1 00:00:00,930 --> 00:00:02,951 This is a DynaMic Network podcast. 2 00:00:29,550 --> 00:00:36,896 and peruse our merchandise, accessories, posters, calendars. Again, Jonathan and I are donating 3 00:00:37,016 --> 00:00:42,601 10% of the proceeds between the months of November and December to the charity Stand Up to Cancer. 4 00:00:42,641 --> 00:00:48,066 So support our show, support A Great Cause, and do it in a timely fashion because you're 5 00:00:48,106 --> 00:00:51,949 running out of time. Thanks guys, happy holidays and on with the show. 6 00:01:12,814 --> 00:01:18,718 Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly show where we review superhero films and debate the superiority 7 00:01:18,738 --> 00:01:24,722 between Marvel and DC by comparing their characters in stat-based battle simulations. I'm Johnny 8 00:01:24,762 --> 00:01:30,847 DC. And I'm his twin brother Marvelous Joe. And in this episode, we are reviewing the conclusion 9 00:01:31,167 --> 00:01:38,072 of the two-part Watchmen animated adaptation Watchmen Chapter 2. I can't say I was looking 10 00:01:38,153 --> 00:01:43,733 forward to watching it. because the first one I thought was very, very redundant. And you'll 11 00:01:43,753 --> 00:01:48,098 find out later on in this episode whether I thought the same about chapter two. So Jonathan, 12 00:01:48,138 --> 00:01:54,183 I was thinking we watched the Watchmen, right? And the listeners are listening to us talk 13 00:01:54,204 --> 00:02:00,089 about watching the Watchmen. So are they watching us watch the Watchmen? They're the watchers 14 00:02:00,109 --> 00:02:04,493 of the Watchmen watching the Watchmen. Answering the real philosophical questions on this podcast. 15 00:02:04,962 --> 00:02:08,605 Before we dive even more into the philosophy of the Watchmen, we're going to break down 16 00:02:08,645 --> 00:02:13,149 the comic book movie news from the past week, of which there was just one news item, and 17 00:02:13,169 --> 00:02:19,635 that was the reveal that Rob Hardy is the cinematographer for Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow. As always 18 00:02:19,675 --> 00:02:23,058 guys, we list our segment times and our episode description, so feel free to check out the 19 00:02:23,078 --> 00:02:28,243 show notes if you want to skip ahead to a particular topic. Our artificially intelligent duel simulator 20 00:02:28,363 --> 00:02:34,923 AJ9K has a quick message for our listeners, so listen up. Why hello there, do you want 21 00:02:34,983 --> 00:02:39,887 even more from this podcast? Then become a part of the dynamic duel community on Patreon, where 22 00:02:39,907 --> 00:02:44,371 you can choose from three tiers. The dynamic two-oh tier gives you access to our Discord 23 00:02:44,411 --> 00:02:49,335 chat server. The fantastic four tier gives you two bonus episodes each month. And the X-Force 24 00:02:49,355 --> 00:02:54,666 tier makes you an executive producer of this show. Lastly, The Diner Mike podcast network 25 00:02:54,706 --> 00:02:59,168 tier lets you create your own podcast using this Monte Carlo simulator. Johnny and Joe 26 00:02:59,188 --> 00:03:03,891 will help you develop your show, provide graphic support and consultation, and get you simulation 27 00:03:03,931 --> 00:03:10,194 results. Pitch the twins your ideas via email at dynamicduelpodcast at gmail.com. Check it 28 00:03:10,254 --> 00:03:16,337 out at patreon.com slash dynamicduel. Pip pip cheerio. Thanks Adrian and Kane, thanks to 29 00:03:16,417 --> 00:03:20,434 everyone who supports the podcast. Guys, be sure to tune in to the other shows on the DynaMic 30 00:03:20,474 --> 00:03:24,696 podcast network this week, including Max Destruction, which pits your favorite action heroes from 31 00:03:24,756 --> 00:03:29,078 film and television against each other. Hosts Scotty and Gilly are taking a break for the 32 00:03:29,098 --> 00:03:33,420 holidays, so now is the perfect time to get caught up on their back catalog of episodes 33 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:39,002 if you missed any. On the Sendrow World podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between 34 00:03:39,062 --> 00:03:44,644 fan favorite anime and manga characters. This Thursday, Zach will reveal who would win in 35 00:03:44,684 --> 00:03:49,651 a fight between Tsuna-Dei from Naruto Unohana from Bleach. 36 00:04:16,278 --> 00:04:21,539 Definitely make sure to check that out by visiting dynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our 37 00:04:21,579 --> 00:04:26,760 show notes to listen to all of the shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network. But with that 38 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:33,122 out of the way, quick to the No Prize! A No Prize is an award Marvel used to give out to 39 00:04:33,162 --> 00:04:37,963 fans. Our version, the Dynamic Duel No Prize, is a digital award that we post on Instagram 40 00:04:38,303 --> 00:04:42,865 for the person that we feel gave the best answer to our question of the week. Last week we asked 41 00:04:42,905 --> 00:04:47,122 you guys, or not last week, it was like two weeks ago, we asked... What Marvel character 42 00:04:47,343 --> 00:04:54,088 would you cast former 007 actor George Lazenby as and why? And this is coming off of the news 43 00:04:54,108 --> 00:05:00,874 that Daniel Craig is currently negotiating a deal with DC to play Sergeant Rock in an upcoming 44 00:05:01,014 --> 00:05:06,339 Sergeant Rock film. And I, being a huge 007 James Bond fan, was super jealous because it 45 00:05:06,359 --> 00:05:11,664 seems like all the currently living Bond actors have gotten DC roles but not Marvel roles. 46 00:05:11,704 --> 00:05:16,002 Of course, you had Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate. You had Timothy Dalton as the chief from Doom 47 00:05:16,022 --> 00:05:21,504 Patrol. You even had Sean Connery as Alan Quartermaine in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which 48 00:05:21,544 --> 00:05:26,465 came from a DC imprint. George Lazenby though, he's still kicking, and we gotta get him a 49 00:05:26,505 --> 00:05:31,666 Marvel role so that we could have some 007 in the MCU. And we got a lot of answers actually. 50 00:05:32,046 --> 00:05:35,987 Yeah, way more than I thought we would actually get. We're gonna break down this week's honorable 51 00:05:36,067 --> 00:05:42,529 mentions before revealing the no prize winner. Our first honorable mention goes to Cyrus Moore, 52 00:05:42,869 --> 00:05:48,084 who said, Hey guys, Cyrus Moore here. Uh, George Lazenby would be a perfect old man Hawkeye, 53 00:05:48,445 --> 00:05:54,069 I believe. And DC side, just I know you guys didn't ask, but I think he'd be a perfect Alan 54 00:05:54,089 --> 00:06:01,514 Scott. Uh, but old man Hawkeye? Oh, that'd be fantastic. He's kind of already got the look 55 00:06:01,554 --> 00:06:08,054 that matches the old man Hawkeye comic book series, so it just be flawless. Yeah, that's 56 00:06:08,094 --> 00:06:12,117 a fantastic answer. You know, Old Man Hawkeye is a character established in the world of 57 00:06:12,137 --> 00:06:16,399 the Old Man Logan series, and Old Man Hawkeye even got his own comic book. George Lazenby, 58 00:06:16,459 --> 00:06:19,562 I think, would be great in the role. Not just because, like, he has a great sense of humor, 59 00:06:19,682 --> 00:06:24,425 but also because I feel like George Lazenby is kind of, like, seen as the Hawkeye of the 60 00:06:24,465 --> 00:06:28,448 James Bond actors, and that he doesn't seem quite as relevant because he was only in one 61 00:06:28,508 --> 00:06:32,290 film, so, yeah, I think there's a lot of through lines there, and I think Lazenby could pull 62 00:06:32,310 --> 00:06:38,826 it off. How old is George Lazenby? Uh, dude is 85 years old right now. Oh snap. Yeah, pretty 63 00:06:38,866 --> 00:06:43,747 up there. Well, I mean, Ellen Scott is an old guy. I could totally see George Lazenby playing 64 00:06:43,787 --> 00:06:48,529 Kim. Like you'd probably have to do CG work for the action shots, but just do it from far 65 00:06:48,549 --> 00:06:53,610 away. It'll be it'll work out. It'll work out. Plus, George Lazenby is pretty dapper, as is 66 00:06:53,650 --> 00:06:58,191 Ellen Scott. I actually think Ellen Scott would be a better choice for George Lazenby than 67 00:06:58,491 --> 00:07:02,532 Old Man Hawkeye. You might be right, because like Old Man Hawkeye has long hair. And I don't 68 00:07:02,552 --> 00:07:06,413 know if I could see Lazenby pulling off that look. Our next honorable mention goes to Mike 69 00:07:06,453 --> 00:07:07,414 Williams. who said, 70 00:07:27,966 --> 00:07:33,010 Yeah, coming off of our recent duel matchup of Black Mask versus Madame Mask, I think this 71 00:07:33,030 --> 00:07:37,413 was a great answer. We know that Madame Mask, of course, is the daughter of Count Nefaria, 72 00:07:37,814 --> 00:07:43,979 who was a leader within the Magia crime family in the world of Marvel. And yeah, I could totally 73 00:07:44,019 --> 00:07:49,784 see Laysen be as like the patriarch of a mafia crime family for sure. Yeah, that would be 74 00:07:49,804 --> 00:07:54,828 kind of cool. Almost like a Marlon Brando-esque type role. There you go. Yeah. Take that vibe 75 00:07:54,908 --> 00:07:59,135 and then add superpowers to it. I think you got yourself a good Count Nefaria with George 76 00:07:59,175 --> 00:08:04,659 Lazenby in the role. Great answer, Mike! Our next honorable mention goes to Mason Thompson, 77 00:08:05,059 --> 00:08:11,704 who said, Hey guys, so first thing I saw when I looked at some photos of him, Uncle Ben. 78 00:08:12,265 --> 00:08:17,248 Maybe he's in the multiverse as an Uncle Ben. And he comes to our universe, gives our universe, 79 00:08:17,268 --> 00:08:22,552 the Spider-Man, a little motivation, something like that. But if we're talking like Prime, 80 00:08:22,612 --> 00:08:28,100 when he was in his Prime, he's He's Tony Stark. Look at him and tell me he's not Tony Stark. 81 00:08:28,981 --> 00:08:34,265 Give him a little goatee and he's Iron Man. Great answer. Yeah, actually, Uncle Ben was 82 00:08:34,325 --> 00:08:38,309 the answer that I immediately thought of. And I was really hoping like people out there would 83 00:08:38,349 --> 00:08:43,153 come up with better options than just having him as Uncle Ben. But the problem I had with 84 00:08:43,193 --> 00:08:47,837 casting George Lazenby as Uncle Ben is that even though he looks exactly like him nowadays, 85 00:08:48,037 --> 00:08:54,798 the MCU Uncle Ben would have to be a lot younger to have dated Marissa Tomei's. Aunt May, right? 86 00:08:55,258 --> 00:08:59,081 Maybe. But then Mason Thompson reminded me that the multiverse is a thing, so he could always 87 00:08:59,121 --> 00:09:05,526 be a multiversal Uncle Ben. I think it totally works. Mason also went on to say that the prime 88 00:09:05,546 --> 00:09:10,529 version of George Lazenby, you know, back in 1969 when he played Bond, would make a great 89 00:09:10,589 --> 00:09:15,232 Tony Stark. And I don't disagree. I think a lot of the James Bond actors would make a great 90 00:09:15,252 --> 00:09:21,877 Tony Stark. In fact, if I recall correctly, artist Alex Ross paints his version of Tony 91 00:09:21,917 --> 00:09:27,448 Stark. in the likeness of Timothy Dalton, who was another James Bond actor. Oh, man, I need 92 00:09:27,468 --> 00:09:33,611 to look this up. Yeah, look up Alex Ross, Tony Stark. Oh, holy cow, he does. That's awesome. 93 00:09:34,072 --> 00:09:38,554 So there are definitely like parallels between the Stark and James Bond character. And thanks 94 00:09:38,574 --> 00:09:43,377 to Mason Thompson for reminding us all about that. I want to give a quick shout out to Colby 95 00:09:43,417 --> 00:09:49,364 Hentges, who. called in with the answer of Silvermane, but also suggested that Aaron Taylor Johnson 96 00:09:49,604 --> 00:09:54,627 would be a good choice for the next 007 after Daniel Craig, and he's totally my choice as 97 00:09:54,667 --> 00:10:01,170 well. Also shout out to Judson Batty, who actually gave a DC answer. He said George Lazenbeek 98 00:10:01,190 --> 00:10:06,813 could play Uncle Marvel from the Captain Marvel Shazam family. And a dishonorable mention to 99 00:10:06,893 --> 00:10:12,516 Miggy for not having the imagination or trust in his fellow listeners to produce answers 100 00:10:12,556 --> 00:10:20,301 for this question. It was just crickets. But he said on behalf of everybody. But the winner 101 00:10:20,321 --> 00:10:26,742 of this week's snow prize is Brandon Estregard, who said. Hey guys, I would cast George Lazenby 102 00:10:26,802 --> 00:10:32,665 as the original human torch, Jim Hammond, for three reasons. One, they were both ornate created 103 00:10:32,705 --> 00:10:38,648 in the same year, 1939, which was also the year that World War II started. Two, you can cast 104 00:10:38,668 --> 00:10:42,989 him at his current age and give him a cameo like how Hank had his World War II amman cameo 105 00:10:43,450 --> 00:10:50,453 in the original amman movie. And three, every Bond actor deserves an iconic role. I really 106 00:10:50,473 --> 00:10:55,772 liked this answer. Of course, Brandon said that... George Liza to be could play the original Human 107 00:10:55,792 --> 00:11:02,356 Torch, who was the superhero on the very first issue of the very first Marvel comic book ever. 108 00:11:02,717 --> 00:11:06,720 The original Human Torch was not a member of the Fantastic Four. Of course, Marvel fans 109 00:11:06,740 --> 00:11:12,744 know that he was an android named Jim Hammond, who was created by Dr. Phineas Horton. I go 110 00:11:12,764 --> 00:11:17,227 a little bit into his backstory in the Vision vs. Marsha Manhunter duel episode that we have. 111 00:11:17,667 --> 00:11:23,652 But yeah, the android was actually briefly featured. in the Captain America movie when Steve Rogers 112 00:11:23,672 --> 00:11:29,017 and Bucky went to the World's Fair with their dates. Jim Hammond's Human Torch was a hugely 113 00:11:29,057 --> 00:11:34,942 influential World War II hero and it would be really cool to see him show up in the MCU as 114 00:11:34,982 --> 00:11:39,166 George Lazenby. I thought it was a really cool factoid that Brandon pointed out that the Human 115 00:11:39,226 --> 00:11:45,211 Torch comic book character and George Lazenby were both born in the same year of 1939. Yeah, 116 00:11:45,231 --> 00:11:49,430 it might be even cool to see that version of the Human Torch. appear in the upcoming Vision 117 00:11:49,490 --> 00:11:54,313 television series, considering the character's backstory. Oh yeah, that would be totally great. 118 00:11:54,733 --> 00:11:59,896 No matter how it happens, we just gotta get this Bond actor in a Marvel role, cuz screw 119 00:11:59,916 --> 00:12:04,899 DC for taking in all the 007 actors. But thanks to everyone who called in, congrats to Brandon 120 00:12:04,939 --> 00:12:08,040 Eschergard for winning this week's No Prize. If you the listener want a shot at winning 121 00:12:08,060 --> 00:12:12,263 your own No Prize, stay tuned to later on this episode when we'll be asking another question 122 00:12:12,303 --> 00:12:18,753 of the week. And now that that's done… No SCREW MARVEL! And onto the news! 123 00:12:24,654 --> 00:12:31,876 Alright, over a week ago, James Gunn revealed on threads in a conversation there that Rob 124 00:12:31,957 --> 00:12:38,319 Hardy, a veteran cinematographer in Hollywood, will be doing the cinematography for the upcoming 125 00:12:38,419 --> 00:12:44,302 Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow film. That film of course is starring Millie Alcock as Supergirl 126 00:12:44,462 --> 00:12:51,405 and is based on the comic of the same title. Now, this news is pretty awesome because the 127 00:12:51,445 --> 00:12:57,801 comic Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow takes place across the cosmos and visits different planets 128 00:12:57,941 --> 00:13:03,866 and it looks really awesome. The art in the comic is fantastic. So to get someone of Rob 129 00:13:03,906 --> 00:13:08,429 Hardy's caliber to do the cinematography for it makes it seem like the movie is just going 130 00:13:08,469 --> 00:13:14,875 to be breathtaking to watch. Rob Hardy has done cinematography on prior films that include 131 00:13:15,095 --> 00:13:22,821 Ex Machina, Annihilation, Mission Impossible Fallout, Men, and Civil War among other films. 132 00:13:23,134 --> 00:13:27,076 Yeah, a lot of those movies have a very grounded approach to the cinematography, I would say, 133 00:13:27,096 --> 00:13:31,900 with probably Annihilation being the exception. I'm assuming he's going to pull largely from 134 00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:37,844 that experience to direct the photography for Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow. Yeah, yeah, I 135 00:13:37,884 --> 00:13:43,248 think Annihilation is a good precedent for what he could do with the film in terms of her visiting 136 00:13:43,308 --> 00:13:49,553 these alien worlds. DC has had some amazing cinematography in their past films. You can 137 00:13:49,573 --> 00:13:54,787 take a look at... The Batman, the Joker films, Marvel films, their best one was probably what, 138 00:13:54,867 --> 00:13:59,488 The Eternals? For the MCU, yeah, I would say the best cinematography was The Eternals or 139 00:13:59,508 --> 00:14:03,729 maybe Guardians. Prior to that, I think the Sam Raimi, Spider-Man films had great cinematography. 140 00:14:04,189 --> 00:14:09,091 Cinematographers aren't as renowned as directors, but they contribute a lot to the look of the 141 00:14:09,131 --> 00:14:14,692 film. And I gotta say, Rob Hardy joining Supergirl makes me really excited for how that film is 142 00:14:14,732 --> 00:14:18,633 going to look. I've yet to hear like really anything bad about that film. It looks like 143 00:14:18,673 --> 00:14:24,071 it's shaping up to be really something special. But speaking of cinematographers, that brings 144 00:14:24,131 --> 00:14:25,532 us to our question of the week. 145 00:14:30,050 --> 00:14:35,791 What live action Marvel or DC film do you think had the best cinematography and what was your 146 00:14:35,811 --> 00:14:40,792 favorite shot? Yeah, give us the film, give us the cinematographer, and give us your favorite 147 00:14:40,893 --> 00:14:46,354 cinematic scene from that movie. Record your answer at dynamicduel.com by clicking on the 148 00:14:46,394 --> 00:14:50,175 red microphone button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, which will prompt you 149 00:14:50,215 --> 00:14:54,436 to leave us a voicemail. Your message can be up to 30 seconds long, and don't forget to 150 00:14:54,476 --> 00:14:59,078 leave your name in case we include you on the podcast. We'll pick our favorite answer. and 151 00:14:59,118 --> 00:15:03,974 award that person a dynamic duel no prize that we'll post to Instagram. Be sure to answer 152 00:15:04,014 --> 00:15:06,041 before December 14th. 153 00:15:13,262 --> 00:15:17,227 Well that does it for all the news for this episode, but now let's go ahead and move on 154 00:15:17,267 --> 00:15:24,177 to the main event where we review the animated adaptation Watchmen Chapter 2. 155 00:15:39,502 --> 00:15:46,164 Watchmen Chapter 2 is the second half of a two-part animated adaptation of the comic medium's seminal 156 00:15:46,224 --> 00:15:52,627 masterpiece created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. It concludes the mystery 157 00:15:52,927 --> 00:15:58,550 of a killer targeting retired crime-fighting vigilantes in New York City amidst escalating 158 00:15:58,570 --> 00:16:04,913 global tensions and the threat of nuclear armageddon at the height of the Cold War. It's a satirical 159 00:16:04,973 --> 00:16:11,872 examination of superhero comics that revolutionized the comic medium in the 1980s. And because 160 00:16:11,932 --> 00:16:18,276 it was so narratively complex and perfectly suited to the comic medium, it was long considered 161 00:16:18,656 --> 00:16:24,499 unadaptable to screen. Of course, you know, until the 2009 live action film by Zack Snyder, 162 00:16:25,019 --> 00:16:30,843 but even that was met with mixed reactions. 15 years after that, Warner Brothers has attempted 163 00:16:30,943 --> 00:16:36,750 another on-screen adaptation, this time split into two parts, chapters one and two. with 164 00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:43,456 our podcast being the only tomato meter approved publication that gave chapter one a rotten 165 00:16:43,536 --> 00:16:49,681 rating, saying in our review that despite the filmmakers best intentions, the film is faithful 166 00:16:49,721 --> 00:16:55,707 to a fault, and in essence, it's an abridged and superfluous version of the celebrated graphic 167 00:16:55,767 --> 00:17:00,912 novel. Well, it just means that we have integrity, okay? We're willing to call out something as 168 00:17:00,992 --> 00:17:06,746 bad if we perceive it to be bad. And I definitely don't think it was deserving of a 100% Rotten 169 00:17:06,766 --> 00:17:12,448 Tomato rating, because after watching Chapter 1, I concluded that the story of Watchmen is 170 00:17:12,548 --> 00:17:18,390 too good and too important to justify an abridged version. But if you're going to condense the 171 00:17:18,430 --> 00:17:23,971 story into something easier to consume on screen, then we already have a better, more cinematic 172 00:17:24,031 --> 00:17:30,293 abridged version in the live-action film. And this animated adaptation, in its ambition to 173 00:17:30,333 --> 00:17:35,920 be even more faithful to the graphic novel, makes itself redundant and less special. We 174 00:17:35,980 --> 00:17:41,343 speculated in our review of Chapter 1 that because of the ramped up tension in the latter half 175 00:17:41,383 --> 00:17:49,269 of the story, Chapter 2 is probably going to be better, and it is, but just barely. So I'm 176 00:17:49,329 --> 00:17:54,593 not going to recommend watching this movie. I am going to recommend everyone read the graphic 177 00:17:54,633 --> 00:18:00,637 novel though, and if you're going to, stop listening to the spoiler review now because it will also 178 00:18:00,757 --> 00:18:05,346 spoil the book. And if you're not going to read the book, then I would recommend pairing the 179 00:18:05,526 --> 00:18:13,189 2009 Zack Snyder film with the 2019 HBO Watchmen series. With the understanding that the end 180 00:18:13,269 --> 00:18:18,950 explosion was caused by different sources, though. I don't care. I just don't recommend this two 181 00:18:18,990 --> 00:18:24,191 part animated adaptation. I will agree, though, that this chapter two film was better than 182 00:18:24,232 --> 00:18:29,593 chapter one. Right. Yeah. Now, I went on at length as to why Watchmen is such a celebrated 183 00:18:29,653 --> 00:18:35,347 story in our review of Chapter one. So I won't repeat any of that here. What I will say is 184 00:18:35,367 --> 00:18:40,070 that I regret that Warner Brothers' animation didn't release both chapters simultaneously, 185 00:18:40,150 --> 00:18:46,334 because releasing the story in two parts, I feel, didn't allow the story's tension to build 186 00:18:46,514 --> 00:18:52,758 and conclude in one unified experience. So the narrative's most powerful moments, especially 187 00:18:52,798 --> 00:18:58,841 the final moral quandaries, lose some of their impact because of the rushed nature of this 188 00:18:58,901 --> 00:19:05,457 second half. There's a ton more story here from the books that was cut or rushed through than 189 00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:10,760 there was in Chapter 1, and because of that, the lead villain of the story doesn't even 190 00:19:10,820 --> 00:19:17,744 debut in this film until the final act. Both Chapters 1 and 2 were just shy of 90 minutes 191 00:19:17,844 --> 00:19:23,767 each, putting them combined at under 3 hours, which is shorter than the director's cut of 192 00:19:23,827 --> 00:19:29,074 Zack Snyder's Watchmen, and that's still my favorite adaptation. I'm afraid this means 193 00:19:29,114 --> 00:19:34,199 that there was no reason to split the story in two parts other than corporate greed on 194 00:19:34,239 --> 00:19:39,624 behalf of Warner Brothers. Like no reason. If they wanted to do the graphic novel justice, 195 00:19:39,924 --> 00:19:44,348 which I'm now convinced as I mentioned in our last review, that the only way to have done 196 00:19:44,388 --> 00:19:50,233 that was a 12 episode animated series. For sure, or live action series. I still hope to see 197 00:19:50,253 --> 00:19:56,030 that one day. maybe as, you know, another HBO series where every issue of the Watchmen graphic 198 00:19:56,090 --> 00:20:01,374 novel is an episode of the series. If they could do a series that was like in the same vein 199 00:20:01,494 --> 00:20:07,659 aesthetically as something like Blade Runner, I think that would be absolute perfection. 200 00:20:08,059 --> 00:20:11,402 Yeah, Blade Runner is a little sci-fi, but if you could like throw in some like taxi driver 201 00:20:11,502 --> 00:20:16,306 type vibe, like make the television series really feel like the time period that it's set in, 202 00:20:16,426 --> 00:20:21,542 like it was made during that time. I think that would be mind-blowing. Absolutely. 100% agree. 203 00:20:22,002 --> 00:20:27,206 Now, my gripes aside, I do have to say that I did actually think this film was enjoyable. 204 00:20:27,466 --> 00:20:32,069 There's a lot more action in the second half than there was in the first in more ways than 205 00:20:32,249 --> 00:20:35,110 one, if you know what I mean. I don't know what you mean. What do you mean, Jonathan? What 206 00:20:35,130 --> 00:20:43,075 do you mean by that? You know, action. What does that mean? OK, virgin sex. That's what 207 00:20:43,095 --> 00:20:49,383 I mean. From the prison fights with Rorschach. to the escapades of Night Owl and Silk Spectre, 208 00:20:49,684 --> 00:20:54,788 to the actually good climax we got this time at the end of the film, the movie moves at 209 00:20:54,808 --> 00:20:59,852 a pretty brisk pace, even with the tales of the Black Freighter interludes. That said, 210 00:20:59,892 --> 00:21:05,716 for all the action it had, I felt Chapter 2 absolutely dropped the ball on the underlying 211 00:21:05,776 --> 00:21:11,100 tension of nuclear war that the book expertly managed to balance along with the character 212 00:21:11,140 --> 00:21:17,752 drama. Like- There was only one brief scene with Richard Nixon in this film. And to me, 213 00:21:17,812 --> 00:21:24,036 the adaptation struggled to capture the moral gravity that defined the source material, that 214 00:21:24,096 --> 00:21:30,199 Cold War-era fear of nuclear Armageddon that loomed over every scene in the comic, creating 215 00:21:30,219 --> 00:21:35,342 this almost suffocating tension and urgency to the characters' struggles, as well as their 216 00:21:35,402 --> 00:21:40,525 moral compromises. The heart of Watchmen, for many readers, I think, has always been its 217 00:21:40,585 --> 00:21:47,508 commentary. on humanity's capacity for self-destruction and the horrifying lengths one might go to 218 00:21:47,888 --> 00:21:53,630 in order to prevent it. That's the moral of the story, right? We are creatures who stand 219 00:21:53,690 --> 00:21:59,513 on the brink of annihilation and any solution to that problem can be as monstrous as the 220 00:21:59,553 --> 00:22:06,496 threat itself. Watchmen Chapter 2 does present Ozymandias' terrible solution in full detail, 221 00:22:06,776 --> 00:22:12,238 Giant Squid and all, which is something previous adaptations have shied away from. but without 222 00:22:12,298 --> 00:22:18,399 the nuclear dread consistently simmering throughout the narrative, the final twist feels more like 223 00:22:18,779 --> 00:22:26,181 a shock tactic than this culmination of the existential anxieties from that era. I wonder 224 00:22:26,221 --> 00:22:31,743 if the animation has anything to do with that. It's kind of just really hard to connect with 225 00:22:31,903 --> 00:22:37,745 anything that you're seeing on the screen due to the rather stiff nature of it all. Yeah, 226 00:22:37,805 --> 00:22:45,043 as we mentioned in our review of Chapter 1, the animation for this film particularly now 227 00:22:45,063 --> 00:22:50,907 that I've seen Suicide Squad Isekai, which we reviewed after Chapter 1. Suicide Squad Isekai 228 00:22:50,927 --> 00:22:58,391 has kind of ruined, in a way, all DC animation for me because it is, I would say, DC's best 229 00:22:58,491 --> 00:23:04,835 animated project that it's ever done and way better in comparison to the animation that 230 00:23:04,855 --> 00:23:10,891 was done for Watchmen, unfortunately. Tragically even. Like imagine what this squid exploding 231 00:23:10,931 --> 00:23:16,296 scene would have been like in anime style. That would have been incredible. Like Akira? Yeah, 232 00:23:16,316 --> 00:23:20,579 like I was just gonna say Akira. Yeah, that's what it kind of reminded me of. The nuclear 233 00:23:20,679 --> 00:23:25,403 Armageddon felt secondary until the very end of the film, which devotes most of its running 234 00:23:25,443 --> 00:23:31,869 time to the Mask Killer mystery and only fully acknowledges the specter of nuclear war after 235 00:23:31,989 --> 00:23:37,253 Ozymandias' plan has been fully revealed and executed. And I think that was a huge mistake. 236 00:23:37,618 --> 00:23:42,941 especially during these times when we still live under the threat of nuclear war. You know, 237 00:23:43,041 --> 00:23:48,864 the doomsday clock that is used as a motif throughout the comics series is a real thing. And currently 238 00:23:48,904 --> 00:23:55,308 we're at, I think, 90 seconds to midnight as of this recording, which is wild. I mean, we 239 00:23:55,328 --> 00:24:01,011 got more than a whole minute left before humanity's destruction. Oh, okay. I'm feeling pretty good. 240 00:24:01,651 --> 00:24:06,434 Let me know when it's like 15 seconds, then I'll start shitting my pants. One thing I noticed 241 00:24:06,454 --> 00:24:11,616 from Chapter 2 is that it seemed like they actually diverted more from the source material than 242 00:24:11,676 --> 00:24:18,499 Chapter 1 did. Like I saw a few new scenes, a lot more original dialogue, and I remember 243 00:24:18,619 --> 00:24:22,461 thinking to myself like, what the fuck did they just say? Like, what is this? Like, when did 244 00:24:22,501 --> 00:24:27,704 Hollis Mason go back and visit Dan Dreiberg? Since when did we spend so much time on Archie, 245 00:24:27,924 --> 00:24:32,006 you know? It wasn't a bad adaptation and we really came down on Chapter 1 for... being 246 00:24:32,066 --> 00:24:36,088 a little bit too faithful and maybe they hurt us. Maybe that's why they added all this extra 247 00:24:36,108 --> 00:24:41,351 stuff. I don't know. I doubt it. They've been working on this film for three years. So I 248 00:24:41,371 --> 00:24:47,854 don't think it was us. Their one negative Rotten Tomatoes review. I doubt it. But no, I definitely 249 00:24:47,914 --> 00:24:53,277 noticed those extra scenes. They were definitely drawing to me as well. And I don't mind them 250 00:24:53,758 --> 00:24:59,401 condensing the story. It was just the writing that I felt was off. Like Shazinsky, the writer 251 00:24:59,761 --> 00:25:07,148 of this film. is a really good comic book writer, but he's no Alan Moore. And when you hear lines 252 00:25:07,248 --> 00:25:13,010 like, your butt is in safe hands, it better be or else I'm gonna kick it. I'm just like, 253 00:25:13,391 --> 00:25:19,873 what the fuck is this? I thought the exact same thing when I heard that line. I was like, this 254 00:25:19,953 --> 00:25:25,696 chapter two adaptation has way too much butt stuff. Like I remember when Dan and Lori were 255 00:25:25,716 --> 00:25:30,057 about to get it on the couch the first time, there was a whole shot of her slapping his 256 00:25:30,237 --> 00:25:35,124 ass. just out of the blue. Like they cut to that specifically. And I was like, that was 257 00:25:35,184 --> 00:25:40,187 never in the comic book. What the fuck was that? And on Archie. I didn't need to see that. There's 258 00:25:40,207 --> 00:25:45,390 a lot of butt stuff going on in chapter two of Watchmen. A lot of ass kicking and ass slapping. 259 00:25:46,330 --> 00:25:50,673 But yeah, that line was just groan worthy. It's one of several changes where I'm like, that 260 00:25:51,133 --> 00:25:56,896 was unnecessary. Like honestly, looking back on these two films, I kind of wish they would 261 00:25:56,936 --> 00:26:01,414 have cut the tales from the Black Friday. because it would have given them more room to include 262 00:26:01,854 --> 00:26:07,496 some more of the better stuff from the books. Yeah, I think the parallels that they tried 263 00:26:07,536 --> 00:26:12,437 to draw between the story of the Black Frater and the story of Watchmen did not work as well 264 00:26:12,457 --> 00:26:17,459 within this adaptation. No, I disagree. I actually think some of the parallels they made were 265 00:26:17,539 --> 00:26:22,600 more successful than what they did in the comic. But that doesn't mean it was necessary. What 266 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:26,081 is the moral of the Black Frater? What's the lesson there and how does it pertain to the 267 00:26:26,101 --> 00:26:30,276 story of Watchmen? Well, it has like this meta context with a lot of things that are going 268 00:26:30,336 --> 00:26:36,661 on within the story intentionally. But overall, I would say that it tells the story of this 269 00:26:36,781 --> 00:26:43,707 man who has gone through these horrible tragedies and kind of lost his soul. In the same way, 270 00:26:43,787 --> 00:26:50,152 you could make connections between that and Rorschach or Ozymandias in coming to the conclusion 271 00:26:50,412 --> 00:26:55,477 that he felt he had to come up with in order to save mankind. He became a monster in much 272 00:26:55,517 --> 00:27:00,732 the same way that the sailor from Tales of the Black Frader did. Except the sailor learned 273 00:27:00,752 --> 00:27:06,655 his lesson whereas Ozymandias did not. Maybe, maybe, we don't know. I'm just gonna say now, 274 00:27:07,976 --> 00:27:12,378 hot take, I don't think Tales from the Black Frader is necessary at all even in the comic 275 00:27:12,398 --> 00:27:17,421 book. The parallels that it tries to draw are just too thin to hold much weight in the larger 276 00:27:17,461 --> 00:27:23,704 context. Fight me. Okay, I will fight you with my fists. Not with any kind of argument against 277 00:27:23,744 --> 00:27:31,028 that. Yeah, yeah, those are frightening words, my friend. Your opinion is trash. Here's a 278 00:27:31,068 --> 00:27:36,551 punch to the face. Exactly. You get it. I like Tales of the Black Freighter, but I have not 279 00:27:36,591 --> 00:27:41,734 liked it in any other adaptation. Like, I didn't even really enjoy it in the ultimate cut of 280 00:27:41,774 --> 00:27:46,536 the Watchmen film. The live action one by Zack Snyder. They made an animated version of the 281 00:27:46,556 --> 00:27:51,139 Tales from the Black Freighter and cut it into the movie. But honestly, as I said earlier, 282 00:27:51,459 --> 00:27:56,602 the director's cut without that is still my favorite adaptation of Watchmen. I rest my 283 00:27:56,662 --> 00:28:01,667 case. If they ever did a TV show though, like a 12 part series, I could see them leaving 284 00:28:01,747 --> 00:28:06,511 it in. Yeah, at that point, I think you'd almost need to just to fill the runtime. Yeah. Let's 285 00:28:06,551 --> 00:28:10,635 go ahead and move on to the character breakdown, though I will say I don't have anything to 286 00:28:10,775 --> 00:28:15,880 add regarding the voice performances that I have already said in our review of Chapter 287 00:28:16,060 --> 00:28:22,045 1. So I'm going to skip over all of that. But let's start with Rorschach, aka Walter Kovacs. 288 00:28:22,706 --> 00:28:27,589 After being captured by police and accused of the murder of Malik, Rorschach is forced into 289 00:28:27,629 --> 00:28:32,953 a prison where he's surrounded by hundreds of criminals he helped put behind bars. Despite 290 00:28:32,993 --> 00:28:37,756 this, Rorschach shows no fear, even going so far as to tell the prisoners that he's not 291 00:28:37,796 --> 00:28:43,200 locked up with them, they're locked up with him, and proving as much in how he's able to 292 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:49,344 disable their attacks. We see how his hardened view of the world was shaped by his upbringing, 293 00:28:49,624 --> 00:28:54,751 being the offspring of a prostitute. and teased for it growing up. And choosing the life of 294 00:28:54,771 --> 00:29:00,875 a crime fighter showed him the absolute worst in humanity, shaping his viewpoint that life 295 00:29:00,975 --> 00:29:07,739 is random and meaningless with no pattern save for what we impose on it. And Rorschach imposes 296 00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:14,943 his own strict black and white morality, deontological and uncompromising, which is why he's killed 297 00:29:14,983 --> 00:29:21,691 by Dr. Manhattan in the end. Because his inability to compromise to allow a little evil for a 298 00:29:21,731 --> 00:29:26,435 greater good would lead to greater harm. I do wish that they would have taken a little bit 299 00:29:26,455 --> 00:29:31,479 more time with his personal backstory that is revealed during his sessions with the psychiatrist. 300 00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:35,582 Super rushed. It does seem like he rushed through it. Oh yeah. And to me that was always one 301 00:29:35,602 --> 00:29:39,585 of the more interesting parts of the Watchman's story, how this man kind of just fell into 302 00:29:39,605 --> 00:29:45,399 the void. Yeah, absolutely. I think if Watchmen had a protagonist, it probably would be Rorschach, 303 00:29:45,519 --> 00:29:50,740 but I definitely feel like he didn't get as much screen time as like Dan and Laurie in 304 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:55,602 this adaptation. I feel like they were treated as the protagonists, which isn't bad. You know, 305 00:29:55,622 --> 00:30:00,203 I don't mind Night Owl. He's probably one of my favorite characters. Speaking of him, you 306 00:30:00,223 --> 00:30:05,504 know, after returning to vigilantism alongside Laurie, Dan Dreiberg finds a renewed sense 307 00:30:05,525 --> 00:30:11,367 of purpose he lacked since giving up his Night Owl persona. rediscovering the thrill and meaning 308 00:30:11,667 --> 00:30:16,912 in what he does, whether it's rescuing people from a burning building or orchestrating Rorschach's 309 00:30:16,952 --> 00:30:24,018 jailbreak. As he uncovers Adrian Veidt's plan, Dan is forced to confront his own ideals. He 310 00:30:24,058 --> 00:30:29,102 sees the bigger picture and understands that sometimes terrible sacrifices need to be accepted 311 00:30:29,142 --> 00:30:34,707 for the greater good. Unlike Rorschach, Dan can compromise, and it allows him to let go 312 00:30:34,847 --> 00:30:39,551 and embrace a new life with Laurie. As they reinvent themselves, and find a peace in the 313 00:30:39,591 --> 00:30:45,358 world that Adrian has created. I liked Dan more in Chapter 2 than I did in Chapter 1. Chapter 314 00:30:45,498 --> 00:30:50,904 1, I found it difficult to avoid comparing Night Owl's on-screen performance to Patrick Wilson's 315 00:30:51,024 --> 00:30:56,691 from the 2009 live-action film, but with Chapter 2 maybe a little bit less so because Chapter 316 00:30:56,711 --> 00:31:02,103 2 is really where the character comes into his own. The moment when he was explaining to Laurie 317 00:31:02,163 --> 00:31:07,706 how he just felt impotent because of all the pressure surrounding the events worldwide and 318 00:31:07,947 --> 00:31:13,670 locally, I really connected with. It felt believable to me in a way that felt a little bit more 319 00:31:13,870 --> 00:31:18,393 palpable than even the comic book. Maybe, I don't know. In this movie, I think he came 320 00:31:18,433 --> 00:31:23,496 across as much more confident earlier on in the story than he was in the comic. You know, 321 00:31:23,636 --> 00:31:28,338 when the second half of the story starts, he's still very meek. It wasn't until he really 322 00:31:28,378 --> 00:31:32,420 went out crime fighting for the first time that he kind of began to get his edge again. But 323 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:37,342 I feel like he was flirting with Laurie even before he put on the costume in this adaptation. 324 00:31:37,742 --> 00:31:41,764 For sure. Yeah, he got his groove back a little bit earlier than in the books. Yeah. One of 325 00:31:41,784 --> 00:31:46,786 my favorite things about the character of Night Owl in the comic was his gadgets. He's a gadgeteer 326 00:31:47,367 --> 00:31:51,228 inspired by the character of Blue Beetle. And there were a lot of them that were missing 327 00:31:51,588 --> 00:31:56,551 from this adaptation, unfortunately. I think he had some cool ones. He had those crescent 328 00:31:56,591 --> 00:31:59,512 darts. I call them that because that's what Moon Knight calls them. But they were like 329 00:31:59,532 --> 00:32:04,315 in the shape of crescent moons. But they were like taser disks, right? They had like an electrical 330 00:32:04,355 --> 00:32:10,538 current running between the tips. But did he have a hot cocoa dispenser in Archie? Like 331 00:32:10,558 --> 00:32:16,902 he did in the comics? No, but he had jazz music. Yeah. Let's move on to Laurie Yuspechik, aka 332 00:32:16,942 --> 00:32:22,185 Silk Spectre II. You know, after walking away from Dr. Manhattan's, Laurie begins carving 333 00:32:22,265 --> 00:32:28,233 out an identity. on her own terms. Joining Dan, she finds someone she can truly relate to, 334 00:32:28,313 --> 00:32:33,577 free from the weight of her mother's expectations or the stifling life at Dr. Manhattan's side. 335 00:32:33,978 --> 00:32:38,921 Fighting crime with Dan renews the sense of purpose within her, letting her step out of 336 00:32:38,941 --> 00:32:44,386 the shadow of her mother and enter her own spotlight. During her time on Mars, Laurie comes to the 337 00:32:44,426 --> 00:32:50,578 revelation that the comedian, the man who tried to rape her mother, is her father. and it affects 338 00:32:50,798 --> 00:32:56,281 everything she thought she knew about not only her upbringing, but also love and ultimately 339 00:32:56,341 --> 00:33:03,065 forgiveness. When Adrian's plan is revealed, it helps her adapt and accept the same compromises 340 00:33:03,165 --> 00:33:09,148 that would allow her to reconcile with her mother and grow further into her being her own hero. 341 00:33:09,529 --> 00:33:14,752 Laurie's Ark is always a good one, especially in Chapter 2, but I will say that I think that 342 00:33:14,772 --> 00:33:21,732 this film handled the revelation on Mars. more clumsily than I would have liked. There's just 343 00:33:21,752 --> 00:33:26,236 some weird dialogue surrounding it when like Dr. Manhattan's like, look at this chaotic 344 00:33:26,276 --> 00:33:32,642 terrain. And she was like, we have chaotic terrain, look at the chaoticness of my family. I'm like, 345 00:33:32,702 --> 00:33:38,346 that was kind of a stretch. I think that was from the comic. Well, that's just bad writing. 346 00:33:38,887 --> 00:33:43,771 I don't think it's a terrible line. The whole exchange was done so much better in the comic 347 00:33:43,811 --> 00:33:48,987 because there was just a lot more to the conversation. So it didn't feel forced and it didn't feel 348 00:33:49,087 --> 00:33:53,869 rushed. It felt very natural. I actually really liked that issue from the comic. I thought 349 00:33:53,889 --> 00:33:59,032 the live action version handled it believably and just better all around. The live action 350 00:33:59,072 --> 00:34:04,215 version was better and the comic is even better than that. The way the comic plays with time 351 00:34:04,776 --> 00:34:10,219 is done in a way that I feel like you can't really translate as well to film just because 352 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:15,261 of the nature of the different panels and the way you shift from scene to scene in a comic. 353 00:34:15,646 --> 00:34:20,568 In the comic book, it doesn't necessarily feel like flashbacks. No, it feels literally like 354 00:34:20,889 --> 00:34:25,571 the events are taking place concurrently in the same way that Dr. Manhattan perceives time. 355 00:34:26,032 --> 00:34:31,855 Right. It's not as forced in a comic book as it is on screen. Exactly. Because like you 356 00:34:31,875 --> 00:34:36,237 have to treat a flashback as like a memory. So you kind of see Laurie kind of almost have 357 00:34:36,257 --> 00:34:41,601 to zone out kind of to think about this thing that happened to her previously in her life. 358 00:34:41,881 --> 00:34:45,062 With the comic book, you don't have to do that. I almost feel like if they ever want to do 359 00:34:45,102 --> 00:34:51,846 this scene justice, like if they ever did a 12 episode miniseries on television, they would 360 00:34:51,906 --> 00:34:58,050 need two frames on screen at the same time, kind of playing concurrently with each other. 361 00:34:58,490 --> 00:35:03,933 That would be really hard to do, though. Split screen stuff. It could be done. Is pretty clumsy. 362 00:35:03,953 --> 00:35:08,696 Just look at the Captain America trailer. They did it fine there. Yeah. OK. Yeah, sure. I'd 363 00:35:08,796 --> 00:35:13,718 at least like to see it attempted before I judge it. Yeah. Let's go ahead and move on to Dr. 364 00:35:13,758 --> 00:35:19,900 Manhattan, aka Jonathan Osterman. After retreating to Mars, Dr. Manhattan finds himself increasingly 365 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,401 removed from the human condition he once knew. Observing Earth from a distance, he contemplates 366 00:35:25,481 --> 00:35:30,643 time, probability, and the very structure of existence, growing more indifferent by the 367 00:35:30,703 --> 00:35:36,364 moment. But when Lori appears, bringing with her the messy complexities of love, trauma, 368 00:35:36,424 --> 00:35:42,811 and hope, he's forced to reconsider humanity's worth. The simple, unlikely miracle of Laurie's 369 00:35:42,951 --> 00:35:49,194 own life rekindles a faint spark of empathy he thought was gone. After returning to Earth 370 00:35:49,555 --> 00:35:55,818 and witnessing Adrian's atrocity, Dr. Manhattan agrees to keep the peace through silence, yet 371 00:35:55,858 --> 00:36:00,941 in doing so he chooses to leave Earth behind, forging a new path where he can create life 372 00:36:01,261 --> 00:36:03,282 and shape his own meaning in the cosmos. 373 00:36:09,826 --> 00:36:15,749 the existence of life, a highly overrated phenomenon, and then almost immediately after that calls 374 00:36:15,949 --> 00:36:22,153 all life a miracle. Well, he just came to that realization. His mind was changed. A being 375 00:36:22,253 --> 00:36:27,396 even as omnipotent as him can still be reasoned with. To me, he just seems like a man who can't 376 00:36:27,436 --> 00:36:34,140 stand by his convictions. That's what I say. Well, lucky enough, he didn't. I always thought 377 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:38,807 that it was a convenient bit of writing. on behalf of Alan Moore and the original Watchmen 378 00:36:38,827 --> 00:36:44,630 story in that, you know, if Laurie is such a miracle, he's like, oh yeah, all life is a 379 00:36:44,670 --> 00:36:49,773 miracle. By its very nature, then you'd have to redefine the term miracle, I think. Well, 380 00:36:49,793 --> 00:36:56,597 she helped him realize that the rarity of life itself in the cosmos is a miracle and that 381 00:36:56,637 --> 00:37:02,100 by its very nature, each human life is its own miracle, which it is because, you know, all 382 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:07,754 of us were at one point, you know, different, competing. sperm and ova fighting for a chance 383 00:37:07,834 --> 00:37:12,976 to become what we are now. I just feel like that's a little bit ridiculous because sure, 384 00:37:13,296 --> 00:37:21,138 the odds of the sperm connecting with that specific egg from your mom statistically is highly unlikely, 385 00:37:21,638 --> 00:37:26,739 but again it happens all the fucking time. So on earth, again, I think you have to redefine 386 00:37:26,759 --> 00:37:31,821 your definition of miracle because it's not that special. Cynical asshole says what? 387 00:37:35,278 --> 00:37:39,539 Appreciate your own life. What does that have to do with anything that we were talking about? 388 00:37:40,119 --> 00:37:44,301 I'm saying you're a miracle, bro. I'm saying you have to perceive life as a miracle in order 389 00:37:44,341 --> 00:37:50,183 to appreciate it. I'm just saying you have to redefine miracle if it happens repeatedly over 390 00:37:50,203 --> 00:37:54,764 and over and even sometimes by accident. Whoa, gotta put a rubber on it, man. Gotta put a 391 00:37:54,784 --> 00:38:00,599 rubber on it. Well, how would you redefine it then? I would define it as highly probable, 392 00:38:00,819 --> 00:38:06,002 even though the fact that the comedian and Sally Jupiter didn't get along at first, you know, 393 00:38:06,022 --> 00:38:12,225 later on they did. And they boned each other and they had a baby. As these things happen. 394 00:38:12,605 --> 00:38:17,908 So I'm not like freaking claiming it's the same thing as air turning into gold, like Dr. Manhattan 395 00:38:17,948 --> 00:38:23,071 is. And yet the rest of the universe may say differently. They'd be like, holy shit, there's 396 00:38:23,091 --> 00:38:29,975 a planet with life on it. What? Says the planet that also has life on it. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. 397 00:38:30,635 --> 00:38:35,898 All right. I may be coming across as overly cynical and I'm not really a cynic, but I'm 398 00:38:35,958 --> 00:38:43,062 not nearly as wishy washy as Dr. Manhattan either. I don't think you appreciate being alive enough, 399 00:38:43,222 --> 00:38:48,565 Joseph. Really? Yes. I guess what I'm saying is you need like an existential breakdown. 400 00:38:49,025 --> 00:38:55,809 Okay. I'm pretty busy at work, so it might happen. We're going to get to Ozymandias aka Adrian 401 00:38:55,889 --> 00:39:01,012 Veit. Adrian doesn't have too much screen time. In Chapter 2, he spends most of that revealing 402 00:39:01,373 --> 00:39:07,977 the full extent of his grand, terrifying vision. He was an admirer of Alexander the Great. And 403 00:39:08,097 --> 00:39:14,041 Adrian's master plan is his way of slicing through the Gordian knot that was the Cold War tensions, 404 00:39:14,422 --> 00:39:20,686 a problem too tangled and complex for any rational negotiation. Rather than seeking a delicate 405 00:39:20,726 --> 00:39:27,646 solution, he opted to manufacture a common enemy to rally humanity. By sacrificing millions 406 00:39:27,686 --> 00:39:33,549 of innocent lives, he took the utilitarian approach that the ends justify the means. Yet after 407 00:39:33,589 --> 00:39:40,412 the dust settles and the surviving heroes reluctantly agree to silence, he looks to them for validation, 408 00:39:40,772 --> 00:39:46,955 an assurance that he truly did the right thing. His triumph feels hollow, and despite all his 409 00:39:47,055 --> 00:39:53,546 brilliance, he remains uncertain whether he succeeded in preserving life's value. or simply 410 00:39:53,626 --> 00:40:00,127 proved that humanity can be manipulated into salvation for however long that lasts. Here's 411 00:40:00,147 --> 00:40:06,269 another issue I have with the story of Watchmen. Okay! And Ozymandias' plan. And another reason 412 00:40:06,289 --> 00:40:13,451 why I like the 2009 live-action adaptation better because in that film, they showed that Ozymandias 413 00:40:13,591 --> 00:40:18,913 not only attacked New York, but a lot of major cities across the globe. True. Which I think 414 00:40:18,933 --> 00:40:25,072 was important to humanity coming together. against a common enemy. Let me draw a metaphor for 415 00:40:25,092 --> 00:40:30,658 you, okay? Say you're about to get in a fist fight with your sworn enemy, okay? And right 416 00:40:30,678 --> 00:40:35,762 before you two are about to throw punches, your enemy gets hit by a bike or something like 417 00:40:35,802 --> 00:40:41,387 that, okay? Are you two all of a sudden gonna join forces together against the bicyclist 418 00:40:41,788 --> 00:40:46,632 or are you gonna be like, thank god it was that guy and not me, that guy hit by the bike? I'm 419 00:40:46,692 --> 00:40:52,020 not necessarily convinced that New York specifically getting attacked, and only New York getting 420 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:58,244 attacked, would draw the entire globe together in world peace, considering that, you know, 421 00:40:58,424 --> 00:41:04,209 America was about to be part of the end of the world, you know? I'm not sure that New York 422 00:41:04,249 --> 00:41:08,171 would draw that much sympathy from America's enemies at that time. Well, if I thought that 423 00:41:08,211 --> 00:41:13,855 the bicyclist was also going to come after me, right after he attacked you, then yeah, I'd 424 00:41:13,895 --> 00:41:18,194 probably join forces with you to fend off the bicyclist. I don't know if you caught that 425 00:41:18,214 --> 00:41:24,457 I consider you my mortal enemy. I was like, wait, what? Why is it me that got hit by the 426 00:41:24,537 --> 00:41:31,021 bike? I guess you're right in that regard. But yeah, I can totally see why the live action 427 00:41:31,061 --> 00:41:35,864 adaptation had multiple attacks across the globe. Yeah, I would agree with you, actually. That 428 00:41:35,944 --> 00:41:41,867 is one of the things that the film version did better than the book version. It was that and 429 00:41:41,967 --> 00:41:47,928 also Rorschach going to Dr. Manhattan to see if he. could see into the future to find out 430 00:41:48,428 --> 00:41:53,656 who the masked killer was. Those are two kind of gaps that are in the book that the movie 431 00:41:53,956 --> 00:41:57,341 covered well, I thought. Let's move on to the story highlights. 432 00:42:03,874 --> 00:42:09,276 In a world where fantasies collide and heroes clash, one podcast network rises above the 433 00:42:09,336 --> 00:42:15,839 rest. Prepare yourself for the ultimate showdowns in comic books, video games, movies, and anime. 434 00:42:16,079 --> 00:42:21,581 The Dynomic Podcast Network presents Console Combat, where video game legends brawl every 435 00:42:21,621 --> 00:42:21,941 Monday. 436 00:42:24,998 --> 00:42:30,704 Smash every Tuesday, Max Destruction, where TV and action heroes battle every Wednesday, 437 00:42:31,264 --> 00:42:37,190 and Sendro World, where anime champions clash every Thursday. Join us as we speculate on 438 00:42:37,210 --> 00:42:42,916 the matches and, armed with the power of mathematical simulations, discover who will emerge victorious. 439 00:42:43,437 --> 00:42:47,701 Visit dynamicpodcast.com where we settle the debate and settle the score. 440 00:42:52,082 --> 00:42:57,826 On a remote island, horror comic writer Max Shea and surrealist painter Hira Manish reflect 441 00:42:57,866 --> 00:43:03,289 on how they, along with a group of scientists, contributed to creating a nightmarish creature 442 00:43:03,329 --> 00:43:09,572 for unclear reasons and for an unnamed benefactor, currently being shipped off the island. Over 443 00:43:09,612 --> 00:43:14,475 the course of the film, interwoven within the narrative, one of Max Shea's comics, 444 00:43:19,558 --> 00:43:24,419 after his ship was destroyed by the dreaded Phantom Pirate ship known as the Black Freighter. 445 00:43:24,879 --> 00:43:31,201 Forced to build a raft from corpses of his shipmates, the traumatized sailor grows mad as he battles 446 00:43:31,241 --> 00:43:36,862 sharks and the sea itself to get home to Davidstown and protect his family from the oncoming Black 447 00:43:36,902 --> 00:43:42,284 Freighter pirates, only to mistake his wife for a pirate while attempting to rescue her. 448 00:43:42,724 --> 00:43:47,962 The sailor is then chased by a mob to the sea, where the Black Freighter waits for him. Now 449 00:43:47,982 --> 00:43:52,343 this of course isn't all in the first scene, it's interspersed throughout the film, but 450 00:43:52,363 --> 00:43:56,705 I wanted to get the Black Friday narrative out of the way. Yeah, I think I said my piece on 451 00:43:56,745 --> 00:44:04,909 it. Again, fight me. With my fists! Now captured and imprisoned, Walter Kovacs, aka the vigilante 452 00:44:04,989 --> 00:44:10,611 Rorschach, overcomes a prison attack by inmates he helped put there. During a psychological 453 00:44:10,671 --> 00:44:15,953 evaluation, Rorschach reveals his traumatic childhood, and how he was driven to murderous 454 00:44:16,013 --> 00:44:22,008 vigilantism, after confronting a man who fed a young girl he kidnapped to his dogs. Meanwhile, 455 00:44:22,088 --> 00:44:27,330 Dan Dreiberg rescues Laurie Yuspechik from a fire in his basement that Laurie accidentally 456 00:44:27,350 --> 00:44:32,772 caused while inspecting his high-tech hovercraft, Archie. While talking about their inspirations 457 00:44:32,812 --> 00:44:38,334 for becoming costumed vigilantes, Dan admits the comedian's death, Rorschach's imprisonment, 458 00:44:38,775 --> 00:44:44,577 Dr. Manhattan's exile to Mars, and the attempted assassination of Adrian Veidt are too coincidental 459 00:44:44,617 --> 00:44:49,624 to be unrelated. While watching television, Dan and Laurie eventually kiss, and though 460 00:44:49,644 --> 00:44:54,447 they attempt to make love, Dan finds himself impotent from the nightmare-inducing stress 461 00:44:54,808 --> 00:44:59,611 of impending nuclear war. One of the things they did in this movie that was taken straight 462 00:44:59,631 --> 00:45:04,534 from the comic that I thought they did better than the live-action version was Rorschach 463 00:45:04,614 --> 00:45:10,058 tying the guy who killed the young girl to his boiler and giving him a saw to cut off his 464 00:45:10,118 --> 00:45:15,730 own hand as he set fire to his house. The movie was way more violent. But I actually think 465 00:45:15,750 --> 00:45:22,171 it's a little bit more jigsaw-esque, like from the movie Saw, to make him try to cut off his 466 00:45:22,211 --> 00:45:27,493 own hand to save himself, knowing that he ultimately would not be able to do that. I think the shock 467 00:45:27,573 --> 00:45:32,394 of the violent moment within the live action movie was more effective in portraying that 468 00:45:32,434 --> 00:45:37,936 transition from Walter Kovacs into Rorschach, because like he couldn't even speak. All he 469 00:45:37,956 --> 00:45:43,137 did was jam the meat cleaver in the guy's head saying, men get arrested, dogs get put down. 470 00:45:43,557 --> 00:45:49,389 You know, I thought that was in... extremely graphic but also effective look at his transitioning 471 00:45:49,429 --> 00:45:55,533 psyche. Here it was just kind of like, eh, you know, saw your way out if you can. If you can't 472 00:45:55,634 --> 00:45:59,517 then, you know, guess you're gonna die. Well the whole transition moment was supposed to 473 00:45:59,557 --> 00:46:05,141 be as he's watching the building burn down. It was sort of this cathartic moment in which 474 00:46:05,201 --> 00:46:11,766 he like arose from the ashes as Rorschach. Sure, I'll still say less effective. Maybe. While 475 00:46:11,806 --> 00:46:16,548 a mobster named Big Figure attempts to intimidate Rorschach in his jail cell as a prison riot 476 00:46:16,608 --> 00:46:21,371 bruise, Dan and Lori decide to put their old crime fighting costumes on and take Archie 477 00:46:21,471 --> 00:46:26,855 out for a spin, during which time they rescue tenants of an apartment fire. Feeling empowered, 478 00:46:27,135 --> 00:46:31,117 Dan and Lori make love aboard Archie before deciding they should break Rorschach out of 479 00:46:31,177 --> 00:46:36,840 prison. While planning the breakout in Dan's basement, Dan is visited by his mentor, Hollis 480 00:46:36,900 --> 00:46:41,876 Mason, the original Night Owl, who warns Dan that if he could figure out which crimefighters 481 00:46:41,936 --> 00:46:47,261 rescued the apartment fire tenants, which was an illegal crimefighting act, the police could 482 00:46:47,321 --> 00:46:52,265 too. After sharing his theory with Hollis regarding the corporate connections between all of the 483 00:46:52,305 --> 00:46:58,190 recent murders, Dan leaves with Laurie and Archie just before the police raid his house. While 484 00:46:58,230 --> 00:47:03,234 Dan and Laurie fend off police and rioters, Rorschach defends himself against a big figure, 485 00:47:03,534 --> 00:47:08,966 killing his men and him before escaping with his allies. Now the scene with Hollis Mason 486 00:47:09,166 --> 00:47:16,089 visiting Dan is not in the comics. Dan is actually visited by a detective in that scene. But I 487 00:47:16,149 --> 00:47:22,152 actually liked this more because it gave one more scene between Hollis and Dan before Hollis 488 00:47:22,192 --> 00:47:26,974 dies. Yeah, that was nice. It kind of gave viewers that are familiar with the story a little bit 489 00:47:27,014 --> 00:47:31,916 of closure in regards to that relationship, you know? Right. In the movie, it did seem 490 00:47:31,956 --> 00:47:38,603 like it was just a means for a big exposition dump. Yes. Yeah. What the story actually was. 491 00:47:39,223 --> 00:47:44,866 One thing I didn't like here was how Dan does give the exposition dump in regards to all 492 00:47:44,886 --> 00:47:50,249 of this research that he seemingly did off screen about all the different corporations that are 493 00:47:50,309 --> 00:47:55,051 tied to the different deaths throughout the film. Yeah, he was much more informed here 494 00:47:55,071 --> 00:47:59,853 than he ever was in the comics. And we never really got to see all that information come 495 00:47:59,893 --> 00:48:04,932 together. Regarding the rescue scene of the tenants from the building fire, that was another 496 00:48:04,952 --> 00:48:09,835 bit of bad dialogue, I thought, when one of the ladies was like, mother of the deus. And 497 00:48:10,975 --> 00:48:16,699 then Silk Spectre was like, different Spectre and I'm nobody's mother. Yeah, that was a Trisinski 498 00:48:16,779 --> 00:48:21,021 original there, I believe. And regarding the sex scene that happened right after, if nothing 499 00:48:21,121 --> 00:48:27,745 else, it just proved how unnecessarily pornographic Zack Snyder made that scene in his film. Okay, 500 00:48:28,125 --> 00:48:36,446 virgin. Damn it! Sorry it makes you so uncomfortable. It's just gratuitous. I don't know. I don't 501 00:48:36,486 --> 00:48:41,470 disagree. I don't disagree. I thought this was done very tastefully actually in this animated 502 00:48:41,490 --> 00:48:46,694 version. Yeah. In retaliation for Rorschach's escape, a violent gang of not-tops mistake 503 00:48:46,714 --> 00:48:52,038 Hollis for Dan and beat him to death. During their escape from police, Dr. Manhattan appears 504 00:48:52,098 --> 00:48:57,121 aboard Archie and takes Laurie with him back to Mars, where Laurie reminisces through her 505 00:48:57,161 --> 00:49:03,376 life in an attempt to view it from Dr. Manhattan's extradimensional perception of time, accidentally 506 00:49:03,416 --> 00:49:09,319 revealing in the process that she's sleeping with Dan. Upset by the revelation, Dr. Manhattan 507 00:49:09,359 --> 00:49:15,301 refuses to help save Earth from impending nuclear war until Laurie comes to the revelation that 508 00:49:15,341 --> 00:49:21,824 the Comedian was her father. Astonished by the near-miraculous unlikelihood of the union between 509 00:49:21,864 --> 00:49:26,763 Laurie's parents and of Laurie's existence in general, Dr. Manhattan decides to take her 510 00:49:26,803 --> 00:49:32,767 back to Earth and help. Meanwhile, Dan and Rorschach visit Adrian's office, hoping he can help them 511 00:49:32,807 --> 00:49:38,452 figure out the connection between the corporations involved with the recent deaths, only to discover 512 00:49:38,512 --> 00:49:44,996 that Adrian is away at his Antarctic base, Carnac, and that he owns all of the corporations involved. 513 00:49:45,437 --> 00:49:50,380 On their way to Antarctica, Rorschach mails his journal to the conspiratorial magazine, 514 00:49:50,681 --> 00:49:56,853 The New Frontiersman. I do like the way this movie handled Dryberg's revelation that Ozymandias 515 00:49:56,893 --> 00:50:03,259 was behind everything more than the book's method of having Ozymandias have a really obvious 516 00:50:03,339 --> 00:50:08,583 password on his computer. Like he's the world's smartest man and yet his password was Ramesses 517 00:50:08,603 --> 00:50:15,509 II, right? Wait, that's an obvious password? Yes. Oh shit, I need to change mine. Here there 518 00:50:15,529 --> 00:50:19,372 was like no hacking of anything, you know, it was just good old-fashioned detective work 519 00:50:19,752 --> 00:50:25,024 looking through financial records. Maybe, I guess you could also say that those records 520 00:50:25,124 --> 00:50:30,429 should have probably been in a vault or a safe of some sort. And not just like in a drawer 521 00:50:30,449 --> 00:50:35,253 that could be easily opened. I guess that's fair. When Adrian arrives at Carnac, his assistants 522 00:50:35,313 --> 00:50:39,696 reveal that the shipment from the island has arrived and that everything for his plan is 523 00:50:39,736 --> 00:50:45,381 in order. Adrian thanks them with wine that poisons and kills them, while listening to 524 00:50:45,421 --> 00:50:50,365 an interview that he had done with a reporter that details his life's inspiration for unifying 525 00:50:50,405 --> 00:50:56,293 the world. As Dan and Rorschach approach Antarctica, we see the ship blow up that was carrying Max 526 00:50:56,313 --> 00:51:02,417 Shea, Hera Manish, and everyone else who built the unseen creature, now at Karnak, who Adrian 527 00:51:02,457 --> 00:51:08,141 teleports away. Dan and Rorschach attempt to ambush Adrian, but he counters and disables 528 00:51:08,161 --> 00:51:13,365 them, before revealing that he was the mask killer, having killed the comedian for learning 529 00:51:13,445 --> 00:51:18,889 of his plan, along with others to get rid of Dr. Manhattan to prevent him from stopping 530 00:51:18,929 --> 00:51:25,017 his plan. which was to force the world governments into an era of cooperation and peace, while 531 00:51:25,077 --> 00:51:30,780 seemingly under the threat of an alien attack, which Adrian achieved prior to Dan and Rorschach's 532 00:51:30,820 --> 00:51:36,543 arrival by teleporting a genetically modified giant squid monster to New York City and causing 533 00:51:36,603 --> 00:51:43,235 it to blow up half its population. Do you ever feel like... the squid monster was a little 534 00:51:43,275 --> 00:51:48,477 bit far-fetched in the realm of science fiction for the very grounded world that the Watchmen 535 00:51:48,517 --> 00:51:56,401 story is set in, or relatively grounded world. I think without Bubastis it was. But with Bubastis 536 00:51:56,541 --> 00:52:02,364 we understand that Ozymandias has been researching genetic modification for years. Bubastis of 537 00:52:02,384 --> 00:52:08,434 course is Adrian's pet Lynx, genetically modified Lynx. You know, we know Adrian put a lot of 538 00:52:08,474 --> 00:52:13,958 resources into a lot of different sci-fi-esque technologies to try to pull off this massive 539 00:52:13,998 --> 00:52:19,421 hoax, including genetic engineering, including teleportation. Do you think that there is a 540 00:52:19,521 --> 00:52:26,485 more plausible way to fake an alien attack? When we know that in history, sometimes faking 541 00:52:26,525 --> 00:52:31,809 an alien attack can be as simple as Orson Wells reading a radio broadcast. Of course, I'm describing, 542 00:52:31,949 --> 00:52:36,504 you know, War of the Worlds. Do you think that there was probably a better way for Alan Moore 543 00:52:36,584 --> 00:52:43,469 to more convincingly have Adrian depict an alien attack than through all this sci-fi technology 544 00:52:43,509 --> 00:52:49,554 stuff? Well, how else would you kill two million people? Well, probably a bomb? I think a more 545 00:52:49,594 --> 00:52:55,879 plausible approach would be like the Independence Day route where Adrian just develops this UFO 546 00:52:55,919 --> 00:53:00,586 hovercraft that drops a big bomb or something like that. I think that's... still believable. 547 00:53:00,686 --> 00:53:06,629 Developing an aircraft that's unidentifiable by the world's military is more simple than 548 00:53:06,849 --> 00:53:12,172 genetically engineering this whole entire new creature. Yeah, probably. But I also think 549 00:53:12,232 --> 00:53:19,096 that, who knows? I think that if something like a giant squid monster suddenly appeared on 550 00:53:19,296 --> 00:53:24,239 the planet, I'd have an easier time believing it came from outer space. Then if you just 551 00:53:24,399 --> 00:53:31,371 had a craft drop some kind of explosive and then like vanish. then, you know, that's nothing. 552 00:53:32,452 --> 00:53:36,435 I guess there would be some deniability there. Yeah, if Adrian went the ship route, he'd have 553 00:53:36,455 --> 00:53:41,979 to have like the ship crash and it would have to be of like such advanced technology that 554 00:53:42,099 --> 00:53:46,883 no one would have ever suspected that he was the one who created it. Still seems a little 555 00:53:46,903 --> 00:53:54,629 bit more plausible than a fucking squid beak tentacle beast monster. Hey, man, don't hate 556 00:53:54,669 --> 00:53:59,207 the player, hate the game. Well, I will say I don't hold Alan Moore nearly as high regard 557 00:53:59,247 --> 00:54:04,491 as you do. How does that mean? It means you put him on a pedestal is what I'm saying. They 558 00:54:04,511 --> 00:54:10,754 have a better writer than Alan Moore. Jonathan Hickman. No. Wrong. OK. 559 00:54:14,657 --> 00:54:19,940 Dr. Manhattan and Laurie arrive amidst the carnage in New York. Too late to do anything due to 560 00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:26,159 the tachyon radiation from the explosion. Dr. Manhattan traces the teleportation energy signature 561 00:54:26,199 --> 00:54:33,001 to Karnak, where he, Laurie, Dan, and Rorschach hunt down Adrian for what he did. Though Adrian 562 00:54:33,041 --> 00:54:39,263 seemingly kills Dr. Manhattan in an intrinsic field subtractor, Dr. Manhattan rebuilds himself. 563 00:54:39,563 --> 00:54:44,684 Confronted by the other four, Adrian reveals via television that his plan was a success 564 00:54:45,104 --> 00:54:49,850 and that world leaders are calling for peace amidst the tragedy. Each of them accept the 565 00:54:49,890 --> 00:54:56,115 reality that Adrian's plan worked and agreed to secrecy except for Rorschach, whom Dr. Manhattan 566 00:54:56,155 --> 00:55:01,999 kills before informing Adrian that he's leaving for a less complicated galaxy to create new 567 00:55:02,059 --> 00:55:05,982 life. I can't remember, in the comic book, did he say that he was leaving for a new galaxy 568 00:55:06,202 --> 00:55:11,866 or was he leaving for a new world? Because in the Watchmen HBO sequel, we saw that he went 569 00:55:11,906 --> 00:55:17,234 to one of the moons of Jupiter, I believe, Europa, if I'm remembering that correctly. which is 570 00:55:17,274 --> 00:55:22,136 not in another galaxy. And I'm wondering which adaptation got it incorrect. In the comic, 571 00:55:22,176 --> 00:55:27,940 he said he was leaving the galaxy. Okay, so the HBO series got it wrong then. Uh, yeah, 572 00:55:28,140 --> 00:55:33,623 yeah it did. What are you trying to say? That it's not good now? Why are you so defensive, 573 00:55:33,663 --> 00:55:38,746 Jonathan? I just don't think you like the fact that I keep attacking what you keep referring 574 00:55:38,786 --> 00:55:45,669 to as the seminal work of the comic book medium. Uh, yeah, because it is. And you can't accept 575 00:55:45,689 --> 00:55:51,817 that. you think you're too good for it. No DC work is ever going to be called seminal. Not 576 00:55:51,877 --> 00:55:58,942 while I'm still alive. That could be arranged. Laurie and Dan, now disguised as Sam and Sandra 577 00:55:58,982 --> 00:56:04,825 Hollis, visit Laurie's mother Sally in a California rest home, where Laurie reveals she knows the 578 00:56:04,865 --> 00:56:10,489 comedian was her father. Upon leaving, Laurie and Dan share renewed excitement for costumed 579 00:56:10,569 --> 00:56:15,499 adventuring. In the final scene, employees of the new frontiersmen are forced to find a new 580 00:56:15,539 --> 00:56:20,521 story to run in their magazine now that the government no longer allows the press to criticize 581 00:56:20,541 --> 00:56:25,583 their former enemies. A junior staffer is asked to look through a pile of public letters for 582 00:56:25,603 --> 00:56:31,306 a story lead as his hand hovers above Rorschach's journal. That's the end of the film. I always 583 00:56:31,366 --> 00:56:36,328 liked that ending a lot, and I really like how the HBO series ran with that too, where it 584 00:56:36,348 --> 00:56:42,530 kind of became like this conspiracy among the militia group. in that series. Even with like 585 00:56:42,550 --> 00:56:47,553 the squid babies, you know, that kept the world on its toes. That was interesting. What did 586 00:56:47,573 --> 00:56:52,435 you think of the Sam and Sandra Hollis disguise? Because the live action movie didn't run with 587 00:56:52,475 --> 00:56:56,117 that. I don't see why not. I thought it was a good ending for Dan and Laurie and I like 588 00:56:56,137 --> 00:57:01,179 the way they, you know, paid homage to Hollis and everything like that. In the end, the book 589 00:57:01,519 --> 00:57:07,214 is definitely the best way to experience the story. And while chapter two was better. than 590 00:57:07,254 --> 00:57:12,757 chapter one. You know, it's still this abridged animated adaptation that, yeah, may benefit 591 00:57:12,797 --> 00:57:18,261 from increased action in the source material's latter half, but ultimately it fails to capture 592 00:57:18,561 --> 00:57:24,265 the impact of the book, largely because the background threat of nuclear war plays second 593 00:57:24,305 --> 00:57:30,990 fiddle to the character drama. Now I'm giving chapter two three and a half out of five stars 594 00:57:31,470 --> 00:57:39,671 a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That said I'm actually not recommending this because 595 00:57:39,731 --> 00:57:44,514 it's the second half of a story starting with Chapter 1, which I don't recommend. And I don't 596 00:57:44,554 --> 00:57:49,057 recommend this animated adaptation overall. So you're giving it a fresh rating, but you're 597 00:57:49,077 --> 00:57:55,080 saying you don't recommend it? Yes. Because of Chapter 1's inferiority? Yes, actually. 598 00:57:55,100 --> 00:58:01,023 Okay, yeah, I think that makes sense. You wouldn't want people to see Chapter 2 on its own, right? 599 00:58:01,083 --> 00:58:06,038 They coexist with each other, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Right. I agree chapter 2 is better 600 00:58:06,058 --> 00:58:11,262 than chapter 1, but if chapter 1 was a bigger letdown then I recommend the films as a whole. 601 00:58:11,722 --> 00:58:18,327 I'm really hoping that by me doing this it's not going to give chapter 2 a 100% tomato meter 602 00:58:18,387 --> 00:58:21,849 score because I don't think it deserves it. I don't think this film really should have 603 00:58:21,949 --> 00:58:27,273 ever been made. But I don't think it also deserves to be shit on. The film exists in this weird 604 00:58:27,313 --> 00:58:34,510 limbo of irrelevancy. Neither good nor bad, just redundant. Here's what I will say. who 605 00:58:34,570 --> 00:58:41,316 made chapters 1 and 2 liked the source material enough to take a crack at this. I think their 606 00:58:41,356 --> 00:58:46,740 passion shows in how faithful they tried to make it, but ultimately it was a waste of time. 607 00:58:47,201 --> 00:58:54,167 But you guys have good taste. Most DC things are a waste of time. Really. So is your face. 608 00:58:54,687 --> 00:58:58,430 But that does it for this review. AG9K, help close us out. 609 00:59:02,646 --> 00:59:08,168 Visit the show's website at dynamicduel.com and follow us on Instagram at dynamicduelpodcast. 610 00:59:08,629 --> 00:59:13,952 You can support the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash dynamicduel and joining a tier that works 611 00:59:13,972 --> 00:59:19,835 for you or by rating and reviewing dynamic duel on apple podcasts, spotify, podchaser or on 612 00:59:19,895 --> 00:59:24,958 our website. Don't forget to listen to the other shows in the dynaMic podcast network, including 613 00:59:24,998 --> 00:59:32,261 Max Destruction, Senjo World and Console Combat. In our next episode, we are going to be reviewing 614 00:59:32,526 --> 00:59:41,031 Craven the Hunter. I have my tickets and I am expecting to be entirely whelmed. I think is 615 00:59:41,051 --> 00:59:46,294 the best way to put it. Not underwhelmed, not overwhelmed, just whelmed. Just whelmed, yeah, 616 00:59:46,514 --> 00:59:51,037 yeah. That is it for this episode. We wanna give a big thanks to our executive producers, 617 00:59:51,097 --> 00:59:56,219 Ken Johnson. John Swarovski. Zachary Hepburn, Dustin Balcom, Miggy Mathingian, Brandon Estregard, 618 00:59:56,360 --> 01:00:02,163 Nathaniel Wagener, Levi Yaten, Austin Wieselowski, AJ Dunkerley, Scott Camacho, Gil Camacho, Adam 619 01:00:02,223 --> 01:00:08,386 Spies, Andrew Shunk, Dean Molesky, Devin Davis, Joseph Kirsting, Josh Leiner, and Mike Williams 620 01:00:08,426 --> 01:00:14,010 for helping make this podcast possible. We'll talk to you guys next week. Up, up and away, 621 01:00:14,110 --> 01:00:18,912 true believers. Who watches the watchman watching the watchman? That's what I'd like to know.