watchmen (read book before seeing movie or see movie first)

[CHOW CHOW]

i clicked on the watchmen thread but almost got nailed with a spoiler so i'm making a separate topic if that's alright

bought the watchmen graphic novel a couple years ago and have never read it.  i'm gonna see the film this friday and am wondering if i should read the book first or see the movie then read the book?

i love movies...the visuals, the sound, the atmosphere, so i'm afraid it won't have the same impact if i read the book first and know the entire plot (i hear it's pretty faithful to the book)

to those of you who have both read the book and seen the movie, what do you think?

[Human Snorenado]

Read the book, skip the movie.  Maybe check out the dvd/blu-ray when it comes out; perhaps the extended cut will be more coherent and less dumb.

[GilloD]

I'd DEFINITLEY see the movie first. I'm a RENEGADE CRAZY MAN around here for suggesting that movie is good. In fact, the movie is very good- But if you've read the graphic novel, then you're going to spend a lot of time going, "Well, where's xyz and what happened to the part where..." instead of just enjoying what's a unique and totally excellent film.

That said, the graphic novel is unparalleled, and it's a much more sophisticated take on the material. For the full story, you'll really have to read it. But watch the film first.

[CHOW CHOW]

Read the book, skip the movie.  Maybe check out the dvd/blu-ray when it comes out; perhaps the extended cut will be more coherent and less dumb.

i'm going with a girl who wants to see it so i can't skip it for fear of losing the opportunity to get in her pants

[CHOW CHOW]

I'd DEFINITLEY see the movie first. I'm a RENEGADE CRAZY MAN around here for suggesting that movie is good. In fact, the movie is very good- But if you've read the graphic novel, then you're going to spend a lot of time going, "Well, where's xyz and what happened to the part where..." instead of just enjoying what's a unique and totally excellent film.

That said, the graphic novel is unparalleled, and it's a much more sophisticated take on the material. For the full story, you'll really have to read it. But watch the film first.

sounds great...i'll see the movie first.  i hear it's almost 3 hours long  

edit, does it drag at all or will i be blown away from start to finish?

[Lafiel]

See the movie first, you'll be less negative since you haven't already read the book.

[aenoble]

 I thought the movie was great but think you should read the book first so you experience the better of the two with a clean slate.

[patrickula]

Yeah, I'd read the book.  Why spoil the plot with an inferior product?

[ch1nchilla]

I'd read the book first just to get a better understanding of what's going on... That's what I did and I still thought it was a great movie, despite certain changes, etc. etc.

[Himu]

Watch the book dvd thing

[Vrolokus]

Always see movies before reading books.

[GilloD]

I'd DEFINITLEY see the movie first. I'm a RENEGADE CRAZY MAN around here for suggesting that movie is good. In fact, the movie is very good- But if you've read the graphic novel, then you're going to spend a lot of time going, "Well, where's xyz and what happened to the part where..." instead of just enjoying what's a unique and totally excellent film.

That said, the graphic novel is unparalleled, and it's a much more sophisticated take on the material. For the full story, you'll really have to read it. But watch the film first.

sounds great...i'll see the movie first.  i hear it's almost 3 hours long  

edit, does it drag at all or will i be blown away from start to finish?

It's really well paced. It didn't seem like almost 3 hours to me, but having read the graphic novel, maybe being able to anticipate what comes next reduced the wait.

[fistfulofmetal]

fuck book, read movie, see girl

[Human Snorenado]

I'd DEFINITLEY see the movie first. I'm a RENEGADE CRAZY MAN around here for suggesting that movie is good. In fact, the movie is very good- But if you've read the graphic novel, then you're going to spend a lot of time going, "Well, where's xyz and what happened to the part where..." instead of just enjoying what's a unique and totally excellent film.

That said, the graphic novel is unparalleled, and it's a much more sophisticated take on the material. For the full story, you'll really have to read it. But watch the film first.

sounds great...i'll see the movie first.  i hear it's almost 3 hours long  

edit, does it drag at all or will i be blown away from start to finish?

It's really well paced. It didn't seem like almost 3 hours to me, but having read the graphic novel, maybe being able to anticipate what comes next reduced the wait.

It should be noted that GilloD is going through an "I hate humanity" phase, and his petty little vengeance is trying to convince people that this movie was good, much less watchable.  It's the only plausible explanation for some of the crazy shit he's saying.  "Well paced"?  I think not.  Just because your boss is a tremendous a-hole doesn't give you the right to lie like that, sir.

[GilloD]

I'd DEFINITLEY see the movie first. I'm a RENEGADE CRAZY MAN around here for suggesting that movie is good. In fact, the movie is very good- But if you've read the graphic novel, then you're going to spend a lot of time going, "Well, where's xyz and what happened to the part where..." instead of just enjoying what's a unique and totally excellent film.

That said, the graphic novel is unparalleled, and it's a much more sophisticated take on the material. For the full story, you'll really have to read it. But watch the film first.

sounds great...i'll see the movie first.  i hear it's almost 3 hours long  

edit, does it drag at all or will i be blown away from start to finish?

It's really well paced. It didn't seem like almost 3 hours to me, but having read the graphic novel, maybe being able to anticipate what comes next reduced the wait.

It should be noted that GilloD is going through an "I hate humanity" phase, and his petty little vengeance is trying to convince people that this movie was good, much less watchable.  It's the only plausible explanation for some of the crazy shit he's saying.  "Well paced"?  I think not.  Just because your boss is a tremendous a-hole doesn't give you the right to lie like that, sir.

Let's just let Chow Chow go to the fi;m and see what he thinks. I thought it was great! High art? Nay, but immensely entertaining.

[Bloodwake]

See the movie first, you'll be less negative since you haven't already read the book.

The way the movie is paced makes it certain you might enjoy it MORE after reading, because the narrative structure is so fucked that it appeals to people who know the graphic novel. Plus you might appreciate the accurate parts of the film in more detail. That was pretty much how I got the majority of my enjoyment in the film. For example, the movie nails for the most part Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan's parts.

If you are going into Watchmen without prior knowledge of the graphic novel, I really don't see how you are going to enjoy it, much less keep a good, solid idea of what is happening in the film.

[CHOW CHOW]

good news is that my friend snuck a bottle of absolut mandarin in her purse and we got hammered and made out during the film... bad news is that the reason we did that was because it didnt make any damn sense.  we left around 1 hour 30 mins into it...i don't remember what part, i think richard nixon was on the screen.

the movie started off great with the awesome fight the comedian vs. idk who and we kinda expected it to be action-packed most of the way through but there was so much talking and confusion

imo, the best part of the experience, save for hookin up,  was the unbelievable preview of Terminator Salvation beforehand...my goodness that was fucking sick and so epic.  can't wait to see that...probably 10x better than this marathon snore-fest.  i mean ill download the dvdrip of watchmen when it drops and try to watch it sober but i think i should have read the book beforehand

[Eric P]

I'm downloading the Motion comic (in m4v format for PSP/zune/iPods). Is it the same as (as good as) reading the book?

no, but they're pretty good, to be honest

[Bloodwake]

good news is that my friend snuck a bottle of absolut mandarin in her purse and we got hammered and made out during the film... bad news is that the reason we did that was because it didnt make any damn sense.  we left around 1 hour 30 mins into it...i don't remember what part, i think richard nixon was on the screen.

the movie started off great with the awesome fight the comedian vs. idk who and we kinda expected it to be action-packed most of the way through but there was so much talking and confusion

imo, the best part of the experience, save for hookin up,  was the unbelievable preview of Terminator Salvation beforehand...my goodness that was fucking sick and so epic.  can't wait to see that...probably 10x better than this marathon snore-fest.  i mean ill download the dvdrip of watchmen when it drops and try to watch it sober but i think i should have read the book beforehand

As predicted. Glad you got some sex (?) out of it.