WatchmenComicMovie.com Forum

When I first saw the movie, I was very surprised at how closely it stuck to the structure of the book. Especially the funeral flashbacks.

Which of the three funeral flashbacks in the movie was your favorite? Why?

What did you think of the transitions from the funeral to the flashbacks (and vice versa)? Were there any changes that bothered you? Any panels recreations you thought were well done?

Overall, what did you think of the way this whole funeral/flashback sequence was handled?

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"Computer unnecessary."

The Keene Act flashback, definitely.

I love the use of "I'm Your Boogie Man" to complement the riot. They took an innocent, upbeat disco tune and turned it into something dark, macabre, violent, and sinister....

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One superhero blows up New York, another one kills women and children, and the last one just flashes everybody.
SUPERHEROES ARE ASSHOLES! ~ Chester A. Bum

That's tough, I thought they were all done exceptionally well. Vietnam might be my favorite though.

All three were interesting. The "Boogey Man" flashback was interesting, but it bothered me when Blake said, "I love working on American soil, Dan..." even though he didn't know Nite Owl's identity.

I liked the Vietnam flashback in the book, but in the movie, Morgan didn't act as if he just had his face slashed while he was philosophizing with Osterman... then... as if in afterthought... "medic!" What works in a comic doen't always work in film. Then he walks around Doc to get out of the bar instead of just leaving straightaway... even though he is wounded. Odd.

The Crimebuster's flashback with Veidt is ultra odd since Veidt is suddenly in the Captain Metropolis position... odd enough. But it worked OK, I guess.

But the best flashback was Sally's actually. That worked very well. Very well done. Well acted... except for HJ, of course... he was just silly.

Everytime I see HJ, I keep thinking handjob. A handjob is a man's job.

But back ontopic, my favorite flashback is the Keen Riots.

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Of course,..that's the point....

Anyway, I really don't know. They were all great and I like them all for different reasons. I think I might like the Vietnam flashback the most, actually.

Yeah, I'll vote for that.


......It is?

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

How did you come to that conclusion? Dan himself pointed out near the start of the film that the Watchmen (still haven't gotten used to that alternate name) were the only ones to know each other's identities. Maybe there's something in the GN to preclude Dan and Eddie from knowing each other, but I don't know of anything in the movie to this effect.

No, I didn't like that either. Still, the scene hit every one of the important beats and the scene's three primary actors -- the aforementioned hiccup aside -- sold it quite well.

Well, Veidt led the meeting in a very different way. The captain had a vision for the Crimebusters and he was very ardent about making it work. As feebly as he attempted to defend his ideas to the Comedian, he at least made an effort.

Veidt, on the other hand, seemed to be a lot more open to the idea that the Watchmen wouldn't work. Moreover, the meeting in the movie seems much more... democratic. Veidt didn't seem to make much of an effort in presiding over the meeting or directing the discussion (rather unlike him, come to think of it).

This, I think, is why the change works. Instead of changing the leader completely, the PTB more or less made nobody the leader. The name change also helped. There's no denying that the movie's Watchmen and the GN's Crimebusters are not the same group.

It can't be an easy thing to sell an accent or make an impression with only one line of dialogue.

So, back to the question at hand. The rape scene was beautifully ugly, the Vietnam war scenes were wonderfully executed, the riot scene was a touch slo-mo happy but still effective and JDM totally sold the Watchmen meeting.

But if I had to pick one, I would also go with the rape scene, just because it felt like the scene where Snyder added the most and took away the least. Losing the bulk of the pre-rape banter between heroes was unfortunate but inconsequential. The rape scene, as I've said before, was done with unflinching brutality -- perhaps more so than in the graphic novel. Then there's the Comedian's belt buckle, which was a visual touch that would make Gibbons himself proud and envious. And last but not least, we have Hooded Justice and his exchange with the Comedian. That part could easily have been cut or HJ replaced with Nite Owl I, but neither happened.

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

Too bad that's not a choice.

He should probably include it though.

Edit: Oh, he included it.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

Vietnam. Hands down.
The Ride of the Valkyries was a bit of a slap in the face but it was still awesome.
Then the scene in the bar was actually realized perfectly.
It would have been even better if the Joplin was a bit more audible.

The transitions were iffy... but so were most in the funeral. I always felt that something was missing with literally all of the transitions between the funeral and the flashbacks but couldn't put my finger on it.

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" Funny STORY. Sounds UNBELIEVABLE. Probably TRUE."

Keene Act riots for me. Something in the movie that really worked, imo, and specially Morgan was brilliant.

I'm pretty sure that Adrian commented to Dan that they were the only two Watchmen who knew each other's identities and DAn pointed out, "actually the whole world knows yours." I never saw anything in the movie or the comic to indicate that the Comedian knew NiteOwl's ID... except of course the line I quoted.

The correct line is "we're the only ones who know each other's identities".

Now the only sensible interpretation of this, is that Veidt was referring to the Watchmen collectively. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense. If interpreted to mean, that Dan and Veidt are the only Watchmen to know each other's identities, then how does Laurie know who Dan is?

VEIDT: It's obviously occurred to Rorschach that we're the only ones who know each other's identities.

DREIBERG: Actually, the whole world knows yours.


The only sensible explanation is that this scene wasn't in the book and the screenwriters botched it in trying to contrive a reason for Dreiberg to visit Veidt. If they had stuck to the scene in the book with Rorscach telling Adrian about his mask killer theory, they wouldn't have this chance to try to build a new dynamic between Dan and Veidt that was supposed to culminate in Dan killing Adrian. This is just more residue from Hayter's botched ending.

However, looking at it for what it is within the context of the film and putting the book aside, why would it need to occur to Rorschach that the Watchmen knew each other's identities in his choice to tell Dan about his theory? And why was Rorschach stunned to learn that Blake was the Comedian? And why does no one know who Rorschach is? Obviously, it is not sensible to assume that the Watchmen were collectively aware of each other's identities.

Therefore, it is clear that Adrian was explaining why Rorschach wasn't making the visit as in the novel... that Adrian and Dan knew each other's identities, so telling Dan insures Adrian finds out and he was the leader and the smart one who ought to be able to figure it out. The line is clumsy because obviously, Rorschach knows Dan's even though he never returned the trust. And the Jupiter ladies never bothered to hide theirs in the first place.


The fact is that this line is just pointless blather as the writers struggle to restack a house of cards that they don't all understand.

It's gotta be the Keene Act. I loved that scene.

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I think you're misinterpreting that line. Vedit is stating that out of all the Watchmen, only Dan and Veidt know each other's identities. In any case, the line still doesn't make sense because Dan and Laurie know each other's identities as well as Laurie and Veidt. Sally and Hollis are obviously not part of Veidt's comment, because they're Minutemen and since they went public a long time ago not worth including in that statement.

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Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music - George Carlin

I think it means that only the Watchmen know each other's identities if at all.

Which still doesn't make sense because everyone knows Veidt's and pretty much the whole government knows the Comedian's, Laurie's, and Manhattan's as well.

And Hollis knows Dan's identity. Sally does too. ..yeah this line doesn't seem to make any sense.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

See, I don't have a problem with Blake knowing Dan's identity while Dan doesn't know his, because Dan's already done that with Rorschach (revealed his true identity without it being reciprocated). It's just the way Dan is; maybe a little too trusting for his own good. (Although Blake should know better than to use real names in public while they're in costume. Then again, he's just the kind of guy who wouldn't give a damn. And he'd figure it was Dan's own fault for telling him in the first place, anyway.)

Someone edited the poll to include the rape scene. I meant to focus on the main three, because they are more closely related, in terms of editing.

I think if we're gonna include the rape scene, we might as well also include Moloch's flashback. But too late now.

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"Computer unnecessary."

Oh snap, Misread intentions!

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

I claim responsibility for that, ROR-SHACK. In my mind, the rape flashback counts because 1) the flashback took place while the funeral was underway, and 2) the flashback was prompted by the funeral.

Moloch's flashback doesn't count because it was prompted by Rorschach's interrogation, which took place after the funeral.

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.