When books become movies
I finally saw “Watchmen.” The original plan was for me to run out and see the very first matinee on the very first day it opened–and by “plan,” of course I mean “fantasy.” I didn’t even come close. It had been out for a couple of weeks by the time Rob and I actually made it to the cinema.
I was dying to see “Watchmen” because I read the book this year and was blown away by it. I wanted to roll around inside that book forever–it was that kind of feeling. I like reading graphic novels in general, but Watchmen is to its genre what “The Simpsons” is to prime time cartoons: it inverts and subverts convention and defies expectations and yet somehow stays true to its identity. If you haven’t read Watchmen, I can’t explain it to you–just go read it. (And, by the way, according to one of my husband’s colleagues, I haven’t actually read Watchmen, because I’ve only read it once. For legions of fans, you only really get to say you’ve read the book if you’ve gone through it at least half a dozen times. And it is true that I probably missed tons the first time around–I look forward to rereading it one day.)
So I went off to the movie with a fair amount of anticipation. Almost three hours later, I walked out with a fair amount of a shrugging sort of ”well, that was kind of fun.” Was it faithful to the original? It was. Did it transcend the original? No. Was it as good as the book? Not really. Was the adaptation flawed? I’m not sure. Would I have liked it if I hadn’t read the book? I doubt it. Read the rest of this entry »
Claire
Kim
