I preface that I am not a consumer of comic books and graphic novels. I’m not against them in artistic form or narrative structure, I simply do not have the patience to experience them. When I was a kid and liked flipping through Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Alpha Flight issues, I only looked at the pictures.
It may or may not be a wonder why I’ve seen film adaptations of various comic books and graphic novels, such as Ghost World, The Road to Perdition, Sin City, Hell Boy, 300, and the X-Men films. Incidentally, each of these examples can be explained with casting. The reason, the real reason has less to do with an “excuse” to see these film versions and more to do with the spectacle, the adventure, the thrills, and the humor. I saw Watchmen today for these very anticipations. Directed by Zack Snyder (who also put on the ritz for 300) and based on the comic book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the film runs 160 minutes and features a story without the kind of obvious, clear-cut villain that is begging for a good arse-kicking. The “bad guy” isn’t so bad and the “good guys” have to make more compromises and sacrifices than conventional fables would allow.
I liked the film, though, and am glad I didn’t see it by myself. If I had gone solo, I think I would’ve found my mind wandering, my attention focused on ideas other than those projected before me.
Click here for more Watchmen pictures.
^~^
*Comic book renderings that I do enjoy can be found here, here, and here (this one is technically more along the lines of drawings with a backstory than a series of images attached with descriptive text that are to be understood in relation to the others).
Sitting Pugs: Sports Movies 