I may have to change my opinion about the success of Watchmen after my second viewing last evening. Mrs. Speculator and I went with a few friends to a different theatre than we had been to on Friday. The reception of the movie was completely different; the audience was engaged, and after ti was over there were conversations in the hallway and outside the theatre about what had been seen. I'm not altogether sure that everyone got all the details of it, but if they left the theatre relatively pleased, that's better than what I had hoped for. Our companions, while not comics-savvy, are a thoughtful bunch, and they had lots of questions about why certain things had happened and how the movie differs from the comic. I was pleased to share what I knew, and I noticed some other folks listening in.
Upon seeing it a second time, my opinion of it really has not changed—it's a good film and a good comic adaptation. But perhaps the world isn't so unready for such layered and thoughtful story-telling as I had believed. The second weekend's take will be an interesting number to watch.
So, I was one of the people to attend the movie with Mr. Speculator. I do not own any comics, and had never really heard of this until the blurbs starting coming out about the movie. I am, however, a computer geek and like sci-fi. I really liked the movie. It was a good movie with a plot that made sense (to me) and it did not seem to violate its own internal rules it setup in its universe. It was a bit violent and deserved its R rating. If you do not mind the violence (or a large blue penis) this is a movie worth the time and money.
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