Watchmen

I wanted to give up after the first two episodes, which didn’t seem to me to have a point and were interesting only because of Reznor’s score, and because of the way in which they hit the uninitiated viewer with their total outlandishness and refusal to pander to expectations. However, as the various storylines began to unfold, they suddenly clicked; the link to Moore’s graphic novel and to Snyder’s film turned out to be slick and logical, the reminiscences of Dr. Manhattan were interesting, and we also finally get to see the Big Blue in all his beauty, doing some of his tricks for us. It all felt beautifully crafted like intricate clockwork. I never thought I’d say this to Lindelof (of whom I am not a fan), but here we go: “Bravo! This is your masterpiece as a screenwriter!” (30.04.2020)

Nothing Ever Ends. It starts as The Leftovers: Almost Watchmen-Like Edition and step-by-step gradually turns into a genuine sequel of Moore's original Watchmen. In any case, at first, Lindelof´s pilot film manages to discourage those viewers who go into this film expecting Watchmen. One bit of weirdness after another piles up; the series is fragmented, no hand is offered and there is not a single aspect that the viewer could legitimately expect from Watchmen. Subsequently, in the third episode, the director tries to drive away the rest of the viewers, because in this episode he shows exactly (really EXACTLY) what would have been expected in the opening episode. In addition, it requires  very good knowledge of Moore's work, which in turn annoys those who were captivated by his independent “heritage" vision not related to comics. However, as soon as he manages to find a common path for both approaches, then a big portion of the audience who have not yet been put off is offered a “follow-up" of Watchmen, which can absolutely keep up with Moore's masterpiece; from ambivalent morality to engagement, from Sophia's choices and sophistication to complexity. He manages to enrich the original (not only) with new meanings and also subtly changes its impression from the ground up (especially the “mental" impression and the eighth episode), without, however, going spiritually against the essence. At the same time, it is undoubtedly homely and not trying to emulate and repeat the original. Which cannot be taken for granted. Although I expected a lot from Watchmen after what he showed in The Leftovers, I wasn't prepared to ride so much on the wave of The Leftovers. When he has the trust of the TV channel/producers, it pays off. Especially to the handful of viewers who have  an understanding and are willing to ignore the initial attempts to violate the rules of the game. Watchmen may easily gain cult status, because whoever watches it will tend to recommend it for one hundred and one reasons from top to bottom. Just always with the emphatic remark “you need to bear it, get rid of all expectations before/during/after the pilot episode, get over the jokes against the audience in the first episodes, read the comics again (Snyder's film will not help you in this) and pay attention to the smallest details, and you will be rewarded for your patience and preparation, after death…". Because yes, it can be rejected because of the opening, but at the same time it is difficult not to let it get under your skin over time and actually into your heart. (26.09.2020)

One of the most attractive comic book universes is inhabited by only occasionally interesting new characters three decades after its most fundamental story. It is narrated at a more deliberate pace, and the central themes, previously so irresistibly spread across society, merge into the much-criticized but paradoxically genre-transparent racism. I tried for so long to tune into atmosphere of the new guardians, almost until the end. Every time, I was disappointed by an unnecessary, incomprehensible insert that just raised my eyebrow instead of making me interested in what the point would be. I was also bothered by the black and white flashbacks, which could have offered countless editing or directing ideas, but essentially does not answer anything I would like to know and just boldly undermines ancient theories that have always been just theories and never truths. But even despite the audacity, it never quite reaches the level of the original or its polished film adaptation. Or rather, it comes close, in just one episode, specifically the conversation at the bar. It is during that conversation that I first and last felt that chilling sensation in my spine and the anticipation of the possible and impossible, even though I often had to put on a bitter face at the direction in which this old familiar beloved and hated character is heading. On the other hand, Jean Smart is breathtaking and brings layers to you-know-who that I didn't know were hiding in her. But what can you do, after the uninspiring and tediously long finale, it's clear that the main thing I'm left with from this event is disappointment. When a continuation is strongest is in the moments when it recalls or brings back the original characters, while the new ones most of the time distract me from what really interests me, then something is wrong. (19.12.2019)

It doesn't have the cool visual poetics of Snyder's opus, of course, nor as many over-the-top cool moments, but it does flesh out the Watchmen universe and its super hero characters in a very sophisticated way, and the depiction of an alternate world past and present is equally worth highlighting. One of the few additions that has fairly deft action, lots of sci-fi cinematography, but still feels quite down-to-earth and compact thanks to a cracking script. (27.06.2021)

A downright perfect series, and I can't imagine anyone who likes Moore's book not liking this. Watchmen builds on the legendary comic (not Snyder's film) in a seamless, natural, and very clever way, and I'm not exaggerating when I write that I was impressed not only by the ingenious plot and elaborate world, but also by the way they gradually revealed it all. Until about the fifth episode, the questions of "Who, why, how, and what is he doing?" kept coming, and in the second half they gradually started to be answered;and yet there was time for everything, nothing was rushed, and surprise followed surprise until the final episode. Damon Lindelof, who conceived the entire project, has now hopefully risen in value with a lot of people, because even if he’s never managed to write a good script (which is not true, though a certain circle of viewers are convinced otherwise), Watchmen really is a masterpiece. (16.12.2019)

Tying into the original Watchmen universe with socially critical blaxploitation might not have been such a bad idea if anyone could believe that this was the author's intention and not just a calculated business plan by the Warners, led by that marketer Lindelof, and I have no reason to believe that it's not just another rich white corporation trying to feed off the current social tensions in the US, which are otherwise a total mess. In Watchmen, this pissed off "we want to be terribly toxic and radical, but we don't have the guts or the capacity" attitude shows up in almost every sub-theme afterwards. Alongside that bunch of sighing amateurs in the role of the positive protagonists, the post-KKK Rorschach community, with its coolness, discipline, and patience, inadvertently looks like the most attractive pillar of this universe, which is probably not what anyone originally wanted. The biggest problem, though, is that as much as the series is indebted to Alan Moore's original work, it is unable to maintain its strongest asset, namely that painful moral ambivalence. Whereas the bitter truth of the original Watchmen was that humanity's existence could only be preserved through well-timed genocide, and the only guardians of that secret were self-appointed heroes sworn to fight crime, the series is unable to work with that bitter truth, insisting on its infantile thesis that crime must be punished, no matter the consequences, and ideally with a happy ending to boot. All of which ends up with practically nothing in common with Moore. It's just another infantile project where everyone frowns, talks dirty (heaaaaavy on the use of force, by the way) and it takes place at night to make you feel like you're watching an adult series. In any case, I'm not denying that it's fun at times. (17.02.2020)