Less than a month until “Watchmen.” That’s what I have to keep telling myself every time I come across something cool like…
The latest video journal on the upcoming Zach Snyder film details the creation of Rorschach’s famous mask. It’s a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at the upcoming film and will (if you’re like me) only get you more revved up to see “Watchmen” when in opens in theaters and IMAX on March 6.
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Warning: Obtuse, spoilers below. DO NOT READ if you have not read the novel.
WARNING WARNING WARNING – – possible spoilers
It’s Rorschach’s story that ruined the graphic novel for me. The ending made no sense other than in the immediacy of the moment. Go forward a number of years, and unless the “attack” is periodically repeated, the human race would just go back to being what it is. As such, Dr. Manhattan is either not as prescient as one is led to believe, or he is of lesser mental capabilities as one is led to believe, or he just doesn’t give a sh*t about everyone else. Besides, if he was going to go off and start playing an active god somewhere else, why not do it here, and perhaps do real good.
Anyway, I know this is a little unwanted and unasked-for rant, but the novel was really engrossing and engaged me in the characters. The ending seemed to me as if the characters failed me, the author betraying the trust he had built between us.
. . . still don’t know if I’ll go watch this movie . . . I probably will, but I know my wife will have the same reaction to the movie as I had of the graphic novel. Frankly, after the Crystal Skull debacle, I don’t know if I would recover from taking her to go see this movie (even if it’s at the theater and not just at home).
@ejdalise,
I understand your thoughts here, but I didn’t feel that disapointment. I thought the ending, particularly the fate of Rorschach, was almost the only way it could’ve happened. Rorschach was unwaivering in his beliefs, Dr. Manhattan walked a fine line between feeling like he SHOULD do something, and yet not feeling like he NEEDED to do something, so he decided to let the new course take it’s path.
That’s the point though, isn’t it; he could have done something but felt no attachment to other humans, and did not understand the plight/concerns/fears/hope of any of them. But when he does chose to act, it was to maintain a lie with dubious chances of long term success. And what was the motivation? His apparent sudden understanding . . . just before he decides to leave.
It’s not that I am overly passionate regarding the issue; it’s that the story was equivalent to a great journey that keeps building excitement only to end at a broken-down motel where the toilets don’t work. So while I am excited to see the representation of the journey, I know what awaits at the end, and for me that removes some of the appeal. It’s like if Willy Wonka ended where the tour of the factory ends, without going on to the big reveal. I’ll probably go see Watchmen for the visuals, effects, and to see the vision come to life, but this would normally not be my kind of movie, and I fear it may not work for many.
I say that because the story has some tenuous connections to what is happening today in the US; fear mongering is used as a way to elicit support from people. Some say to control people. Fear about the economy, about terrorists, etc. But there’s always a backlash when people realize they are being manipulated through fear.
Honestly, are we to feel good about a movie where many are killed to fool people, through fear, into cooperating? Is it realistic to believe that would work for protracted lengths of time without additional “events” stoking the fires of fears?
Again, it’s only a movie, and keeping it in perspective it’s not going to sway the course of human history. I just object to the implied message at the end of the effort, and commenting on my reluctance to get invested in the project. For who can support a message to use lies, murder, and terrorism to “improve” the world?
Back to the topic of the actual post… The rendering and face-replacement is really impressive. I was expecting that they’d just create a series of different masks and hide the changeover in cuts. The fact that they can do it so fluidly while apparently keeping the camera on a moving actor is just darn cool. Technology these days, huh?
Sorry for straying . . . yes, neat stuff.
I thought the actor is also well cast (based on the depiction in the graphic novel). And it looked from the clip as if they are recreating the capture scene quite faithfully. If the previews are any indication, it looks as if the movie overall will be a very faithful execution of the graphic novel.