If you haven't seen the movie, don't read this. Not a spoiler, just won't make any sense.
Let me just say up front, I am not making a judgment about religion and science, I'm just saying what I saw going on in Watchman. I'm sure others that have much more depth then I, can bring (I must confess, I have not read the comic) to this movie, but after one amazing viewing in an Imax theater, I thought this movie had so much more going for it, including (but not limited to), a sub-story that goes something like this:
'God' character created (by accident?), (actually worshiped in Vietnam) with Dr. Manhatten, powerful, but growing ambiguous to humankinds actions. The Comedian is the irony of humankind, (we survive despite ourselves) even blaming Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam for his (humankinds) horrific actions. Everyone refers to the superhero that's gone public as the smartest man alive, and this man, figures out how to fool a god, and that to save all humankind from itself (what he promised he was doing from the start mind you!) he must unite humankind against Dr. Manhatten, essentially against God. And Dr. Manhatten agrees. Matter of fact with his ability to see back and forward in time, it makes total sense to him.
This smartest man in the world, (I'd say the science side of the house), does ultimately mean well, but he is brutal(like the comedian?) in choices over whats best for humanity and the sacrifices he is willing to take, so don't think the God analogy gets to the take all the bad rap, there is plenty of bad choices to go around.
Rorschach pays the price (a sacrifice?) for refusing to hide the truth, Manhattan sacrifices him, but Rorschach leaves behind a documentation of the truth (like a bible for comic book geeks I guess ;)
I found the moral ambiguity of all parties involved refreshing and complex. I'm looking forward to seeing it again to confirm or remind me of things I have missed. Any others have some interesting takes on this movie?
Oh, and one last tip, you probably don't want to bring your kids. This ain't no Batman. . ;)
1 comments:
Excellent insight Kellman. Rorschach is the one character in the movie (and comic.. go read it) that is true to the ideal of being a hero. Yes he is a basically a psychopath but he believes in one thing and that's the truth. Dr Manhattan is the God character that has lost interest in humanity much like any character would with that kind of power. Just like we do with ants and bugs that crawl around. This was the comic that changed the landscape for all other comics. Being a former (ok still) comic nerd, it was the turning point for everything else that came after it. If not for Watchmen, we wouldn't have a Dark Knight, Spider-man or X-Men as we do. This was the comic that made it ok to write adult comics. I loved the movie just like I loved the graphic novel. I would strongly suggest picking up a copy. I'm sure you would enjoy it as much if not more than you enjoyed the movie.
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