Laurynomaly

Although I am familiar with the story, I wouldn’t say I was particularly a fangirl of the comic books. I read them quite some time ago, probably when I wasn’t old enough to understand literature rife with the kind of intellectual banter and macrocosms like The Watchmen. Subtle details and choice lines of the movie drew me back the visual ingenuity and wonder present in the comic books and I want nothing but to read the series again. [ I’m trying to find the best deal to acquire the comic book. Amazon.com has it for $10.99, but the University Village Bookstore says “Spend $40 and get a figurine for free!” Jobert can ship it to me, or I can just ask to borrow the Office copy. ]

If you’re familiar with the main present-time diegetic plot of the comics, the movie addresses just that. Of course, there is a lot of content that the movie leaves out, but I really expected that. If you are anything like me, the concepts and principles of story development make up about 52% of your favor, with the character development carrying close the same wright. The story of The Watchmen is not meant to impress you—it’s over twenty-years old and I’m sure the Wikipedia entry can tell you what happens—it’s the innovative cinematic story-telling that will grip you. There’s something about watching the kickass way that the characters move, speak, interact, and look that will simply confirm your wildest perspective and reveal new light upon characters themselves.

The movie is powerfully graphic and cringingly violent, to the point where it only takes about forty minutes of movie sequence to be desensitized to it. Expect that there will be blood, oh yes, and lots of it. Body parts will be broken in a demeaning and ball-clenching manner. For all the idiots that brought their kids to the movie theater for the 10:25pm showing last night, you should have paid attention to the rating system—the movie is rated R. After all, Doctor Manhattan’s radioactive dong gets about an hour of screentime (makes for a visually appealing IMAX experience, no?) It’s also pop-culture savvy so comic book nerds, regular nerds, and self-proclaimed pundits will find some common ground.

I really enjoyed the movie, complete with the subtle highlights of the blood-stained smiley face and all. I looked as hard as I could and I couldn’t find the strong female character in Silk Spectre 2, like I wanted. Ah well, it’s was cool enough to watch her kick some scumbag ass. She wasn’t smoking hot, mainly because her face reminds me of someone I’ve met before [ordinary], but she wasn’t hard to look at either. I ended up teary-eyed during the movie right during one of the Silk Spectre and Doctor Manhattan interactions, though Doctor Manhattan quickly put a sarcastically humorous spin on it so that I felt completely ridiculous for my emotional loop.

All in all, the movie was just a tad bit too long. It would have been great if shortened down to the 140-minute mark or if the three-hour movie decided to include some other details from the comic books. It’s too bad none of us could hold our bladder long enough to watch the credits until the end.

What I find amazing is just how much I agree with Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo in his theory on the similarities between Ozymandias and Steve Jobs. He makes an interesting argument about the qualities of Adrian Veidt in his blog post:

“The supersmart CEO of a large corporation. [The smartest man on Earth!]
Who is a vegan. [The movie actually says “Vegetarian.”]
And whose computer in his minimalist office is a Mac SE.
A Mac SE running the original Macintosh Operating System [System 6] in inverted video mode - [Nevermind the PC Keyboard]
Who is a fierce negotiator and businessman.
Who wears a black turtleneck (although with an 80’s suit on top.)
Someone who is described as having a unique vision of the world.
Someone obsessed with design and details.

Someone who says he wants to change that world, who is determined to make things better.
Someone who, while watching the world coming to its end, just before saving it, is watching the Apple 1984 ad in one of the multiple TV screens in Karnak, his Antarctic secret base.”

Mac lovers and Starbucks juveniles rejoice! Steve Jobs may just be idolized as the savior of your solipsistic little worlds.

I want a blood-stained smiley face cheesecake for my birthday.