Starring the Silver Surfer's cousin,Batman's cousin,Xena's cousin and Darkman's cousin.Coming in at a whopping and unnecessary 2 hours and 45 minutes I suppose some people are thankful that this one took its time in explaining the back-round to every single hero involved while trying to simultaneously tell a story.I for one had no clue that this was even a comic or dark novel or what ever you wanna call it until I saw a preview for the film last year.Being a fan of the directors version a while back of the remake of the Dawn of the dead, I decided to give this one a go.
Graphic novel is right!This movie had more frontal male nudity than a Harvey Keitel movie marathon.It actually became funny after the 5th or 6th time and soon became a running joke amongst the movie goers.Briefly, while on that topic of movie goers, I have to announce a new record for ignorance, set by a slovenly dressed fellow that came into the movie 1 whole hour after it had started and with a tray of nachos of course.He sits in front of me and chews said chips with no inclination to close his mouth while chewing and during some of the quietest and most poignant parts of the story.He then takes a phone call as his ringer blasts away while he walks outside to take the call, and then to top it all off, he sends a text upon sitting back down with his phone glowing brightly.That was about all I could take and I simply uttered "are you f@$*ing kidding me?" He closed the phone and sat still for the remainder of the film.
O.K back to the movie.This one had me wondering about our ratings system on account of the commercials and previews.I certainly hope that parents don't see the D.C comics logo and assume that this super hero story would be a good one to take the kids to, because I can assure you it is not.Boasting a record amount of disturbing kills scenes (some of which involving innocent people) this comic adaptation is a bit much at times.No one is spared here, from pregnant women to dogs, everyone seems to get shot or cut up or at the very least,disfigured here.And the terrible part is that its the "good" guys that are doing all the killing and maiming in the story.
Supposing you are a fan of the story and already know all of this,then perhaps this ones for you.But as an outside observer I found it rather ignorant and malicious.
Style points on the other hand are through the roof here.There are some wonderful shots and sequences and inventive camera work from beginning to end.That being said,I have to admit that because it was so beautifully photographed in parts that I found myself eyebrows raised and enjoying some moments here and there.
With a conflicted admiration for the movie I'm going to say that if you don't mind some heavy and hard to watch violence and the odd dozen or so scenes featuring the blue man groups wiener then this ones for you.
Rating 2 1/2 exploding people out of 5
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First off, I have to admit that I am a HUGE fan of the Graphic Novel. You need to know that because it greatly skews my view of this film. In talking to people who have also read the book, they either love it or hate it. I am in the love it camp. This was an exceptionally faithful interpretation of the book. Yes, they cut out huge chunks (most notably the death of Night Owl I) and made some changes (no more giant squid, thank god), but those were done for pacing purposes and rightfully so. No book will ever translate perfectly to the screen, there will always be some sacrifices.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of the film that nobody in the media seems analyzing is the rape of Silk Specter I, by the Comedian and the fact that she ended up hooking up with him willingly later. I was sure that some womyns group would have jumped all over that. Maybe they were distracted by Dr. Manhattan's 10 feet of radioactive junk?
In watching this flick and trying to keep an open mind, I find myself wondering what purpose a 10ft wanker serves. I realize its a dark movie, film noir almost with the naration and that in itself makes it unique in this day of remakes and redo's. But at some point this needed to be edited from a novel to a movie. Less back ground info, more to the point. Sorry to all the die hard fans.
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