"Just a matter of time, I suppose," Edward Blake (AKA "The Comedian") utters right before his fight with a masked intruder commences, resulting in Blake's gruesome death, and thus beginning Zack Snyder's film adaptation of the beloved graphic novel Watchmen.
A matter of time, eh? But for what? I mean, I know why narratively, but what about for my cinematic experience, especially as a neophyte in the graphic novel universe? What is it that Zack Attack wants me to take away from the almost 3-hour long film? Personally, I was waiting to be blown away, and while my eyes were impressed with the graphics and special effects on the IMAX screen, my ears were assaulted with horribly cliche pop songs (aside from the fabulous opening sequence in which Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" was aptly used) and the painfully synthesized, badly placed score. What Watchmen impressed upon me was the fact that I take issue with film music, not in the sense that it shouldn't be there, but in regard to the fact that a lot of filmmakers either don't know or don't care how to use it. Most of the time it's used as a device to persuade or direct our feelings for a scene. Take for instance the scene where Lori (Silk Spectre II) and Dan (Nite Owl) are discussing their old days as superheroes. The sexual tension is there, made apparent by the way they look at one another and their body language, and as they move in closer, it's undeniable that something is about to happen. So, then, what better time to cue music, right? Well, if it's the abominable music used, then the answer is a resounding WRONG. Immediately I was taken out of the scene (and not just this one), too busy analyzing the misuse of music (aside from the fact that the acting was sub-par, but since it's a comic book movie, I tend to forgive the performances), and thinking that the filmmakers must think me and my fellow audience members idiots. I'm not sure if it's hesitancy or condescension on their part - are they afraid that we won't get what the scene is trying to tell us or do they just want to beat us over the heads with their point? Either way, it's not good.
A matter of time, eh? But for what? I mean, I know why narratively, but what about for my cinematic experience, especially as a neophyte in the graphic novel universe? What is it that Zack Attack wants me to take away from the almost 3-hour long film? Personally, I was waiting to be blown away, and while my eyes were impressed with the graphics and special effects on the IMAX screen, my ears were assaulted with horribly cliche pop songs (aside from the fabulous opening sequence in which Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" was aptly used) and the painfully synthesized, badly placed score. What Watchmen impressed upon me was the fact that I take issue with film music, not in the sense that it shouldn't be there, but in regard to the fact that a lot of filmmakers either don't know or don't care how to use it. Most of the time it's used as a device to persuade or direct our feelings for a scene. Take for instance the scene where Lori (Silk Spectre II) and Dan (Nite Owl) are discussing their old days as superheroes. The sexual tension is there, made apparent by the way they look at one another and their body language, and as they move in closer, it's undeniable that something is about to happen. So, then, what better time to cue music, right? Well, if it's the abominable music used, then the answer is a resounding WRONG. Immediately I was taken out of the scene (and not just this one), too busy analyzing the misuse of music (aside from the fact that the acting was sub-par, but since it's a comic book movie, I tend to forgive the performances), and thinking that the filmmakers must think me and my fellow audience members idiots. I'm not sure if it's hesitancy or condescension on their part - are they afraid that we won't get what the scene is trying to tell us or do they just want to beat us over the heads with their point? Either way, it's not good.
Alas, Watchmen was my first feature film IMAX experience, and I left the theater disappointed, to say the least. The film, however, did not change the fact that I do need and want to read the graphic novel as I am still very much intrigued by it. But first I want to re-watch another superhero movie which seems to have taken a few cues from Watchmen as it also tells the tales of superheroes who are assimilated back into society. Yes, that would be The Incredibles, a much less violent, but ridiculously enjoyable movie which can probably be viewed twice and enjoyed infinitely more in the span of time it takes to watch that newest addition to the superhero film library.
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