By Kristina Roth
News Reporter for The Sarah Connor Society.
Kristina was lucky enough to win tickets to the LA premiere of WATCHMAN this week and wrote up a review with her lasting first impressions on the film.
Before I start my review, I have to make a few admissions.
First, I haven’t read the “Watchmen” novel yet. I have a copy but I took someone’s advice and decided to wait until I had seen the movie before I read the novel. I think I’m glad I waited.
Second, I’m a Zack Snyder fangirl so I’m a little biased in my opinions.I love both “300″ and “Dawn of the Dead” and have seen them repeatedly.
Watchmen. I loved the movie. Flat out L-O-V-E-D the movie. Two days later and I still haven’t stopped babbling on about the movie to anyone who dares to stop by my desk and listen.If you are a sci-fi or comic book loving kind of person, I think you’ll enjoy the film.
Visuals. The part of a film that first catches my attention. Visuals. This is what usually holds my attention. This is one of the most visually stunning film I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. It is a beautifully photographed film from camera composition to color schemes to the sweeping landscapes of Mars and the Artic region to the use of that funky slow motion that Zack Snyder used previously in “300″. The cinematography alone is reason to see this film.
A small word of warning: If you’re sensitive to blood gore you may need to close your eyes a couple of times.Even though I was smiling like a schoolgirl during the bloody moments, I heard many a people vocally cringing and moaning during a few scenes.
Music. Awesome music. From the scored portions of the film to the portions that included popular music from years past, the music blends seamlessly together with the other elements of the film. The stand-outs for me was “All Along the Watchtower” as Nite Owl and Silk Spectre were aproaching Ozymandias’ compound in the artic to “Red Balloon” (Red Balloon makes me smile) earlier in the film. I’ll be purchasing the soundtrack to this film for sure.
Social Commentary. Hmmm… This is the part of the film that makes multiple viewings necessary.There’s a lot to consider so I can’t really give a full opinion yet because I’ve only seen the movie once.It’s that whole “Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” concept that stands out in my mind. Although the film takes place towards the end of the “Cold War”, the concepts of how far should we go for peace can be applied to every generation. Like I said, multiple viewings will be required to fully digest the social commentary included in the film.
Finally, one odd-ball kind of criteria I use in deciding if a film is worth recommending to friends and family, is how well do I sit still during the film. This is a long film. It’s two hours and forty minutes worth of film. My normal tolerance for tv and film viewing is about forty-five to fifty minutes. “Watchmen” surpasses my personal stillness level by a full hour and fifty minutes. I did not look at my watch during the film. I did not fidget during the film. I didn’t even need to get up and use the restroom during the film. In my world, that equates to a “grand slam” of a movie.
I highly recommend you see “Watchmen”.It’s a winner in my book.
