 Blu-ray Review |
| Review Date: March 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Inman, Lodi, California United States |
I have to admit that I have never read `Watchmen'. More specifically, before I saw the teaser for the film last summer, I don't think I'd even heard of it. The only two comic books I really cared for when I was younger were `Superman' and `Batman', having more to do with the movies, cartoons and TV shows than the actual comic books themselves.
I decided to pick up the Blu-ray of the `Watchmen' motion comic as an alternative to reading the graphic novel in preparation for going to see the movie because I thought it was an interesting concept.
I must say I was stunned.
I won't get into the story and characters as most of you who are reading this are probably well versed already. Let's just say that I can see now what all the hoopla is about. Instead, let me talk about the actual presentation of the "motion comic".
The Blu-ray image is outstanding. Each image on screen is composed of a single panel from the comic complete with the dialog bubbles. The colors are vibrant and the lines are crisp. Many of the images seem to jump right off the screen at you. The score is quite good as the music helps to set the mood of what is going on. Having heard some excerpt's from the film score I have to say as of right now I think the `motion comic' score is more suiting to the story. The sound effects are also well done.
The voice acting is excellent for being performed by one person. Many of the reviews I have read seem to have a problem with a man reading a woman's part. Having listened to many audio books on the road or at work, I can say that I did not find it distracting in the least. Having said that, if this "motion comic" format becomes popular, I think having an actual voice cast would be a wonderful idea.
The pacing is deliberate and maintains a somber mood as the entire 12 part story unfolds over a period of 5 hours and 25 minutes, including opening and closing credits for each story. Getting through the entire disc in one sitting may be difficult but it may be more difficult to turn off.
The extras are minimal. They include a 3 minute mini-doc illustrating how the look of the comic influenced the look of the upcoming film, and a 10 minute look at the new `Wonder Woman' animated feature. I found the inclusion of the latter to be a "filler feature" as it was released the same day as this `Watchmen' motion comic and it was included with the previous release of `Batman: Gotham Knight'. A look at how they created the `motion comic' would have seemed a better choice but I'm not going to complain about things that aren't. Also, exclusive to Blu-ray is a `WB Live' sneak peek at the `jailbreak' scene from the upcoming feature film.
I have seen all of the recent Warner Bros. Animated features and I must admit that this is my favorite. The `motion comic' is an excellent concept and was pulled of quite well on this first attempt. I hope this format catches on as it would be great to see some of the great graphic novels like `Batman: The Long Halloween' or `Arkham Asylum' or any number of others come to "life".
As for this release, it's probably more geared to hardcore fans but I found much to enjoy and couldn't imagine a better way to experience this spectacular story.
Highly recommended.
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Brings the amazing comic to life with beautiful transitions and music
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| Review Date: March 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mario Franchi, Ogden, UT |
| This motion comic is a must have for Watchmen fans. This is exactly like the comic except for a few minor dialogs that have been removed because they would have been unnecessary for the motion comic since the narration adds the emotion in the characters dialog (you'll understand if you read the book along with watching the motion comic). The motion animation and added transitions are just amazing and I just loved the music, I mean really loved the music!! The narrator did a great job for even doing the female voices, but it wouldn't have hurt to have gotten a female narrator because it took some getting used to a man give out a feminine tone as I laughed the first time I heard it. A must have for fans especially if the movie doesn't do to well, but to me the movie looks great. I also agree with the other reviewer that Matthew Goode was terribly cast for the part of Andrian Veight/Ozymandias. I mean why did they choose that scrawy guy for the part and I dont know what the hair stylist was thinking giving Andrian that hair for the movie. Anyways the motion comic really brings the book to life and recommend you BUY THIS!!!! IT JUST RELEASED TODAY!!! |
Great work!!
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| Review Date: March 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: amaze122, Houston, Tx |
| I loved this from the first few seconds into it; after the credits had finished rolling! The music creates a powerfully interpreted atmosphere, and the directing is perfect. The only thing I hated was that there were no female voices. One actor narrated the whole thing, doing all the voices, and altering his tone and inflection slightly for each character. While he did an excellent job on all the male characters, I think the best approach for this would have been a two-person team of a guy for all the male voices, and one female for all the female parts. If this had been an audio book, the one actor approach would have sufficed, since in those cases, the actor merely provides vocalization for the dialogue, and it doesn't matter what gender it is rendered in. But in an Illustrated Graphic Novel, you actually See the characters, and one never loses the disconcertment (I checked; that is actually a word) of "seeing" a male voice being uttered by a female character, especially the Same male voice. I hope that they redo this one day soon, with that in mind. If they do, I will buy it again, that is how much I liked this. By the way I still own my original copy of the Watchmen, bought from Bud Plant's Comic Art, many many years ago now. To me, this was just as powerful, and I would highly recommend it. I watched the entire thing in one sitting, even though it took several hours, that is how entranced I was. |
Excellent with a couple caveats
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| Review Date: February 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: byte_man, Denver, CO USA |
| Highly recommended. The adaptations are very well done and really allow you to linger over the art with the semi-animated, sub-anime level of motion they use. The soundtrack is great and really lends an amazing atmosphere to the episodes. The only caveats I have is that they use a single male narrator/actor, who can get a bit dicey for the female voices, and I don't understand why they used dialogue balloons. But these choices don't detract from the overall excellence. |
*INTERESTING* For Limited Animation!
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| Review Date: March 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Alex Honda, Los Angeles, CA USA |
I bought the WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC DVD on a whim. I haven't read the graphic novel or seen the live action movie, but I wanted to familiarize myself with the story and so I decided to give it a go.
This is the first limited-motion, animated movie I've seen but it took very little time to get used to (limited-motion meaning that there's very simple movements and not a full-range of motion as in regular cartoons). About half-way through the second episode, I did get used to it and it didn't bother me; plus the story line is so engaging that I hardly noticed the limited movements.
The story is about a group of masked vigilantes or superheroes, only one actually has superpowers, who are now retired. One of them named Rorscach thinks there's a conspiracy going on when a fellow superhero ends up murdered. He believes that there's a mask-killer on the loose and targeting all the heroes for death. The retired masked vigilantes re-group and uncover a much more deadly plot that will end up killing millions of people in New York.
If you're looking for a superhero movie like X-Men Trilogy (X-Men/ X2 - X-Men United/ X-Men - The Last Stand) or Justice League Unlimited - Season One (DC Comics Classic Collection), WATCHMEN: THE COMPLETE MOTION COMIC might disappoint you. But if you like conspiracy theories and mysteries and profound ideals then you'll probably enjoy it.
I was really drawn into the story line by episode two, even after I realized that this wasn't going to be the normal hero adventure like the previous mentioned titles. Hooked until the very end, and the end had a surprise twist that I didn't see coming, I was pleasantly surprised.
There are 12 episodes in all--on two DVDs--and you have the option to "play all" or "episode selection." All the voices including the women are done by a very talented voice-over actor named Tom Stechsculte and he does vary the voices enough, so you know when a different character is talking. Also, the original dialogue bubbles appear so you can read along with the comic as it comes to life.
I would've liked to have some special features like perhaps the writers discussing "Watchmen" etc., but there aren't any. You do get a sneak peek at Wonder Woman 2009 (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) if you haven't bought that already.
This is an animated movie that you really have to pay attention to because there's a sub-story going on as a character is reading a comic book in the film. But the dialogue and action going on in the comic book, blends perfectly with the movie time line and action, so there is a purpose.
Very cool and I recommend to comic fans.
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