Rating: Not Rated
Starring:
Tom Stechschulte
Special Features:
Special Sneak Peek at DC Universe’s Animated “Wonder Woman” DVD
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Running Time: 325 Minutes
The Movie:
The following is the official description of the film:
“Watched any great books lately? Now you can. The most celebrated graphic novel of all time that broke the conventional mold continues to break new ground. ‘Watchmen’ co-creator and illustrator Dave Gibbons oversees this digital version of the graphic novel that adds limited motion, voice and sound to the book’s strikingly drawn panels. All 12 chapters of the story are here – over 5 hours spanning everything from the mysterious demise of the Comedian to the crisscrossed destinies of loosely allied superheroes to their fateful impact on the world. Be in the know. Be watching. With ‘Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic.'”
“Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
This is a tough one to review. I’m a comic fan and I’m of the opinion that if you want to check out “Watchmen,” you should buy the comic and read it on the bus, in the plane, or on the toilet like everyone else. (Apparently Alan Moore agrees since his name is removed from the credits.)
This is essentially a poor man’s “Watchmen” cartoon. All they have done is taken Dave Gibbons’ original art and animated it with Flash animation. So it’s more than just the comic, but it’s less than a full fledged animated feature. So I can’t really figure out who this is for. It’s not like a Cliff Notes version of the comic since the full comic is here and it would take you nearly 6 hours to get through it. You could read the comic in that time or less. And if you want something more than the comic on the printed page, the live action movie would seem to be more up your alley. The only people I think who this could be for are illiterate comic fans or die-hard “Watchmen” fans who will buy anything with a bloody smiley face on it.
All that being said, the overall final product is pretty well executed. The way they take the original panels and animate them is spiffy. And it’s interesting to see such a familiar comic translated in a different way. The major drawback of the production is that it is entirely narrated by Tom Stechschulte. He’s good up until he starts reading the women’s roles at which point it starts getting a bit laughable. They should have had a woman reading those roles or a bigger voice cast. The “book on tape” approach doesn’t work well here.
There aren’t any bonus features here. You’ll have to look at some of the other DVDs for that.
