Review Detail

9.5 19 10
Watchmen_Midnight_poster
FanFix August 16, 2012 17236
(Updated: August 22, 2014)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
O U T S T A N D I N G ! ! ! !

I could stop there......but I won't

If you have seen Watchmen (any version namely, Theatrical, Directors or Ultimate Cut
THIS EDIT IS FOR YOU !
If you only read the graphic novel, buy a legit version coz
THIS EDIT IS FOR YOU !!
If you ain't seen Watchmen coz you think its another superher namby pampy flick - WRONG - Buy it coz
THIS EDIT IS FOR YOU !!!
So lets dig in
________________________
I have had the extreme pleasure of watching version 1 and 2 of this back to back this week and I'm knocked out. All comments refer to either edit unless noted.
AV Quality -
Yes its DVD (and an HD revision is coming), but its flawless
Visual Editing -
Flawless. I will expand however. I have not seen any version for a few years. I have no clue where any changes were made since I do not read cutlists until after my viewing, and I can attest that this is as good as any professional job (in fact better than many pros) as you will see. aesthetically version one has the chapter captions over black, version 2 over the movie. I preferred version 1's approach here...but that is my preference only. Importing them from the DVD comic is genius and allows and frames the restructure. The removal of nearly an hour from the ultimate cut is just un-noticeable. I did not miss a thing, and I have recently read the graphic novel twice. Truly bravura work!. The gratuitous material that was excised just does not need to be there...and its an improvement...I'll come to that. I have nothing more to add.
Audio Editing -
Flawless; however, and this is now personal comment and not criticism, I would have carried over some of the ambient sound or music over some of the chapter captions for a more natural flow, but that is no biggie. The music replacement was breathing taking in timing, choice of music and in re-setting the tone of the piece PERFECTLY. It just grounds the whole darn thing where it needs to sit. This is a dark world, flawed characters on the brink of annihilation. The music in the official versions is often out of place, at best a distraction or cute, at worst appallingly misguided (Vietnam) and Flix C nailed it - BRAVO
Narrative -
Get the F**K outta here!!!
This could not follow the source material more closely unless you reunited the cast and shot additional material. The intermingling of Under the Hood and Matting into Holis Mason's TV is again, GENIUS. This is pur bonus and I'm STUNNED that it was not done for the official versions. It frames the plot, fleshes out character and further grounds the tome and mood of this tragi-hero epic marvellously. I'm jealous that I did not see the potential and that's coz in theatres I enjoyed the film, but was not knocked out. NO I AM. Personal choice; I was ont a fan of the Black Freighter in the Novel, and I'm not here either. FlixC does redeem it with its structure, but for my taste version is superior (and would be even better if some of the other tweaks in V2 were in V1 sans Black freighter)...So I'm doing that for myself since its an nice puzzle to unpick (I won't be releasing it since I do not tread on other Faneditors toes). Also I prefer the opening to V1 from a music and narrative perspective. I understand FlixC reasoning in V2 to move the opening credits to the end, but film is a different medium, and framing the backstory for the new viewer must be in a filmmakers mind..but that's my POV - Nothing to add. 10 here too.
Enjoyment -
TOTAL, ABSOLUTE and Complete.

Final Word
I literally would have stopped above the line but I'm so impressed and so enjoyed this I wanted to share the joy and some personal preferences for viewers and FlixC.

If you only see one fanedit in 2014,
WATCH THIS ONE....TWICE.
W
(now, where's my BluRay Ultimate cut and butchers knife) ?
PS
Thank you for the detailed cutlist





User Review

Format Watched
DVD
Report this review Was this review helpful? 0 0

Comments