with the graphic novel. He actively campaigned for the part of Rorschach.

[omniframe]

The issue with Snyder's Watchmen is that it's a celebration of Watchmen and not a criticism and satire of superheroes.

[benwasserman]

Aesthetically, Snyder's Watchmen is beyond impressive for how effectively it translates the graphic novel's iconography to live-action. But in making everything look cool/badass, you could argue he undermines the book's deconstructionist themes of why superheroing is... not all that great. Still, the Doctor Manhattan twist works fairly well as an ending.

[DarkNorthEmperor]

I still smile whenever I think that Alan Moore created Rorschach to be disliked, but succeeded in achieving the opposite.

[mankytoes]

I think Gilliam was essentially right. Nothing is literally unfilmable, but is something worth filming if all you can make is an inferior version? The whole thing is written very specifically for the comic book medium. Doc Manhatten's chapter is absolute genius, the way it lets you into the perspective of a man who sees through time and has the power of a God, and in such a clear way. You couldn't film that, not in a satisfying way.

[Squanto]

I love that you say "just a few human lives" when the comics showed that a majority of NYC was killed by the octopus monster lol.

[octosalias]

The only problem I have is that Ozymandias walks away thinking hes the good guy. He killed those people for a brief temporary peace and the movie doesnt even tell him.

[BCWasbrough]

I think my biggest issue with Synder's Watchmen was the casting of Ozymandias. The actor is too young, and didn't have the screen presence to effectively portray the character. In the movie at the end, Ozymandias looks sad and remorseful that he had to kill all those people to fool the world. In the books, he is smirking and gleeful that he was RIGHT. Killing most of New York and all of his trusted staff is an afterthought for him. It doesn't matter to him that he's changed the world based on a lie, because it's HIS lie.
In the movie, Ozymandias is a sad emo kid. In the books he's an arrogant monster. The difference in tone is huge, and it's very telling that Snyder didn't see it as a bad change.

[Joe]

One thing that can never be faulted for this movie is production design. The production designer Alex McDowell (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Minority Report, Fight Club, and visual consultant on two of the best looking animated movies Fantastic Mr Fox and Rise of the Guardians) gave a lecture when I was in college the day before Watchmen came out. He talked for a long time about how meticulous they were in creating real things and spaces from the blueprint of the comic. He said lots of the drive for the accuracy came from Snyder, and I have to agree when you say Snyder’s strength is in his visuals because I love how this movie looks.

Good soundtrack too.

[ShooterSanoff]

The directors cut or extended edition is the only way to watch this movie

[mcmc-ow]

These critics complains when directors stray away from the material and then complain some more when directors become faithful to the source material

[SairajRKamath]

For me, the biggest thing the Watchmen movie got wrong was Ozymandias. In the comics, Ozymandias is a critique of the benevolent capitalist/genius. He's a fundamentally good man who wants to do the right thing for the most amount of people. However, his genius makes him believe that the only way to bring about world peace is to eradicate an entire city using a psychic squid, which is an inherently ridiculous plan. And when he accomplishes his mission, he genuinely feels guilty and wonders if he did the right thing.

However, in the movie, Matthew Goode plays Ozymandias like an evil genius villain, which completely nullifies the deconstruction/critique from the comic. Ozymandias in the movie should've been a good Tom Hanks, basically.

[parodysam]

You had me until you said the ending change works. The Comedian was so cynical about how the world was gonna destroy itself. This is in the context of the Cold War, so, nukes. Why would it emotionally break him to find out someone was planning to use nukes when he’s already established to be jaded about this?

[blljhn]

I am one of the biggest critics of Snyder and his DCEU films but his Watchmen is one of my favorite movies of all time. Giving him props where props are very much deserved.

[DullEyes]

The problem with the ending is that Doctor Manhattan wasn't this benelovent entity that suddenly went wrong. He was expressly a tool for US imperialism in the latter half of the 20th century. Hell, he won them Vietnam. The world would absolutely NOT unite if the US's superweapon turned on them. That's why it was so important that it was an alien squid that died instantly and doesn't actually exist.

[Armakk]

Been grappling with this for a long while, because I worked for WB during the aborted Gilliam version. Snyder's version would have worked if he realized violence isn't to be celebrated, but to be grieved.

[cormacthem]

It’s not perfect but Snyder obviously had a deep love for the material. For something considered un-filmable, he knew the book intimately enough to be able to dismantle it and put it back together as well as he did.

[bartok]

I get that people don't like this film for the fact that it isn't faithful to the graphic novel. But it is still probably one of the best most original super hero movies we've gotten. I remember when I first saw it and walked out of the theater disappointed. But I rewatch this movie probably every year because it takes it's audience seriously and has a generally different take on the whole genre.

[HoustonSoto]

While Snyder would change things like Dan’s costume being sleeker and sexier, he then shows you that Dan can’t “get it up” without the thrill of the fight. That’s as much satire to me as what Moore wrote for Dan.

[gordinirob]

Zack Snyder LOOKS at graphic novels, he doesn't READ them. It's all superficial and containd no real depth of character.