KryptonSite's DVD Review Column #8: Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Reviewed
by Craig Byrne
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Read previous installments of the KryptonSite DVD Column:
#1 (10/08) Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 3 & Supernatural Season 3
#2 (10/08) Doctor Who: The Brain Of Morbius, Trial Of A Time Lord, & The Sarah Jane Adventures
#3 (11/08) Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
#4 (11/08) Primeval: The Complete Series 1 and 2
#5 (1/09) Doctor Who: War Machines & Four To Doomsday
#6 (1/09) The All-New Superfriends Hour: Volume 2
#7 (3/09) Wonder Woman: The Animated Original Movie
Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic
Warner Premiere
Featuring the artwork of Dave Gibbons
Release Date: March 3, 2009
In what can best be described as a unique experiment, Warner Premiere has turned Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons' classic graphic novel Watchmen into an animated feature, using artwork from the original panels to create a visual production.
All twelve chapters of the original Watchmen are presented here and serve as a great primer for those who have not yet read the original graphic novel but do plan on seeing the movie which hits theaters on March 6. There's a reason it's hailed as one of the "great comic book stories" and it's very likely that the Watchmen feature will be one of the best comic book films not based on mainsteam DC or Marvel characters. However, I'm not entirely sure this is the best way to experience Watchmen for the first time.
Audio books were an invention created for those people with long drives, to take away the reading. To have what is in essence a "video book" kind of damages the purpose - especially when this goes on for over five hours. You have to actually take the time to watch this; it's not something you can do while doing something else. If you have the time, it's a fun way to experience the graphic novel, but personally, I think I'd prefer to stick to the printed page.
The entire story is narrated by Tom Stechschulte - including the voices. When he's doing the voices for the female characters such as Silk Spectre it becomes a bit distracting and almost funny, which I don't think was the intention of this project.
The best thing about the Motion Comic, however, is a very large look at the excellent artwork by Dave Gibbons. It will be REALLY curious to see how this compares with Zach Snyder's movie feature. But Gibbons' art is - as with much of his other work - fantastic. The folks who animated the movie also did a great job, though - kind of like the narration - seeing the word balloons popping up was a little jarring and gimmicky.
Ultimately, though, I can give this release only 2 stars out of 5. It's fun if you have the time for it, but again, I'd recommend just going the old fashioned way and reading the graphic novel. One bonus you will get from this DVD, however, is $7.50 off admission to the Watchmen movie, so maybe the purchase would be worth it to you. For my DVD dollar when it comes to Watchmen, I think I'll prefer to wait for the other upcoming Watchmen DVD release, Tales Of The Black Freighter.
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