Watchmen - The Ultimate Cut: BD Review
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Page 1 of 4 Warner's new Blu-ray Disc edition of the graphic novel blockbuster is here, and DVDFile has an exclusive first look....
Cinematic adaptation of a beloved written work is a tricky act. Film artists have to both figure out a way to uniquely express themselves while simultaneously staying true to their original source material. And Watchmen especially is a slippery nut to crack because not only is Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel popular, but its reputation as the veritable holy grail of its genre means that fanboys were, are, and will continue to be wildly protective of it. Long story short - they don't want some jackass with a movie camera ruining Watchmen. I saw Watchmen in theatres opening weekend with some die-hard Watchmen-lovers and my impression was that the film botched a few details and plot points, but for the most part it played pretty close to the bone of the original graphic novel's intent. I didn't hear wild acclaim from any of them - this wasn't a Lord of the Rings-style cinematic interpretation - but I got the impression that director Zack Snyder and his team of CGI-loving delivered in terms of not riling up fan hatred by straying too far from the source.
As a newcomer to the Watchmen world, though, this writer found the film to be a long, convoluted question mark of a movie, a film as ambitious as it is relatively incomprehensible to those not able to connect its narrative dots thanks to familiarity to the original story. I was happy to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan as superhero The Comedian, and I'm always glad when accomplished actors like Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) and Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl) get work, but while the film's dark vision of a splintered, corrupt alternate America was easy to get lost in, I never felt like the movie set root dramatically. And if this Watchmen newbie moaned and bitched about the movie being long and convoluted in theatrical form, then continued to gripe when The Director's Cut was even longer, I can officially cry 'uncle' with this Ultimate Cut edition. This 3 1/2+ hour version of the movie is the Director's Cut with the animated Takes of the Black Freighter cut into the film, and I'd be surprised if even super-diehards would be able to get through the whole thing without reaching for the fast-forward button. I suppose for the most intense fanboys out there, the advent of being able to be immersed in the Watchmen universe might be irresistible, but at this point, it's all about value: Watchmen was released less than year ago, and there have already been three Blu-ray Discs of material on this Ultimate Cut edition on retail shelves since. So, should you drop the sixty bucks and upgrade? Let's check out the evidence.... |
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