Watchmen
director
Zach Schneider
Movie Synopsis:
Watchmen is a superhero film based on DC Comics. Directed by Zach Schneider, the film is set in 1985, when superheroes disappeared due to government restrictions. Until one of them is suddenly murdered, the already reclusive superheroes regroup and investigate the murder, but the investigation shows that it is only the beginning, and that there is a bigger conspiracy behind the murder.
Movie Viewing Experience:
The director's cut version of "Justice League" exploded, making Zach Schneider raise his eyebrows, and this dark style superhero movie was also accepted by more audiences.
But I would like to say that compared to the director's cut version of "Justice League", Za Director's comic adaptation of the previous years, "Watchmen", is a better god work, of course, it is also darker.
"Watchmen" is the most successful comic book adaptation in the hearts of fans.
It is different from the popcorn routine of traditional superheroes saving the world, but it exposes the aging, weakness, helplessness and evil thoughts of superheroes to the fullest.
The hero who takes off the suit is an ordinary person, a person has a weakness, and a person will grow old.
Before going into the movie in detail, let's think about a question.
This figure should be very familiar to everyone, yes, it is the tram problem!
Scenario 1:
A tram driver was driving when he suddenly found 5 workers in front of his own track, and the brakes of the tram failed! As if the 5 men were bound to die, the driver noticed that there was another rail in front of him, and there was only 1 worker on this rail, and he could turn around and drive to the rail next to him. That is, by killing 1 person and saving 5 people,
Do you think the driver should turn around?
This is the very famous tram problem, should we sacrifice a few people to save the majority?
OK, don't answer first, please think about another question:
Scenario 2:
The same tram failed, there were 5 workers in front of the tracks, about to be killed, at this time you stood on the bridge and saw all this. If there's a fat passerby standing next to you, if you push him down, he'll land on the track just enough to block the tram and save the 5 people. (You're too light to jump on your own to no avail)
In this case, would you choose to push down this passerby to save the 5 workers on the tracks?
Should a minority be sacrificed in order to save the lives of the majority? Is the life of the majority more noble than that of the minority?
It's a question about "justice," and everyone has a different answer. Here's a book by Michael Sandor: Justice
Okay, remember your "tram answer" and we'll go back to the movie now.
Watchmen is a two-line narrative film.
The main storyline is that after World War II, the former superhero league "Watchmen" have chosen to retire because of the Keane Act introduced by the government, some work for the government, some enter the business, and some people still uphold justice in the dark.
This is the first generation of watchmen, most of them have a dismal ending, different deaths, and superheroes are also a piece of tofu scum as they get older.
This is the second generation of Watchmen, the protagonist of this film. Most of the superheroes in Watchmen do not have superpowers, and can be seen as ordinary people who can fight. Except for the blue Manhattan Doctor C, he is the only BUG hero, and the gods are no different.
There is also a more interesting hero, the second "Night Owl II" on the right, he can be seen as Batman in a parallel universe, but it is more than the old man's nest.
One day, one of the Watchmen's jokers (pictured above, left one) is killed, and a huge conspiracy gradually surfaces, that is, the main plot.
The side line of the story is the anime work "Black Cargo Ship".
It tells the story of an evil black cargo ship attacking the ship on a large sea, and only the captain survives. The captain struggled many times to return to his hometown to protect his family, but the darkness had gradually eroded his soul, and eventually he went ashore and killed his wife without a mind, turning around and boarding the evil black cargo ship.
The two lines are mutually reinforcing, and everyone may have a different understanding of who the captain of the black cargo ship is. I think he's the "Pharaoh," the guy behind the scenes, the guy who does the trolley problem in the movie.
This sentence can be seen as an interpretation of his philosophy. The story is set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, during the Cold War, when the two great powers were at loggerheads and the nuclear war of World War III was on the verge of erupting. In this case, politicians are making their own calculations and frantically testing on the brink of war. Superheroes are either hidden or obsessed with technology, numb to nuclear warfare that could destroy the world.
In this case, the pharaoh acted as a "villain", pressing the tram button and rushing to the minority, saving the world.
As the black hand behind the scenes, the pharaoh did not have much ink in the early stage.
Other Heroes:
The early story focuses on the heroes of The Laughing, Rorschach, night owl II, Silk Ghost II, and Dr. Manhattan.
The Laughing Master is a hero who is both good and evil.
He was a war hero and worked for the government, but he had tried to rape the Silk Ghost Generation, shooting pregnant women pregnant women pregnant with their own children, shooting like civilians, and even murdering the president. When Pharaoh advocated the formation of an alliance to protect the world, he was the first to stand up and pour cold water. When the second generation of night owl questioned the world, he pointed to the protesting civilians and smiled, you see this is the American dream, it has been realized! He is a person who sees through the world, sees through the dark curtain under the system, and understands the limitations of his own ability. So the old man was brutally beaten to death in his apartment, he was powerless to fight back, and the blood dripped on his smiley face badge, becoming a satirical scene.
Rorschach is a hero who stands up for the faith of justice and dedicates himself to it.
After the Keane Act was enacted, Rorschach was the only hero who continued to uphold justice in the dark without cooperating with the government, and was the first to discover that the Laughingsmith had been killed. He sees the laughter's death as a signal that someone is targeting the Watchmen and warns the rest, hoping that someone will step up with him to find out the real culprit behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, his former partner, the second generation of the Night Owl, has become a nest of waste, nothing is to drink a little wine, and the night owl generation of old men reminisce about the glorious years. The Second Generation of the Night Owl did not care about the death of the Laughing Master, and he was deaf to Rorschach's warnings.
Rorschach turned to Dr. Manhattan and the Doctor's girlfriend, Sissee II.
Dr. Manhattan is the most bullish superhero in the film, a god-like presence.
He used to be a scientist who accidentally entered a nuclear test and gained the superpower of reorganizing his body, infinite energy, random size, flying at the speed of light, foreseeing the future, and being called a walking nuclear weapon.
Dr. Manhattan is bent on working with Pharaoh on energy issues and alleviating the crisis of nuclear war. While working, he worked and made love to his girlfriend Si Ghost II, thus breaking his girlfriend's heart. Dr. Manhattan and The Second Generation of Silk Ghosts were equally indifferent to Rorschach's warnings.
Rorschach realizes that his former comrades-in-arms are unreliable, but jealous and hateful, he chooses to track down the black hand behind the scenes alone, but unexpectedly falls into the trap of the enemy and is imprisoned.
Dr. Manhattan is also in trouble, and he is stimulated by a conspiracy to go to Mars. The Night Owl II and the Silk Ghost II instead sparked a love spark (poor Dr. Manhattan changed from a little blue man to a little green man).
An interesting scene is that when the Night Owl II and the Silk Ghost II are indescribable, we can see the small fat on the belly of the Night Owl II. Well, in this movie, superheroes aren't eight-pack abs either, and have a soft and weak side, which is very true.
What is more true is that later, the Night Owl generation was beaten to death by a group of small in their apartment, and the picture was too tragic. No matter how cattle you were when you were young, you have old times, even if you were a superhero.
This is almost the main content of the main plot, before the appearance of the black method Lao Wang behind the scenes.
The black cargo ship in the auxiliary line corresponds to the nuclear war threat in the main line. It was said above: After World War II, the two powers were opposed to each other in the Cold War, and the Soviet Union and the United States hoarded a lot of nuclear weapons, and the great war was about to break out. If nuclear war breaks out, the world will be destroyed. At this moment, Dr. Manhattan is still playing clocks on Mars, and let the second generation of silk ghosts convince himself to save mankind, just like a child. The joker was right, "You don't care about humans at all."
Pharaoh's approach was different, he collected the energy of Dr. Manhattan, destroyed several international metropolises such as New York, Beijing, and Moscow, and transferred the contradictions between the United States and the Soviet Union to Dr. Manhattan, a common enemy.
One trick to borrow a knife to kill people is really wonderful...
Pharaoh sacrificed tens of millions of people in exchange for peace in the whole world.
Why do I say that Lao Wang is the captain of the black cargo ship? Because he is the one who has the courage to do the tram problem, he not only chose to save 5 people (the first problem), but also took matters into his own hands (the second problem) to save 5 people. But the price was that he boarded the black cargo ship and became part of the darkness.
Look back at these heroes:
Rorschach is my favorite hero, he is jealous and hateful, and he is determined at heart. In order to uphold the justice in his heart, he sacrificed his life.
Pharaoh is a great hero, you can say he is immoral, but the courage to sacrifice a few and save the world requires boldness beyond ordinary people. (By the way, I don't think he's quite right, because the people who were "sacrificed" are innocent, and for them, the whole world has been lost.) ）
Dr. Manhattan is the most incompetent hero, and although he has the ability to be invincible in the universe, he does not care about the world and does not care about human beings. What do you want this iron rod for...
The laughing masters, the night owls, and the silk ghosts are actually just ordinary people with strong fighting ability but weak hearts.
I love Rorschach the most, I respect Pharaoh, there are no superheroes in the world, you can't choose what you live for, but you can choose what you die for.
(This is the picture of Rorschach's death, and it feels very similar to the sails brought by the crew in "Black Cargo Ship", and Rorschach does resemble the crew.)
"Watchmen" perfectly embodies the directorial style of Za: epic painting style, dark style digging deep into human nature and slow-paced narrative.
The 3.5-hour duration makes fans love to die and hate to die, but I still enjoy it, and I hope you will like it too.
Believe me this is a completely different superhero movie.
At last:
What would you choose about the two tram conundrums above?
END
Text/Mr. Elk