Language: EnglishRun Time: 163 mins
Distribution: Warner Bros
Paramount
I feel compelled to write a disclaimer to all those who are planning to watch this so dubbed super-hero movie. And so I shall. This is not your typical super hero movie. This is not a feel good movie. And you definitely need to have your brain and sadly, your heart switched on to be able to relate to all that is going on in it. So people who are looking for the next X-Men, do please stay away.
Set in the period of the late 1980s in alternate history/ reality (take your pick) where the US was having its standoff, as in our reality and history with the then, Soviet Union. The world was on the brink of nuclear disaster, the coming of a Third World War. And Nixon was, for all intents and purposes the leader of the free world. The main difference of the reality portrayed in this movie is the existence of masked heroes and vigilantes.
I was and still am a huge fan of the comic book it was based on. And though I was slightly dismayed that aspects of the critically acclaimed comic book such as The Tales of The Black Freighter were excluded from the movie, I can fully understand how these same aspects could be difficult if not altogether impossible to incorporate into a full blown movie. Added to the notion that I've always held that some comic books were never written with the big screen in mind.
The imagery throughout the movie seemed at times inconsistent though the digital imagery was amazing. to say the least. The plot tried to remain true to the comic book. And in that sense I guess would have a hard time enticing fresh viewers though those who already know of the backstory details would most definitely enjoy it. Casting was excellent, as I felt all of the actors chosen fit their roles as perfectly as possible. I was particularly impressed by Jackie Earl Haley who played the role of Rorscharch, my favourite character throughout the whole printed series as well as the movie due to his moral absoluteness. If there was ever an actor that managed to capture the essence of Rorscharch, he was definitely it.
The flashbacks though great in the comic book format, did not really pan out so well on the big screen. And though it was needed to give more insight into each characters' background and history, it unfortunately added on to the already draggy feel that the movie sometimes exudes. What with there being near a total of 8 characters by which the story revolve around. Twists and turns in the plot that was consistently maintained throughout the original comic book was also lost through these flashbacks.
All in all, I loved the plot, though one had to sift through a multitude of force fed information to get at it. And the ending, which I shall not divulge here, is one of the best endings, literarure wise of most of the books I've read.
As I said before in the disclaimer, expect a grittier, more real version of a world with superheroes than have ever been seen in the movie theatres. This movie is not a joyride, no thrills, just dreary dark floodings of reality. And it will test your gray matter and patience (especially if you've never read the comic book) to its limits.
Paramount
I feel compelled to write a disclaimer to all those who are planning to watch this so dubbed super-hero movie. And so I shall. This is not your typical super hero movie. This is not a feel good movie. And you definitely need to have your brain and sadly, your heart switched on to be able to relate to all that is going on in it. So people who are looking for the next X-Men, do please stay away.
Set in the period of the late 1980s in alternate history/ reality (take your pick) where the US was having its standoff, as in our reality and history with the then, Soviet Union. The world was on the brink of nuclear disaster, the coming of a Third World War. And Nixon was, for all intents and purposes the leader of the free world. The main difference of the reality portrayed in this movie is the existence of masked heroes and vigilantes.
I was and still am a huge fan of the comic book it was based on. And though I was slightly dismayed that aspects of the critically acclaimed comic book such as The Tales of The Black Freighter were excluded from the movie, I can fully understand how these same aspects could be difficult if not altogether impossible to incorporate into a full blown movie. Added to the notion that I've always held that some comic books were never written with the big screen in mind.
The imagery throughout the movie seemed at times inconsistent though the digital imagery was amazing. to say the least. The plot tried to remain true to the comic book. And in that sense I guess would have a hard time enticing fresh viewers though those who already know of the backstory details would most definitely enjoy it. Casting was excellent, as I felt all of the actors chosen fit their roles as perfectly as possible. I was particularly impressed by Jackie Earl Haley who played the role of Rorscharch, my favourite character throughout the whole printed series as well as the movie due to his moral absoluteness. If there was ever an actor that managed to capture the essence of Rorscharch, he was definitely it.
The flashbacks though great in the comic book format, did not really pan out so well on the big screen. And though it was needed to give more insight into each characters' background and history, it unfortunately added on to the already draggy feel that the movie sometimes exudes. What with there being near a total of 8 characters by which the story revolve around. Twists and turns in the plot that was consistently maintained throughout the original comic book was also lost through these flashbacks.
All in all, I loved the plot, though one had to sift through a multitude of force fed information to get at it. And the ending, which I shall not divulge here, is one of the best endings, literarure wise of most of the books I've read.
As I said before in the disclaimer, expect a grittier, more real version of a world with superheroes than have ever been seen in the movie theatres. This movie is not a joyride, no thrills, just dreary dark floodings of reality. And it will test your gray matter and patience (especially if you've never read the comic book) to its limits.
