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    Watchmen: The End is Nigh

    Game » consists of 5 releases. Released Mar 04, 2009

    The episodic game series based on The Watchmen graphic novel and film, featuring Nite Owl and Rorschach. Players brawl their way through six chapters that take place before the events of the film and graphic novel.

    How can I watch the Watchmen?

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    finalkross

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    Edited By finalkross

    Last night I finally finished reading the Watchmen Trade and the first thing that came to my head was: 'there is no way this is going to be a successful film!' Don't get me wrong, The Watchmen is a great Comic book series and definitely deserves all the credit it gets but after reading it, I find it hard to be able to:

    a) translate that success into film

    and

    b) appeal to most people.


    The reason I feel this way has to do solely with the ending of the book. Since I am going to assume most people have not actually read The Watchmen, I won't spoil the ending but rest assured, it's not exactly the best 'hollywood style' ending. The way things happen in the end seem too 'unrealistic' for most people to be convinced or to feel good. Yes, it does make sense in the grand scheme, but I really doubt most people will understand it.

    I felt really weird after the resolution to everything. The whole plot makes sense but the way in which the characters act afterwords would probably cause most people to question the entire plot.

    I really wish I could talk to someone about this in more detail, but since I can't spoil it, I guess I'll just have to wait.

    Am I off on this or do people agree?
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    finalkross

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    #1  Edited By finalkross

    Last night I finally finished reading the Watchmen Trade and the first thing that came to my head was: 'there is no way this is going to be a successful film!' Don't get me wrong, The Watchmen is a great Comic book series and definitely deserves all the credit it gets but after reading it, I find it hard to be able to:

    a) translate that success into film

    and

    b) appeal to most people.


    The reason I feel this way has to do solely with the ending of the book. Since I am going to assume most people have not actually read The Watchmen, I won't spoil the ending but rest assured, it's not exactly the best 'hollywood style' ending. The way things happen in the end seem too 'unrealistic' for most people to be convinced or to feel good. Yes, it does make sense in the grand scheme, but I really doubt most people will understand it.

    I felt really weird after the resolution to everything. The whole plot makes sense but the way in which the characters act afterwords would probably cause most people to question the entire plot.

    I really wish I could talk to someone about this in more detail, but since I can't spoil it, I guess I'll just have to wait.

    Am I off on this or do people agree?
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    Rowr

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    #2  Edited By Rowr

    LOTR pulled it off?

    Seriously i never thought that could be done successfully.

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    Neorub

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    #3  Edited By Neorub

    The ending it wierd but if the movies focuses less on creating over the top action scenes (since the comic is not that action oreiented) and focuses on the development of the characters and thier issues, it might be succesful.
    Hopefully they don't market the movie as a big ass action summer blockbuster because i can see a lot of people being dissapointed (i'm looking at you The Village)

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    deactivated-5f9398c1300c7

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    The ending made me very confused. I didn't know what to think...

    I think the movie is going to follow through with the plot. I Am Legend replaced it's confusing, but very emotional, ending for a hollywood-ish ending. The critics hated it but the watchers (sort of) loved it. I hate cliched endings, so I expect Watchmen to have the same exact ending.

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    trulyalive

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    #5  Edited By trulyalive

    Yeah. Rumours have been flying that the ending has been changed.
    However, there are still a few of us out there who think [Director] Zack Snyder is fucking with us so that there's a surprise.
    Basically, if they change the ending, I'm flaming this movie to hell and back,

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    jakob187

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    #6  Edited By jakob187
    ***SPOILER***  
    Yes, the ending was changed to not have the squid, but EVERYTHING ELSE is intact.  Rorschach still bites the big one, and his diary still gets handed off to the press at the end, which leaves us hanging with whether they publish it or not.  As far as I'm to understand, the threat is a nuke instead of the squid, but the tone is supposedly still there.  All of the test screenings for the flick have had diehard fans walking out of the theatre praising the fuck out of the movie, calling it the best comic book movie ever and a flat-out amazing movie.  Of course they were sad about the squid being gone, but what the fuck ever, man.  So it doesn't have the squid.  The comic does, and that is perfectly fine by me.  As long as the movie is spot-on with the tone of the book and the major events, I can't complain too much.  The details do matter, and from what I've seen of screen-to-panel comparisons, Snyder's vision is pretty dead-on.
    ***END SPOILER***

    If you didn't read that, here's what I'll say:  there is NO way to make a perfect Watchmen film.  However, the fact that Snyder has been very diehard about getting what he wants with this flick...and the fact that he made 300 go from an 80 page piece of art to a 2 hour film of FUCKING AWESOME...I doubt he's gonna fuck this up.  Moreover, the theatrical version isn't the fan version.  The Extended Edition DVD is going to be where it's at, as it will have The Black Freighter animated movie cut back into the movie, as well as extended portions of scenes.  Running time?  Well, the theatrical release is 2 hours and 45 minutes right now, and if Snyder's WIFE has her way with the DVD, we could be looking at a 5 hour long movie!!!!!!!!!!!

    So, to be honest...I'm fucking psyched beyond recognition for this flick...especially after seeing the big cardboard cutouts at the theatre last night!!!
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    NinjaSquirrel

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    #7  Edited By NinjaSquirrel

    Yeah there's no way to get it exactly right for a movie. There are just so many things that could only be done in comics in there.

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    pause422

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    #8  Edited By pause422
    Rowr said:
    "LOTR pulled it off?

    Seriously i never thought that could be done successfully."
    It's completely different than LOTR, watchmen had way more hardcore fans than LOTR books fans by far. Even if the movie gets good ratings and is "good" there will be plenty of the people, because of just the simplest change that hate the movie for it because it strayed in some way. I think it looks like a great movie in general, but as for being a "watchmen" movie, I'm still very skeptical.
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    trulyalive

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    #9  Edited By trulyalive
    jakob187 said:
    "***SPOILER***  
    Yes, the ending was changed to not have the squid, but EVERYTHING ELSE is intact.  Rorschach still bites the big one, and his diary still gets handed off to the press at the end, which leaves us hanging with whether they publish it or not.  As far as I'm to understand, the threat is a nuke instead of the squid, but the tone is supposedly still there.  All of the test screenings for the flick have had diehard fans walking out of the theatre praising the fuck out of the movie, calling it the best comic book movie ever and a flat-out amazing movie.  Of course they were sad about the squid being gone, but what the fuck ever, man.  So it doesn't have the squid.  The comic does, and that is perfectly fine by me.  As long as the movie is spot-on with the tone of the book and the major events, I can't complain too much.  The details do matter, and from what I've seen of screen-to-panel comparisons, Snyder's vision is pretty dead-on.
    ***END SPOILER***

    If you didn't read that, here's what I'll say:  there is NO way to make a perfect Watchmen film.  However, the fact that Snyder has been very diehard about getting what he wants with this flick...and the fact that he made 300 go from an 80 page piece of art to a 2 hour film of FUCKING AWESOME...I doubt he's gonna fuck this up.  Moreover, the theatrical version isn't the fan version.  The Extended Edition DVD is going to be where it's at, as it will have The Black Freighter animated movie cut back into the movie, as well as extended portions of scenes.  Running time?  Well, the theatrical release is 2 hours and 45 minutes right now, and if Snyder's WIFE has her way with the DVD, we could be looking at a 5 hour long movie!!!!!!!!!!!

    So, to be honest...I'm fucking psyched beyond recognition for this flick...especially after seeing the big cardboard cutouts at the theatre last night!!!
    "
    ************ALSO SPOILERS*********

    As far as I'm concerned, the Squid is very much necesary. I mean, a nuke. Fuck that. I've seen a nuke a million times before. Sure it's horrible, but as a member of an audience, I've become detatched from the visual impression that a nuclear explosion once had on me. Now seeing a giant Squid that more or less crashes into NYC, killing everything in the city...now that is a post-apocalyptic image that no-one can be detatched from unless they've read the comic book too many fucking times. It's haunting, disturbing and it really sets off an aura of "what the fuck is that/has happened here/is going to happen now...?"
    And that uncertainty is really necessary to put you in the right mindset for the drama that ensues. If I see a fuck off big explosion, I'm going to expect a personal fight afterwards, because that's what's engrained into my psyche by so many films before. But because Watchmens original ending is so dramatically different from anything you've ever seen before, it puts you in the rare position to have few expectations and genuinely not know exactly how the ending unravels. It's a part of it's charm and it's poetry. And as far as I'm concerned it's important.
    I like the final touch with Rorschach's journal, but the final 4 panels aren't the ending. The final chapter is the ending.

    ***************END SPOILERS**********

    Everything you said below your spoilers, I agree with, Tenfold.
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    BD

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    #10  Edited By BD

    The end might have been changed, but I have only heard good things so far. I hope they do keep true to the book. You can see the amount detail put into the set and props you can tell they really know the source material. I mean the kid at the newspaper stand is even reader the same pirate comic book. So I have high hopes

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    deactivated-61665c8292280

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    sidescroller said:
    "What really worries me is that it's the directer of 300.

    A movie that was based entirely on endless strings of action scenes."
    That's not entirely his fault, considering the source material. 

    I do blame him for the repulsive barrage of slow-motion, a feature which seems to be present here in Watchmen.  That man sure loves his x 1/2 button.
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    SSbabel

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    #12  Edited By SSbabel

    Until you can actually view the film yourself in full, you need to shut up and wait.

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    BawlZINmotion

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    #13  Edited By BawlZINmotion

    Someone who knows what they're doing can make the translation good enough that it'll probably work. Many people said the same thing about Lord of the Rings, including J.R.R. Tolkien himself. While some lovers of the book still might disagree, the general consensus is Peter Jackson was able to do what many thought was not possible. To a lesser extent, Nolan was successfully able to bring the source material for Batman to the Dark Knight and Singer's X-Men 2 brought everything I felt for the comic series(s) to the screen.

    A good film maker/writer needs to understand what made the source material so good and keep that spirit with them while making the needed changes for the film version. Sadly these kind of people are few and I don't think Zack Snyder is one of them. We'll see though. If anything your worry about lack of mass appeal might 'cause the studio/director to alter the film in a such away it doesn't stick to well to its roots.

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    trulyalive

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    #14  Edited By trulyalive
    SSbabel said:
    "Until you can actually view the film yourself in full, you need to shut up and wait."
    Die in a fucking fire.
    Seriously. Not kidding. If you want us to stop speculating, which I would say is half the fun of being a film fan, especially as far as adaptations are concerned, then that's all I have to say to you.
    Chainblast said:
    "Someone who knows what they're doing can make the translation good enough that it'll probably work. Many people said the same thing about Lord of the Rings, including J.R.R. Tolkien himself. While some lovers of the book still might disagree, the general consensus is Peter Jackson was able to do what many thought was not possible. To a lesser extent, Nolan was successfully able to bring the source material for Batman to the Dark Knight and Singer's X-Men 2 brought everything I felt for the comic series(s) to the screen.

    A good film maker/writer needs to understand what made the source material so good and keep that spirit with them while making the needed changes for the film version. Sadly these kind of people are few and I don't think Zack Snyder is one of them. We'll see though. If anything your worry about lack of mass appeal might 'cause the studio/director to alter the film in a such away it doesn't stick to well to its roots."
    I'm all for Snyder. He ensures that everybody has a copy of Watchmen with them on set and his adaptation of 300 was nearly panel for panel all the way through.
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    Bulldog19892

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    #15  Edited By Bulldog19892
    Neorub said:
    "The ending it wierd but if the movies focuses less on creating over the top action scenes (since the comic is not that action oreiented) and focuses on the development of the characters and thier issues, it might be succesful.
    Hopefully they don't market the movie as a big ass action summer blockbuster because i can see a lot of people being dissapointed (i'm looking at you The Village)"
    The old genre bait-and-switch marketing technique. I'd be willing to bet that Watchmen will be bashed by any critic who hasn't read the book and expects a summer hollywood action flick. It will probably go underrated.
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    Gizmo

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    #16  Edited By Gizmo

    Zach Snyder is the next Spielberg I tells ya!

    If this film is anywhere near as good as DOTD 2004, he's gonna be big.
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    trulyalive

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    #17  Edited By trulyalive

    I'd say he's already quite prominent in the industry. He has a very intense visceral style which he's renowned for and his strict adherence to source material on 300 and Watchmen has garnered some good publicity.

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