RoR: Forum

IMDB link for the 2009 movie: Watchmen

The irony (the contradiction) is that this character, Dr. Manhattan, had just complained about his lover leaving him.

That's why he left earth, because his lover left him. It was because of living as a certain being that he valued her and altered his behavior when she left. Yet, whoever it is who wrote this shoddy comic book superhero story doesn't seem to understand the source of all value (even though he or she sloppily writes about living characters valuing).

This character is portrayed as being the smartest of the bunch. I mean, he's a doctor, for christ sakes. When the smartest character in a movie can't even understand that life is the standard of all value, then you know that something is wrong with the sense of life of the author and perhaps much of the culture at large (assuming that they like the movie).

Ed

Post 1

Thursday, December 30, 2010 - 9:03pm

Perhaps the rest of the quote would be even more telling:

See: there's the south pole beneath us now. No life. No life at all, but giant steps, ninety feet high, scoured by dust and wind into a constantly changing topographical map, flowing and shifting around the pole, in ripples ten thousand years wide.

Tell me... would it be greatly improved by an oil pipeline?

Recap:
The purposeful productiveness of man is either of no value or of a lesser value than the lifelessness of dust and wind of even a barren section of blessed and intrinsicly-valuable "Mother Earth."

Ed

(Edited by Ed Thompson on 12/30, 9:04pm)

Post 2

Thursday, December 30, 2010 - 9:08pm

Ed, what did you think of the graphic novel WATCHMEN?
(Edited by Joe Maurone on 12/30, 9:09pm)

Post 3

Thursday, December 30, 2010 - 10:23pm

Joe,

I wish I had read it when I was heavy into comics. I admit to not ever having read it.

In my disparaging remarks, I'm only going off of the script of the 2009 movie which -- now that you mention it -- may or may not reflect the opinion (or gain the approval) of the original writer. I know that you are heavy into comics. I assume that you have, yourself, read the afformentioned material (and perhaps more than once).

What do you, Joe, think of the graphic novel Watchmen? After reading the novel and seeing the movie (I'm also assuming that you saw the movie), does the movie capture the essence of the novel -- accepting that movies are usually notoriously worse than the novels upon which they are based?

Ed

Post 4

Friday, December 31, 2010 - 6:56am

I hated the graphic novel too, read it first in anticipation of the movie, saw how horrible the story was and knew how faithful Zach Snyder is in adapting comic books to movies that I decided to just skip the movie. I saw the movie recently on some premium channel (Showtime or HBO) and what a shame a big budget and a talented director was wasted on a garbage of a story.

Post 5

Friday, December 31, 2010 - 8:23am

Thanks, Ed. My personal views of Watchmen and Moore's ideas can be found here.

For time purposes, I'm keeping this brief, but this is just a constructive criticism of the thread...As someone who's already taken issue with Alan Moore, I wouldn't judge the story by the script, and a scene out of context with the overall story. The synopsis of Dr. Manhattan's motivation doesn't sound quite right...

(Is there a link to the script that you read, btw?)

What you say about Dr. Manhattan has an element of truth, but Manhattan did not leave earth over a girl; rightly or wrongly, deep or shallow, it's much more philosophical than that. Not only that, but Moore did not intend for him to be the main character, and he is not celebrating Manhattan's behavior (he makes a point to have another character tell him your point, that Manhattan is "flaking" out, out of touch with humanity. (Incidentally, Night Owl/Dan Dreiberg is meant to be the main character/moral center/"human" character. (Remember that Watchmen is a lefty deconstruction of the superhero genre, with a viewpoint that sees these "godly" figures as out-of-touch with humanity...and. yes, partly an attack on Objectivism as well, via Rorschach...)

While I wouldn't endorse the movie over the book, if only for Alan Moore's vehement anti-involvement, I don't think the movie was too far off; but the book does much more than the movie to explore the philosophical ideas.
(Edited by Joe Maurone on 12/31, 9:11am)

Post 6

Friday, December 31, 2010 - 10:41am