Craig:
re: the ending:
You are right about the ending; I think that’s part of the Moore’s brilliance, showing that Veidt’s plan isn’t really perfect, that in all likelihood, it only buys a few years or decades before the world is back to its old ways.

But I still like the book’s ending better.  In the movie, all Veidt has change who is hated by the public.  It used to be the Russians, but now it’s Manhattan.  They have a face and a specific person to hate.  In the book’s ending, all they could do is fear aliens, they couldn’t really hate them.

Think of it this way: I figure, there will be Manhattan sympathizers on Earth moving forward, people who sort of grasp that he had to do this to prevent total annihilation.  You think those people won’t have hatred turned towards them by the masses?  I don’t see there being as many alien sympathizers in the post-novel world.

It wasn’t enough to ruin the movie for me, but it was a black mark.

re: smoking:
If they cut her smoking in order to be more family-friendly, that’s complete b.s.  It also doesn’t fit in with the rest of the movie, where the primary “hero” is a sociopath who embraces a life of brutality.  It’s a sad commentary on society if we can embrace a simple-minded thug like Rorshach, but not a smoker.

Hey Shyster,

  Not certain of the factual element here, because I’ve slept in the last few weeks, but didn’t you mention when they announced the release of, “Watchmen” that is coincided with your birthday? or, was that somebody else?  I dunno.
Anyway, if a belated Happy Birthday is in order, please accept this as one.

I, for one, had indeed been reading Veidt’s name as “veet” all these years.  That doesn’t make sense given the common i-before-e/i-after-e rules, but that’s how I read it.

I liked the music overall.  I figured they were just taking the cues from the book, for the most part.

I do agree that eliminating Laurie’s smoking made the flame-thrower thing kind of dopey.

well, both sally and laurie now that you mention it, but i more so the old mom.  they got her drinking, which is good, but the smoking, coughing and hacking is how i always pictured her.  a real mess.  that laurie didnt smoke is not as bothersome (but the archie flame thrower bit is a good point, too). 

as for why they cut it, doubt it was to spare the children from a bad influence.  the comedian is still chompin cigars.  i think it was merely a style choice.

Aarcraft,

If you have seen Shrek, you have heard of Cale’s version of Hallelujah. 

I fall in Eddo’s camp regarding liking the book’s ending better (way better, in my case).  I’m not saying it would have worked in the movie, but you know, they didn’t have to do a squid, which might have looked silly in a movie and confused the masses.  They could have used some other invention that wasn’t a squid.  I have some other complaints about unnecessary (but minor) choices made, but I will hold my fire until I see it a second time.

Re:  full frontal on Dr. Manhattan—in our group of 12 there were no complaints at all from the four ladies.  I said over food after “they didn’t need to show that much” and someone said, “Oh yes they did!”  I pointed out that the movie probably had the highest penis-to-breast ratio of any R movie, ever, and the consensus was, “good!” 

Hrrm.

I am usually harsh on major changes to source material, but in this case I think they pulled it off beautifully:

1) In the book, the alien entity is basically a new character introduced without warning or explanation to the people of earth. By contrast the power of DrM is already well understood/feared, so when he “turns on humanity” everyone immediately gets what that means.There is no casting about: “What was it? Was it an alien? Really? No it’s gotta be a trick…Aliens? Really?”, It’s just: “Crap, DrM turned on us. We done f’d up, boys.” I think for the alien to really work Veidt would have needed to fake some blips on the NASA radar over the course of the story to plant the idea in humanity’s head that ALIENS are now a thing to be worried about.

2) The main problem with Veidt’s plan in the book is that there are no actual aliens. The whole thing was a one time fake job—eventually complacency will return to the Great Powers when there are no follow up attacks. DrM, on the other hand, actually exists, everyone knows that he exists, and everyone knows he can return at anytime. Which brings me to my last point…

3) In the book, the Great Powers only unite because they have been confronted with a hostile Them that places all humanity together into a collective Us. Plausible? Maybe. But does it really get to the heart of the problem? I don’t think so. In the movie’s version DrM has punished humanity for their transgressions. Would you think twice about escalating earthly conflicts if you knew the Big Blue God was watching and had a history of wiping out that of which he disapproves? I sure would. Nixon’s bellicose rhetoric about “getting Dr Manhattan aside” I think fear of DrM will keep war off the table far better than subconscious Us/Them distinctions.

All in all, I was pleased with the adoption. My fiancée had not read the book and came away very impressed with the characters/story and is planning to read the original as soon as I get it back from a friend I lent my copy to. Put me down as having hated the music though. I get that they were taking their cues from quotes in book, but Jesus, I don’t think it translated well at all. Ending a chapter with a short, haunting Bob Dylan quote does not mean you should have the Owl Ship charging into battle with Jimi Hendrix cranked to 10. Ride of the Valkyries for the Vietnam scene? C’mon. People are trying to tell me its ironic, but it didn’t feel that way to be. I think they meant it.

3 stars.

I think the whole second half was rushed, but the ending in particular: there was no time to build up to the denouement, or to show how the world really reacts to the new situation.  It just whizzed by too fast.

Aarcraft:
The version used within the film Shrek definitely sounds different than the Wainwright version on the soundtrack.  It still may be Wainwright, but it would be a separate version then.

Daniel—yeah, you can do it.  No sweat.