Post Watchmen Watching Thoughts (Not a Review)

Went to see Watchmen last night and wanted to get something on record before I started talking to people and their opinions began to subtly influence mine:

I think I might like the movie Watchmen better than the comic.

Okay, I know. Heresy. "The book is always better than the movie." But I think in this case, as much as I hate to admit it, Hollywood might have gotten an adaptation right for a change.

A lot of people -- fans of the comic -- are going to point to all the things the movie lacked -- the Tales of the Black Freighter comic-within-a-comic, for instance. "But it's essential to the story," they'll say. Sure. Maybe. But truth be told, the first time or two I read Watchmen, I became wrapped up in the main storyline and mostly skipped the Black Freighter stuff. I only discovered it upon rereading -- and Watchmen is one of those comics I've read a bunch of times.

That was one of the innovations of Watchmen. Moore (writer) and Gibbons (artist) packed their comic full of tiny details, subplots, in jokes, oblique references to other comics and lengthy appendices. As guys who grew up on the form, they understood that when someone enjoyed your work, they poured over it and analyzed it. As such, they produced a work that stood up to that kind of scrutiny. Sounds like the DVD is going to include things like the Black Freighter story (as an animated film). And, from what I could see, the main feature will be just as rich a re-watching experience. Snyder (director) understands that nowadays, when someone likes your movie, they'll watch it repeatedly at home, pour over every frame and then analyze it at length online.

Meanwhile, what it might lack in richness because some of the comic had to be condensed or set aside for the DVD, I think it gains a richness from the acting. The leads all bring subtleties to their characters that could only be hinted at on the page.

There is bound to be one big controversy among fans of the comic though, and that's the ending. It was [spoiler alert] significantly changed from what was in the original story. And you know what, I'll have to go back and read the comic, but I think the new ending is better. It's more mature. And seems to tie everything together better. If someone wants to call me on that, go ahead. I'd be happy to respond in detail in the comments.[end spoilers]

Now, by saying I like Watchmen the Movie a little bit better than Watchmen the Original Comic isn't to say I think the movie should supplant the comic. As an art object, I may think the film edges out its source material but that doesn't change the fact that the comic is a much more important work of art. The original completely changed the way comics are written, drawn, read and understood. I may personally feel that the film is the best telling of this particular story, but at the end of the day, this movie isn't going to change the way future movies are made. It's well crafted, sure. But it isn't the most innovative thing to come down the pipe, either. Watchmen is no Pulp Fiction.

Plus, I don't think this film could have ever been made without the comic. When Hollywood attempts to create a gritty, revisionist take on the superhero story, the best it can pinch out is the purpose-built Hancock.

Anyway. I'm done. It's off my chest. I like the movie better than the comic.

Now, commence with the tearing apart....