Earlier I was having a discussion with a friend on Facebook about why opinions of the Watchmen movies are so varied (great idea, Tony). Why do some people absolutely love it, while others thought it was pointless? And does having a thorough understanding of the graphic novel beforehand make for a more favorable opinion of the movie? I thought I’d share what I wrote back, with some additional thoughts thrown in, just in case some people were interested in my take on the issue. It should be noted that I really enjoyed the movie, had read the graphic novel prior to seeing it and thought it followed the original pretty faithfully. In particular, Rorschach was absolutely brilliant.

It would seem that having the movie follow the books so literally is what makes opinions sway so far one way or the other with the public. Graphic novels are typically over exaggerated to make their point, whether it’s Batman, Spiderman, Watchmen, etc. Each franchise/story simply chooses different things to exaggerate in its comics. Typically, the excessiveness of the story’s nature isn’t translated as much onto the big screen, which is what usually leaves fans of the originals disappointed but the mainstream/casual fans happy. Watchmen’s excess was the grittiness and darkness of the city, story and its characters. It was in your face to prove a point. Because it was translated so literally onto the big screen, you see a lot of exaggeration that leads to what some feel as redundant excess (ie: the violence); especially for those who aren’t used to the nature of a graphic novel in general.

But for those who have read the original, some things – such as the violence and couple of sex scenes – may seem tamer than expected in the movie overall (which I found with Watchmen). If you thought the movie was excessive, which it was in some cases, just wait until you read the book. Plus those who have truly read the original tend to be the ones who enjoy it more, because for once it is actually being followed faithfully. They also know what to expect from the movie, as they already have a background on the story.

The thing with the Watchmen is it CAN be confusing for some. There are a ton of flashbacks and references to the past, so you have to constantly keep that in mind and listen closely to the narration to know exactly what you are seeing. At one point, you are seeing present time when the narration is talking about the past. It plays with you a little bit. It can be like jumping into a Lost episode after missing one or two episodes; you need to work a little harder to piece things together.

So does knowing the source material before watching the movie make for a stronger appreciation for the film? Yes, it definitely helps. Again, typically I have found that those who have truly read and understood the source material (as in, not whipped through it a week before the movie came out) are the ones who enjoy and understand the movie the most. Then the ones who did whip through it quickly are second to appreciate, while the ones who haven’t read it or understood it are typically the ones that don’t like it or thought it was redundant. As with anything, these are generalizations though and there are definitely exceptions to the rule (I know a couple personally), but it seems to be accurate from the majority of what I’ve seen/read. Keep in mind, my sample size out of the millions of people who have seen it was only 20 to 30 friends and acquaintances, as well as what I have read through reviews and message boards online. But I still feel it is pretty accurate. This would also make sense since the majority of movie goers have not read the graphic novels and negative word of mouth is the blame behind slow second and third day sales, after having a great first day outing.

But perhaps this is all part of the beauty of movies (and music, for that matter). What may be the best thing in the world to one can be the worst to the others. A movie or song may mean something to one person, but have a completely different meaning to another person. It all depends on a person’s current situation and surroundings, past experiences, conditioning, and so on. While there are certainly some quantifiable criteria we can objectively compare to other pieces of work, for the most part movies and music are very subjective and hard to critique. It’s not that I’m against it; it’s just hard for a reader to truly take a critic’s opinion as fact or at face value sometimes. And this is coming from someone who has been an entertainment critic (albeit, mostly music) for 8+ years.

What did you think of the silver screen adaption of the Watchmen?