The Brewhaha on..."The Fantastic Four" (1994)

"Look at me!!!   AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
-Ben Grimm, channeling "Home Alone" upon his transformation into the Thing

"SO, my friends!  ...Hm."
-Dr. Doom, the original super-villain, at a loss for words upon realizing the heroes have defeated his henchmen and escaped

"When Corman came and asked to buy the movie rights to the Fantastic Four, Marvel eagerly gave it to them. And Fantastic Four was made — and subsequently buried.  All that having been said, is Corman’s Fantastic Four really as bad as people make it out to be? Well, no, not really. Well, okay, yes."
-Nix, BeyondHollywood.com

"If you do decide to brave this movie, do so out of curiosity and prepare yourself for the worst, because that’s what you’ll get."
-Travis Keune, WeAreMovieGeeks.com

No, this review isn't about the Fantastic Four movies that came out in 2005 and 2007.  This review is about the seldom-seen, bootleg, cheaply-produced version which came out (officially or...otherwise) in 1994.  Those of you who are hardcore comic geeks (or movie geeks, for that matter) may have heard about this film, which has more-or-less disappeared off the face of the earth since its completion.

The story goes that the studio that made this movie was forced to either do so or give up all rights to the title.  So they produced a Fantastic Four film on the fly, and then decided not to distribute it.  It was never shown in theaters, and what few VHS copies there are have most likely been illegally distributed from the studio (though, according to Wikipedia, the movie was supposed to be a pilot for a planned TV series).

As you might expect, the production values are cheap, even for 1994.  Frankly, it looks more like something out of the 70's or 80's, a la the original Superman films.  In fact, the first few minutes of the film seem to emulate the first "Superman" movie, with an opening sequence that takes place in outer space accompanied by a studio orchestra, followed by a relatively down-to-earth sequence of opening scenes which, despite the presence of a pair of evil henchmen and a device meant to collect radiation from something called Colossus, looks like it could take place in the real world.  So, at first glance, it looks like a fresh and intelligent take on the comic books.

However, even within the first few scenes, we can see some major flaws.  Outside the immediate subplot of Reed and Doom, we meet Susan and Johnny Storm for the first time.  In contrast to the 2005 movies, it's nice to meet less cynical versions of the characters, including a Susan who isn't always harping on the world's smartest man about their love life and a Johnny Storm who...isn't a complete asshole. 

However, this movie takes their characterizations too far in the other direction.  Susan, at the tender age of...what, twelve?  fifteen?...is already swooning over Reed, which, I understand, is supposed to be a more direct adaptation from the comics, but it's still just sick and wrong.  The fact that the movie soon time-skips and doesn't dwell on their jailbait romance for too long doesn't detract from the effect.  Johnny, meanwhile...is just a smiling buffoon and a pale shadow of what the Human Torch should be.

Alicia Masters's introduction suffers from the same flaws as Susan's; she meets Ben and in two minutes apparently falls in love with him.  Her character arc consists of "fall in love with Ben," "get kidnapped," "spend the movie in a sewer," "get kidnapped again," and "declare my undying love for this rock monster."

Unfortunately, her character arc ties in with the introduction of the Moleman (or, at least, some mutant homeless guy who is based on the Moleman from the comic), who becomes obsessed with her, steals a very valuable and powerful diamond from right under Reed Richards's nose for her as a "gift," and finally kidnaps her and whisks her away to the sewer.  The sick part is that, for the first half of the movie, this random homeless guy with a monocle is the only effective bad guy in the film.  I guess this is to be expected, though, for a villain whose main goal is "get the girl" rather than "destroy New York with a death ray" or "kill the Fantastic Four."

Which brings us to Dr. Doom, the evil, shadowy overlord who ends up dominating the climax of the film.  There's not much to say about him, other than that they've completely stripped him of the menace of his comic book counterpart (see the second quote from the top).  That being said, though, he is also extremely hilarious.  The way he moves those metal fingers of his around, letting them clack together, his over-the-top dialogue (some of the dialogue is spliced in afterward via a voice actor) and gestures (which don't always match up with the dialogue!), the fact that he sits atop a massive stair case in his dark, stormy castle. 

No, Doom is not a very effective villain.  Yes, he is a laughingstock compared to his comic book version.  No, you can't always hear what he's saying through his helmet.  But yes, he is freaking hilarious.

One element the movie really nailed was the tragic element of Ben Grimm, or Mama Grimm's ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, who undergoes a transformation into a rock monster that wouldn't be out of place in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.  His scenes in the sewers with the Moleman, and later Dr. Doom, are the emotional crux of the movie.  I won't spoil it for you, but the fact that he can't even rely on his superhuman powers at the critical moment makes it all the more tragic.

So overall, is Roger Corman's "The Fantastic Four" a good movie?  No.  No, it is emphatically not a good movie.  Yes, it's a cheap movie, but the film is truly ruined by its ridiculous characterizations, specifically in the case of the Storms, Alicia Masters, and the dueling villains.  It might be so bad it's good, or so bad it's hilarious, but a good movie this isn't.

*Edit:  For those of you who are curious, I was able to view the movie on YouTube, beginning here.

Note:  The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer who does not listen to his mother when she suggests a name for, say, his screenplay.  Or fantasy football team.  Or superhero team.  Yes, that's seriously how the characters come up with "Fantastic Four."  Susan and Johnny's mother calls them the "Fantastic Four."  I kid you not.

The Brewhaha on..."Galaxy Quest"

Jason:  "Crewman Madison, the mist of this strange planet is filing my head with such thoughts..."
Gwen:  "It was cute when I didn't know you."

-The male and female lead of "Galaxy Quest," as he boldly goes where no man has gone before...

"I think it's a chillingly realistic documentary. The details in it, I recognized every one of them. It is a powerful piece of documentary filmmaking."
-George Takei, better known as Sulu, from the original Star Trek

"Bottom line: 'Galaxy Quest' is the best Star Trek movie since "The Wrath of Khan'."
-Chris Gore, FilmThreat.com

"Six hilariously-scripted parts, but they run out of laugh material long before the movie ends, and "Galaxy Quest" must then limp to the closing credits supported by its actual plot, which is, by design, stupider than anything "Star Trek" ever devised."
-Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDwire.com

"The movie doesn’t entirely sell the reality of its situation: it still seems rather easy for the actor-characters to rise to the occasion and succeed in real life just as they did on their show. But what works earns enough good will for us to overlook the minor flaws. And in a year that has poked much fun at science fiction fans (TREKKIES, FREE ENTERPRISE) is nice to see a film that acknowledges the eccentricity of fanatics but ultimately embraces them."
-Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

So goes the hype (and criticism) for "Galaxy Quest," the 1999 spoof of the Star Trek franchise and space adventures in general, starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, and...those other two guys...as actors from the fictional TV show and Star Trek stand-in known as "Galaxy Quest," who soon find themselves caught in a real-life space adventure beyond their wildest imaginings.

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with anything that falls under "sci-fi."  Beyond this, I have a tendency toward the action-packed Star Wars over its cheaper and more intellectual counterpart in Star Trek.  Further grounding my thoughts to Earth was one very, very rabid fan I met recently who, in the space of thirty minutes, managed to turn me off of "The Force Unleashed," as well as anything Star Wars-related.  So when my good old movie buddy told me I absolutely had to see "Galaxy Quest," I had second thoughts about agreeing to watch it.

"Galaxy Quest" is one of those movies I remember slipping through the cracks when it came to theaters.  I wasn't nearly as jaded toward sci-fi back then, but I still remember watching the commercials and thinking to myself, "Wow, that looks dumb.  I mean, not quite as dumb as that Jar-Jar Binks character or that robot that has to speak in beeps and whistles, but still pretty dumb."

Nor is "Galaxy Quest" one of those movies that astounds audiences and breathes life back into its genre.  It's not going to do for sci-fi what "The Dark Knight" did for superheroes, or what the Bourne series did for action movies and spy flicks; it's a movie with tongue planted firmly within cheek.  It's a good, quality family film, not totally watered down for the kids but not too intimidating for your average viewer.  More than anything, though, it's just plain fun.

Some flaws?  You want flaws?  You want me to discuss this movie's flaws?  Well, I'll give you this much, as well as a quick plot breakdown:  The movie's premise is that the characters are all actors, who are best known for their roles as the intrepid space travelers of TV's "Galaxy Quest."  The initial conflict comes from none of these actors being able to escape those roles; Sigourney Weaver's character sees herself as little more than a sex symbol, while Alan Rickman's character, veteran of theatre that he is, is desperately seeking roles more serious than, say, Spock.  In fact, their constant association with their TV roles proves their undoing once the real aliens show up...

Then we have Tim Allen's character, who is basically Kirk to a T.  He plays the daring space captain on TV, and thus gets the most fans and the most time in the spotlight.  Of course, he is then confronted with the fact that he's been doing Galaxy Quest conventions for almost two decades and that he's essentially a has-been, and his once unshakable character lashes out at some fans, spirals into a mid-life crisis, and binges like no man has drunk before, which, again, proves to be their undoing once the real aliens show up.

I guess my point is that his character arc was a bit too...cartoonish.  I know, we're talking about a movie where this washed-up actor ends up being abducted by aliens and placed in charge of his own spaceship.  However, the scene I'm talking about takes place before he--and the audience--have officially left planet Earth.  It's just a little jarring to see someone go from such an unchecked ego to a drunken mess.  (Granted, I know people tend to hit the bottle over far less, but still...) 

How exactly does this guy not realize his acting career has basically stagnated until five minutes into the movie?  How is it he loses his sense of conviction just from one guy saying, "Hey, how 'bout that last big role of yours...twenty years ago?"  You would think he's been in showbiz long enough to realize, as they say, "haters gonna hate."  (Of course, the 90's were a far more innocent time, back before movies in general had lost that cheesiness and "Haters Gonna Hate" had been...invented...)

Again, though, this is a minor flaw.  For this movie, the sky is indeed the limit.  The special effects, while noticeable compared to today's movies, still aren't bad for 1999, and for a movie as cheesy as this, you can afford to let them get away with it.  The writing is pitch-perfect, the action is non-stop (except, of course, when their alien caretakers provide their "dinner"...), and the movie hits the "beats" you might find in a show like Star Trek.  Special mention goes to Tony Shalhoub's character, Fred Kwan, who...is just awesome.  There isn't a moment he's onscreen that he isn't being awesome.  In fact, he's probably one of my favorite characters ever.  Ever.  Yeah, Rambo, eat your heart out.

So overall, is "Galaxy Quest" a good movie?  Yes.  Is it a great movie?  No.  No, I don't think anyone would call this movie a "great" movie.  But I would definitely say it's worth checking out.  By Grabthar's hammer...by the Sons of Warvan...this movie is worth checking out.

Note:  The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer who will not stop until all the weak and defenseless are protected from bad movies.  As long as there is injustice, whenever a baby cries out, bored to tears, whenever a distress signal goes out, he will not rest.  This fine writer, this fine blog.  Never give up...and never surrender.  Brewsky out.

The Brewhaha on..."RED"

“I’m BACK in the saddle AGA-AIINN…I’m BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCKKK!!!”
-Aerosmith, “Back “BACK in the Saddle”

“You really know how to show a girl a good time.”
-John Malkovich, as himself, after shooting a rocket-propelled explosive in mid-flight

“Masked avengers need a break in 2010, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that one of the best comic book movies of the year came from an unlikely source.  In the action-comedy 'Red,' director Robert Schwentke takes an unusual source material, gathers an unbelievable cast that makes 'The Expendables' look, well, expendable, and delivers an extremely funny, action-packed movie where gimmicks such as Helen Mirren holding guns, unsurprisingly, don’t grow old.”
-Matthew Schimkowitz, WeekinRewind.com

"RED isn't nearly as clever as it seems to think it is.  The film runs out of steam halfway through and begins repeating itself, and the lack of a compelling through-story doesn't help.  (Why do the bad guys want our graying gang dead?  I honestly can't remember.)"
-Robert Butler, Kansas City Star

So goes the hype (and criticism) for “RED” a spy thriller action-comedy team-up movie, the latest DC Comics movie, and the other project Bruce Willis was working on during the shooting of “The Expendables.”  As the title apparently suggests, the film features a team of “Retired and Extremely Dangerous” spies who have been declared the government’s most wanted and find themselves in a race to catch their unseen tormentor before he catches them…

Well…on paper, that’s what it’s about.  Because, like any good movie, there’s also a girl…

The film starts with Frank Moses, played by Mr. Church himself, on the phone with Sarah Ross (played by Mary-Louise Parker, whose name alone suggests she might be out of place in this movie), a customer service rep or some such thing who has found herself on the receiving end of a game of phone tag with the smooth and intriguing voice of Bruce Willis character on the other end.  Moses himself has also become smitten with Sarah, and it seems love is in the air (or, failing that, somewhere in the land line between them).

About ten minutes in, the first black ops agents show up, and we’re reminded that this is supposed to be an action movie.  About fifteen minutes in, Sarah is equally enlightened, as she finds herself on the most intense “first date” ever.

“RED” could be many things, though this obviously depends on how faithful it’s supposed to be to whatever comic it’s based on.  It could have been an escapist adventure in the same sense as “Romancing the Stone” or…*shudder*…“Knight and Day,” or it could have been an intense (if over-the-top) spy flick.  If…*shudder*…that other movie is anything to go by, it could have been both, with Sarah getting swept up into the world of a “spy” movie featuring Bruce Willis on the run from the law.  It seems to drop this premise somewhere in the middle, though, at about the moment she gets taken in by whatever organization with 3 letters is chasing down the good guys this week.  In other words, the movie’s focus drifts away from the poor girl who ended up on a date with Die Hard himself, and ironically loses the “everyman” element from having her around.

However, Sarah’s character works in this movie in that she doesn’t seem too out of place; she’s not an annoying, shrill excuse for a damsel, but she does have a relatively sane and human reaction to getting abducted by some guy from over the phone, which makes her a bit more believable as a character.  Her character also serves to drive home the theme of love, whether this love is for one’s family, a fellow spy, or just a budding romance between an office girl and the man who sounded a lot taller (and less bald) on the phone.  (Plus, she had me at “Okay.”  Actually, she had me at “Mmm-mmph-mmph!”  You’ll know the scene when you see it…)

In all fairness, though, this movie wasn’t marketed as “Romancing the Stone Hard!” or “Diamonds Are Forever Until They Die Hard!”  It’s emphatically not a romantic comedy, it’s an outright action flick starring Bruce Willis…and an ensemble cast ranging from John Malkovich to Morgan Freeman to William Stryker the guy from the Bourne movies.  This particular premise is where the movie’s strengths lie, which makes it all the more confusing to have this random new girlfriend hanging around with them.  However, if Sarah is the heart of the show, the other characters basically are the show, with our plucky office girl placed along the likes of Frank Moses’s RED team.  Morgan Freeman, William Stryker Brian Cox…how can you go wrong with a cast like that?

Of note is John Malkovich, who plays a fellow CIA and black ops retiree who has been the subject of too many army experiments and has now been reduced to a paranoid, delusional wreck.  Apparently, eleven years’ worth of debilitating and mind-crushing government experiments makes someone absolutely hilarious.  Special mention also goes to Helen Mirren, who, if the reviews of my peers are anything to go by, apparently spends the entire movie walking around with an Uzi, and whose gimmick seems to be that she is a Shakespearean-level actress who gets to use a very big gun on a hotel’s worth of Secret Service agents.

So overall, is “RED” a good movie?  Yes.  Is it a great movie?  Yes.  The movie’s weaknesses, mostly involving this whole “love interest” angle they decided to shoehorn in, are overcome by the strength of the ensemble as a whole.  Plus, you know, John Malkovich gets to shoot a freaking rocket in mid-flight.  And he only gets more awesome from there.  As does the movie as a whole.

Note:  The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer.  He and his ex-girlfriend, who is a cashier at a Starbucks near you, have been recruited by the CIA in order to uncover an international cocaine cartel.  Now putting a stop to Rafael Estaban's plans could mean the difference between life and death.  But perhaps their greatest obstacle could be the rekindled passion between them.  Also, there's a car chase.

The Brewhaha on..."MacGruber"

"MacGruber...  (He finally made a fucking movie...)  MacGruber!"
-The opening sequence

"Anyway, shortly thereafter, she left him for me. She was actually carrying his child at the time. I asked her to terminate it, obviously, so we could start fresh. And she agreed. We were so in love. And he took that from me."
-MacGruber, explaining why exactly his wife is dead

"It’s consistently funny and it didn’t need gray tape to do it. It’s funny in the old Airplane humor, mixed with a little Mel Brooks, type of way; a rare treat, really. Rude, crude, and retarded in our current sophomoric loving comedy movie ways, the film loses nothing from the skit, but successfully adds to it.  [...] There was actually room for them to play along with MacGruber for 88 minutes."
-Jon Peters, KillerFilm.com

"Aesthetically, the movie is a crime; comedically it resorts to knee-slappers like celery up the butt (not once but twice). It’s further proof, as if any were needed, of SNL producer Lorne Michaels’ contempt for the audience."
-Rob Gonsalves, EFilmCritic.com


So goes the hype (and criticism) for "MacGruber," the action movie parody starring Will Forte, the latest successor to a long line of Saturday Night Live movies, and an homage to 80's action films.

As someone with a particular fondness for action films, I happen to appreciate the humor in this movie.  The aloof main character, his disposable love interests, the slimy villains, the over-the-top gun fights, and even an 80's rock theme playing in the background, make me feel so very much at home.  So yes, I suppose you could say I'm incredibly biased in favor of this movie.  Really, really biased...

The title character made his debut as a recurring character on Saturday Night Live.  He would appear in sketches such as the one I'm hoping to find online and embed below, with him and one or two other characters trapped in a room with a bomb slowly ticking down.  The source material of these sketches happen to be the old MacGyver series, as Will Forte's straw-haired hero scrambles to "MacGyver" his way out of their predicament while trying to stay politically-correct, debating the applications of pubic hair, and fighting the urge to strangle Betty White (who appeared in a sketch as his mother).



Is this a good premise for a movie?  Well, someone in charge evidently liked what they saw, and MacGruber was able to make the jump to the big screen.  And when I say "able," I mean this all-American hero was ready, willing, and able.

For those of you who have seen the recent "A-Team" movie, I'll say that both movies have a similar strength; while they're both based on TV shows at least a few decades old, they both also make an effort to update their basic premise for 2010.  The A-Team was more-or-less a straight-up action movie, while MacGruber is a movie adaptation of a sketch show parody based on MacGyver--like a parody of a parody, one could say.

Another of this film's strengths is what I like to refer to as its sheer laugh ratio.  The fact of the matter is that there simply isn't a dull moment; if one joke fails, they simply move on to the next one.  This movie is a virtual onslaught of jokes, much in the same way that...oh, God, I hate to even talk about this movie in the same sentence as "Airplane!"  But I watched this movie (the unrated DVD) with a buddy of mine who is probably even more of a movie buff than I've been pretending to be, and he could not stop laughing.  This is the same guy who introduced me to "Casablanca" and "Monty Python:  The Search for the Holy Grail."  And he could not stop laughing.  Twenty minutes in, he was running out of breath.

Some minor faults can be found in MacGruber's use of cheap, crude laughs.  For those of you who like that sort of humor, though, and for those of you who have only seen the theatrical version, you might not even mind.  The sex scenes are played for all the laughs you can generate from a sex scene, and even the...uh, "celery" scenes are few and far between, enough so that they're subdued (well, as subdued as prancing around with celery between your legs can be).

Character development is tangential to the movie at best, with MacGruber himself playing the idiot hero to nearly everyone else's straight man.  Still, the comic atmosphere doesn't totally detract from the plot; the film hits what you might call the "beats" of your average action movie.  The hero comes back from retirement, gets his team together, faces off with the bad guy, kicks some ass, gets the girl, and ultimately learns a few things about himself.

Ultimately, your opinion of this movie depends on how aggravating you find the lead character.  His antics, which even for a comedy can border on sociopathy, can get old after a while.  His brand of incompetent action hero may be fine in the small, sixty-second doses from which he came, but you can't really expect someone so in over his head to carry a whole movie.  The fact of the matter is that most of the humor is dependent on the lead character himself; whether or not he accomplishes this task is...well, there's a reason we have movie critics...

So overall, is "MacGruber" a good movie?  Yes, it is.  Is it a great movie?  Yes, yes it is.  In fact, I would dare call it the "Citizen Kane" of Saturday Night Live movies based off of 80's action movies.  Yes, it's that good.

Note:  The Brewksy...(an enthusiastic reviewer and blogger)...The Brewsky...(eating cans of whoop-ass for breakfast!)...The Brewsky...(he's been banned in 26 states and Hawaii!)...THE BREWSKY!!!

The Brewhaha on..."Watchmen"

"I'm not locked in here with you!  You're locked in here with me!"
-Rorschach, during a prison riot

"I suppose I was just thinking, 'That'd be a good way to start a comic book: have a famous super-hero found dead.' As the mystery unraveled, we would be led deeper and deeper into the real heart of this super-hero's world, and show a reality that was very different to the general public image of the super-hero."

-Alan Moore, the creator of the Watchmen comic

"After the revelation of “The Dark Knight,” here is “Watchmen,” another bold exercise in the liberation of the superhero movie. It’s a compelling visceral film — sound, images and characters combined into a decidedly odd visual experience that evokes the feel of a graphic novel. It seems charged from within by its power as a fable; we sense it’s not interested in a plot so much as with the dilemma of functioning in a world losing hope."
-Roger Ebert....of RogerEbert.com

"Alan Moore has kept his name off the film, not because he mistrusts Hollywood [...] but because he feels that movies can't do what comics do: you can't take your time absorbing the details, go back and re-read what went before, or put it aside when it all gets too much. While Watchmen is still as rich, daring, and intelligent an action film as there's ever been, it also proves Moore absolutely right. As a comic book, Watchmen is an extraordinary thing. As a movie, it's just another movie, awash with sound and fury."
-Nick Dent, Time Out

So goes the hype (and criticism) for the 2009 superhero movie, "The Watchmen," based on the critically-acclaimed comic graphic novel series by Alan Moore.  One could say that comic book movies have become a dime a dozen over the years, with well-known characters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and even lesser-known properties like Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider jumping from the comic pages to the big screen. 

The Watchmen is unique among comic book adapations for several reasons.  For one thing, it was published as a standalone story in a universe completely separate from mainstream properties like Marvel and DC.  (While the characters are supposedly based on previous DC heroes, Alan Moore decided to reinvent them for the purposes of his story.)  Since it was a standalone story, it was limited to the original 12-issue miniseries; even C or D-list superheroes like Hex or Rider have probably gotten at least a few years' worth of publications and ongoing series.

The fact that this movie is based off a miniseries made it possible for the filmmakers to make a much more faithful adaptation than most comic book movies.  Where the main DC/Marvel properties such as Supes or Batman generally have to take a "broad strokes" approach in adapting years, if not decades, worth of comic book adventures to the big screen, the Watchmen is almost a shot-for-shot adaptation of the original graphic novels.  Those who have read it would agree with me when I say that the graphic novels were drawn in a sort of cinematic style, which makes the movie adaptation flow that much better.

One thing the Watchmen does for the superhero genre in general is take away the "camp" factor, where the good guys are wholeheartedly good, the bad guys are irredeemably evil, and the world can be saved with some well-placed punches.  The story takes place in a literal "Cold War" atmosphere, an alternate universe where U.S.-Soviet tensions are high and the "heroes," now outlawed and forbidden from engaging in vigilante activities, are working to stop armageddon in their own warped ways.  None of the characters featured are wholly good or evil, from the hardened, urban-dwelling Rorschach, to the all-powerful, otherworldly Dr. Manhattan, and from the unflappable, derisive Comedian, to the Nite Owl-Silk Spectre "battle couple."

In considering the characters, though, there are some shortcomings.  When I first heard Rorschach's voice, it almost seemed too hoarse and gritty.  I got used to it after a while, but hearing him try to channel the Dark Knight when he began speaking was a bit distracting.  Also, the sex scene...good God.  I was watching the unrated DVD, so I can't speak for the theatrical version, but someone, whether it was the actor (presumably the Nite Owl character) or the director, was really into the sex scene.  For those of you who haven't read the comics, I'll just say that the source material does not merit the two, three, five-minute sex scene in the movie.  (In my professional opinion, though, I will say it was shot extremely well, and with a keen fondness for the female anatomy.)

The most divisive changes for fans probably involve the climax.  While it makes sense for the filmmakers to excise the whole "giant squid" plot, I felt the film took the typical Hollywood tactic of delineating "good guys" and "bad guys" toward the end.  While it's true the heroes would feel some sort of disgust with the final bid to end World War 3, the climactic showdown incorporated much more violence than the graphic novel, particularly in the last few moments at his arctic hideout.  The effect was that the scene lost much of its original psychological effect, and it ultimately detracted from the basic theme of the graphic novel, which is that even "heroes" can do disgusting things in the name of "justice."

Overall, though, I was very impressed with this movie.  It was obvious the filmmakers put a lot of work into bringing the Watchmen to the big screen, and it's not every day you see such an ambitious project in theaters.  It maintains the spirit underlying the graphic novels while adapting the narrative for a moviegoing audience.  In this sense, there are some noticeable changes such as the few discussed above, but overall I was amazed with what I saw.  Whether you're a hardcore comic book reader or just someone getting into it, I can't promise that this movie is pitch-perfect.  All I can promise is that it's a matter...of who's watching the Watchmen...

Note:  Brewsky is enthusiastic contributor.  Movie reviewer.  He understands it.  Sees the little cracks in society, sees the little men in masks trying to hold it together.  He sees the true face of the twenty-first century.  Chose to become a reflection of it, a parody of it.  No one else saw the joke.  That's why it's not funny...