Monday, April 6, 2009

IPS CUSTODE?....


Hellos my freeky fellows! and sincerest apologies for this long-in-the-coming (no sexual pun intended) post!
and so to make amends, we feast our scaly gaze on another long-in-the-coming extravaganza, more specifically the cinematic adaptation of what many call the Greatest Graphic Novel (yes, the cool term for comic book) ever....Alan Moore's : THE WATCHMEN!

Set in a bleak 1980s, where the cold war rages on, and Nixon has been elected president of the US, for a fourth consecutive term, the WATCHMEN to a regular comic book, is to compare a Pinto to a Bentley!. sure there are costumed superheros, plot twists and action galore, but the Watchmen deals with far complex issues including the debate over a policed yet content totalitarian society vs. a democratic yet chaotic one; the inherent human need for paranoia, as well as the great power that great responsibility brings. (whew!)
While the novel itself gained cult status; check out the Peanuts tribute above, hell even the Simspons, paid homage to this graphic behemoth.

All this, while lesser heroes in spandex took their shots at the box office (hey, the FANTASTIC FOUR had a sequel even!), all this until Zack "300" Snyder let the world know that it was he, who would bring this masterpiece to the silver screen!! (umm...do yourself a favour, and click on "know"!...NOW!). And then after much internet fuelled casting rumours, a legal disupte and a Hollywood strike later..the world could finally watch..THE WATCHMEN!! (freeking click on the title already!)

The movie, to its credit stays true to the nuances of the novel, add to it; a bleak colour palette, some splendid performances by the cast; including a great voiceover by Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan.

Snyder, even manages to sneak in a few extras for the discerning freek, check out the number of the hotel room where, the Comedian (yes, that's a superhero) is murdered....spoiler: (it's 300!) or the scene where a giant Dr. Manhattan sets out to destroy a Vietnam village; in an no uncertain tribute to this classic scene here!

All in all, THE WATCHMEN, without giving away the plotlines, can be said to be true to its source form, and manages to retain viewer interest, quite a mean feat for a superhero movie, that strays away from usual superhero vs. supervillain formula,

so, what are you waiting for, go on, watch....THE WATCHMEN!


Extra Freeky: The greatest graphic novel, in the FREEK's humble opinion is this



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