Who spies on the Watchmen?
Watchmen is the topic of the weekend, at least at my house. One of my favorite superhero comic works ever (Rorschach is based on my favorite superhero of all time, The Question), I’ve been waiting the last year with mixed feelings for the film adaptation, and left the theater Friday night with mixed feelings as well. I agree with everyone who has said that it was probably the best Watchmen movie that we could hope for, but I still don’t think it achieves the power of the original. The issue comes down to subtext, and the film’s inability to trust the audience — there’s one scene where Dr. Manhattan simply declares something to another character that we as viewers should have already figured out, and it robs the scene of its power. There are too many scenes like that. Still, one of the best opening credits sequences ever.
I wanted, because the comic series (I’ve never read it in graphic novel form, and think it’s best enjoyed an issue at a time, like an old Republic serial [wink, wink]) and the movie are still fresh in my head, to point out a few references in the original text that you all might enjoy. The first comes in issue #11, in the back matter, as Adrian Veidt gives an interview on the Committee to Re-Elect the President:
Man From U.N.C.L.E. reference in Watchmen
The second is not technically a spy fic reference, but an Outer Limits reference. For the sake of my Culp-loving pals over at the I Spy Forum, however, I want to point out the television clip in issue #12 (from the episode “Architects of Fear” which has similarities to the conclusion of Watchmen):
Robert Culp in Watchmen
Don’t forget that I met Robert Culp a few weeks ago. And on Friday, hours before seeing the film, I was standing at the base of Madision Square Garden, wondering if Pale Horse was going to play there anytime soon. I’m practically Captain Metropolis over here….
