“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Monday, March 2, 2009

Nobody Move, This Is A Review: WATCHMEN

Regarded by comic-book buffs as the greatest comic of all time, Watchmen, which is based on the Alan Moore / Dave Gibbons graphic novel, is by no means a typical superhero movie. There’s precious little noble posturing from Laurie (Malin Akerman), Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) or Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), all of whom are beset by personal demons of the kind you’re more likely to find in more serious fare: alcoholism, depression, a destructive childhood, and the consequences of physics laboratory experiment that leaves you with god-like powers. Well, perhaps the last belongs in comic book fantasia, but even the plight of Dr Manhattan, a being of pure energy, raises interesting questions. Set in a parallel universe, in which Richard Nixon holds on to the presidency well into the 1980s, and the Cold War is rapidly approaching armageddon, Watchmen manages to have its cake and eat it: a character-driven tale that explores the complex, twisted personalities of its superfolk in detail, it also provides a story on an epic scale. At 163 minutes it’s a long movie, but it never feels like it. The characters, particularly those of Dr Manhattan and Rorschach, are fascinating, and raise as many questions as they answer, while the story’s overarching concern – what to do about a poisonously over-populated planet – is a timely one. There are a number of superb action sequences too, and interlude on planet Mars is jaw-droppingly well done. Zack Snyder, who also directed the disappointing graphic novel adaptation 300, proves a steadier hand here, and provides a seamless blend of live action and CGI effects. He’s helped hugely strong performances, especially from Akerman, Crudup and Haley. ****

This review first appeared in TV NOW magazine

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice review. My resolution, in accordance with Moore's will of not watching the Watchmen (movie) is shaking.

Declan Burke said...

Marco - Bear in mind that I haven't read the graphic novel, so maybe I'm easily impressed ... But the last time I walked away from a cinema feeling bushwhacked and gobsmacked by a movie, it was 'The Matrix'.

Cheers, Dec

Peter Rozovsky said...

I was neither gobsmacked nor bushwhacked by "The Matrix." More like hornswoggled, really. But "Watchmen" did impress me as a graphic novel, and I'll likely see the movie.

Two points in the movie's favor: I have read that it dispensed with one element of the story that seemed to me would have been exceedingly difficult to work in, and the clips I've seen are visually faithful to the book.
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Anonymous said...

I had a nagging feeling throughout the movie that the they chose the wrong girl for the (younger) Silk Spectre; all the other character choices were perfect tho