Film Critics and Social Perception Over Time

After re-reading the classic graphic novel Watchmen, I decided to give it a shot at the theatre with Zack Snyder's recent film adaptation of the aforementioned work. To a certain degree, I came in with mid-range expectations expecting the film to be nothing more than a special effects extravaganza (which it is). Suprisingly, the film pulls it off wonderfully. I won't go into much detail here, but the film tries to mirror the book almost perfectly, pulling references in every shot. It's a fan's dream come to life. As of this writing, I've seen it 3 times. Granted, a lot of content was cut out, but the movie is already almost 3 hours long, so in the interest of a reasonable moviegoing experience I can forgive that (plus I hear a lot of that content is going in the DVD release, so don't despair fans!)

Having said that, I've been reading reviews of the film left and right, watching as critics bash Zack Snyder's style and cardboard performance of Malin Akerman (Silk spectre II in the film), and while those accusations are true to a certain degree, my personal opinion is that Jackie Earl Haley's performance as Rorschach was perfect and well-rounded, and other characters like the Comedian add depth to the story and make up for its shortcomings. The soundtrack seems oddly placed, but critics obviously won't understand that the music is a direct reference to the book (which they keep referencing as a masterwork, though i'm doubtful they've even read it). Songs like All Along the Watchtower, The Sound of Silence, and The Times They Are a' Changin seem perfectly placed to me, a break of pace from the somber orchestrated melancholy a composer would have filled those auditory spaces with. I get it, critics won't get the book to film translation. I suppose I can respect that, I think what I'm getting at is that they don't expect a film like this from Zack Snyder, director of 300 and Dawn of the Dead, but Critics' words DO have influence (as evidenced by Watchmen's 60% decrease in ticket returns the following weekend after opening).

As I think about this, I urge consumers to think for themselves. I remember a time, when 300 first came out and you weren't a MAN if you didn't like that movie. Not literally of course, but the movie in HD is a moving painting, and while the color palette doesn't range very far, the crimson red of a spartan uniform stands out. It spawned internet Memes left and right (some still ongoing, I'm looking at you Annonymous!). And while it seemed like everyone loved 300, now I'm hearing people say 'what a crock of shit', seemingly because critics are quick to pan the film NOW when it's irrelevant and they need to prove a point pertaining to the film they are reviewing (in this case, relating 300 to watchmen through their director).

why are we so quick to put off our favorite things just because someone else says it's bad. I think it's a social problem myself. If all your friends said eating dog shit was all the latest rage and that food from Ruby Tuesdays was terribly put together (even though you all ate at Ruby Tuesdays without complaint last week), would you shovel dog shit into your mouth? This is partially why I don't like to follow critics. I've had a longstanding 'invisible war' with Roger Ebert over his opinions on video games as art, and I enjoy the challenge of debate enough to continue it whenever the subject arises. I won't get into that here (that's another article altogether), all i'm saying is stop shoveling dog shit into your mouth and go see watchmen, who knows, you might actually like it (watchmen, not eating shit)