2019 is definitely DC's headwinds turnaround year.
Released in North America on October 4, 2019, "Joker" has grossed 760 million yuan worldwide, and it is about to break the record of 785 million for "Deadpool 2", which is the number one R movie at the box office.
And in the field of TV dramas, it is also not far behind.
The comic book series "Watchmen" from DC, produced by HBO, began broadcasting on October 20, 2019.
With more than 800,000 live TV viewers on the day of the broadcast and 1.5 million viewers on streaming on demand, HBO officially said that it was the best new streaming show to premiere after "Westworld".
Speaking of HBO, which is responsible for shooting, everyone will certainly not be unfamiliar. As an American drama gangster, HBO has always been known for its yellow riots, and has produced a series of divine dramas such as "Game of Thrones", "The Underworld", "Political Edge", "Westworld" and so on.
The series is based on the comic book of the same name, Watchmen, and was first published in 1986 by Alain Moore of "DC Life Black". It has won the Hugo Award for the "Nobel Prize for Literature in the Science Fiction Art World" and has been listed in the "100 Best English Novels since 1923" in Time Magazine for many years.
Primarily reflecting the Cold War-era public perception of the era and society full of divisions and contradictions, the comics create a world of new heroes, villains, and anti-heroes, including memorable characters such as Rorschach, Serena II, Pharaoh, Night Owl II, Dr. Manhattan, and The Laughing Master.
As an anti-heroic superhero film, the work has profound ideological connotations and complex plots, so it has been called "the most difficult comic in history to adapt".
In fact, in 2009, Zach Schneider had already challenged adapting it into the film of the same name, "Watchmen", which faithfully restored the comic and was basically recognized by most fans, including the original.
So, what's the difference between this version?
First, the tv series is not a direct adaptation of the manga but a sequel to it, set 35 years after the original Pharaoh created an environmental crisis with giant octopuses to unite humanity and succeed.
Judging from the first episode of the current update, the whole world of the drama version has changed a lot. In this world, the police have become "paper tigers" who need to apply for permission to carry guns, masked to save their lives, while Rorschach masks have become amulets for the white supremacist terrorist organization known as the "Seventh Cavalry Regiment".
The story revolves around the contradiction between the police and the "Seventh Cavalry Regiment".
At the beginning of the story, a question is asked in the form of a black-and-white film:
"Lynching thieves."
"There will be no mob justice today. Trust the law. ”
The black-and-white movie the boy watches is "Believe in the Law", which features Beth Reeves, the first African-American bailiff in American history.
Here one can't help but think further, when the police abuse lynching, can we still trust the law? And in the original "Who enforces the law, who is watching?" "The thinking is the same.
The opening scene shows the Tursha Race Riots of 1921, a fierce and violent confrontation between blacks and whites, and a black child survived.
Then in 2019, black police officers were killed by people from the Seventh Corps, and Police Chief Judd Crawford, played by Don Johnson, launched an investigation alongside "The Speculum" played by Tim Blake Nelson.
Angela, played by the new character Regina King, hides her eyes as a baker, and she is actually a police officer known as the "Sister of the Night", and she is quick to arrest the suspect.
The "Speculum" interrogates the prisoners with rorschach inkblot tests to get clues, and the "Nuns of the Night" and her party directly pound the nest of the cavalry regiment and kill several creeps.
On the other side, the pharaoh, who is reported to be dead, appears, and two robot servants he built celebrate the anniversary at the castle, saying that he is going to write the script "The Watchmaker's Son", apparently plotting a conspiracy related to Dr. Manhattan.
Here Angela is called out by the wheelchair old man and sees the police chief hanging from a tree, and the wheelchair old man is the surviving black child who was killed that year, which makes people speculate that his motive is related to the massacre in 1921.
As you can see after an episode, although the story is set in 2019, it is a familiar and unfamiliar 2019.
Here, Nie mousson won the Vietnam War and Vietnam became the 51st state of the United States, and the actor Robert Redford has been the president of the United States for 30 years in the play, and he is still very unpopular.
People read newspapers and connect with pagers, while smartphones and the internet are unheard of.
Policing has become a dangerous job, guns are locked down, and superheroes are outlawed.
Unlike the second part of the original work, the TV drama version has a strong racist and critical color.
This new setting has polarized evaluation and discredited reviews.
The Douban score fell to 7.9 points, and there were many complaints such as "the racial problem is old-fashioned" and "deviated from the original idea".
Rotten Tomatoes is a huge difference in freshness between 98% of critics and 45% of viewers.
In particular, fans of the original were disappointed by its innovation, angrily commenting:
Thank you for ruining another IP! Total disrespect for the original. The only thing that is similar to a comic book is the name Watchmen
In Chen Chen's view, the criticism of racism in the play seems to be an old problem, but it is actually a new problem.
In fact, before the TV series was broadcast, not many people knew about the 1921 Tursha race riot, called the "riot", but it was actually a large-scale racist violence led by the Ku Klux Klan, which almost destroyed the entire black community.
"White Oklahoma killed and brutally treated hundreds of African Americans and eliminated the thriving cultural and financial district that would later become Black Wall Street." Within 48 hours, this African-American business, culture, cinema, candy, machinery, art was suddenly and completely gone. ”
As of 2019, the incident has not appeared in American classroom education, so many Americans are learning about it for the first time from the show.
And here is precisely the new dimension introduced by the TV series that fits the reality of the moment, that is, how to realistically and urgently describe the racist massacre that is not fully reflected in the media and education.
To this end, the main creative team made a detailed investigation and preparation, as far as possible to restore the scene of the incident.
For example, the JN-4 biplane piloted by the white racist that appears at the beginning bombs the "Black Wall Street" in Greenwood District.
Of course, the audience's resistance to racial issues is also understandable. Whether it is Marvel's first black protagonist hero "Black Panther" winning an Oscar before, or DC's next "New Batman" "all black heroes" plan, the first "head drama" starring black women, "Watchmen", seems to have kept up with this trend.
Holding high the correct banner of ZZ has caused many people to resent it, which is also the reason for the word-of-mouth reaction of the drama version.
What is two sides of the same coin is that a drama that wants to be closely related to the current reality seems to be unable to avoid the hot spots of the current racial issue.
The drama version's grasp of the current reality can not stop here, such as the relationship between the police and the masked "Seventh Cavalry Regiment" in the play, but it is easy to think of the Problem of France.
In addition, the advantages of the drama version are still obvious.
First, the Easter egg package, there are homages everywhere, the original powder gospel.
The first episode of the drama version can set off a game of digging Easter eggs, and there are countless tributes to the original work, which fully shows the screenwriter Damon Lindelof's love for comics. Here CC sorted out the Easter eggs that appeared inside, welcome to add.
1. Tv shows Dr. Manhattan building a castle on Mars.
2. The newspapers reported the death of Pharaoh, but later indicated that he was still alive.
3. The 1985 year of Rorschach's diary is the code for the Chamber of Secrets.
4. "Octopus Rain" is a sequelae of the pharaoh's use of octopus-like monsters to "attack across latitudes".
5. Several DC heroes are played on the screen: Captain Met, Laughter, Mothman, Hundred Dollar Bill, Silk Soul, Night Owl, Hooded Judge.
6. Pay tribute to the Laughter Splash Blood Badge in many places.
Second, cool costumes, excellent soundtrack photography, and a strong creative team.
What is particularly handsome in the film is the moment when the "Sister of the Night" changes her outfit, frantically dragging the cool bully.
The main creative team is also very strong. Co-directed by Nicole Cassel and Stephen Williams, the series has also been well received for his plays such as Westworld, The Dirty Lawyer, and Watchmen.
The soundtrack was original scored by The Social Network's Oscar winners Atticus Ross and Trent Renault, blending in with excellent cinematography and editing.
It was written by Damon Lindelof, a screenwriter for Lost and Haus, and Dave Gibson, a screenwriter for Ace Agent.
Starring in the Academy Award-winning Regina King, Don Johnson, Jeremy Irons, acting skills have been guaranteed.
In addition to the above two points, the smooth narrative, smooth editing, and just the right rhythm of the drama version are undoubtedly the necessary qualities of high-quality dramas.
However, after watching the drama version, some viewers may have a black question mark face, it is undeniable that it is indeed not very friendly to passers-by, but do not be dissuaded, I believe that through the above analysis you will have a rough grasp of the drama version.
Overall, the drama version continues the original "Who guards the caretaker?" In addition to the critical logic, a new dimension of racial issues has also been introduced, similar to the setting of parallel time and space in 2019 and the ubiquitous Easter eggs, with many elements making the drama version more like a remix version of a comic and a movie.
The first episode also left many questions, such as what is the origin of that panda police officer? Is the sheriff driving the Night Owl airship a second-generation Night Owl? Was the Pharaoh imprisoned in the castle by Dr. Manhattan? How are U.S.-Soviet relations now?
Among them, the biggest question is, is the police chief killed by the wheelchair old man? Did he join the white supremacist Seventh Cavalry Regiment as a black man?
If the negro elderly had joined, cc speculate here that the "Seventh Cavalry Regiment" may have internal divisions caused by different interpretations of Rorschach's ideas, and their behavior may not be all evil, and perhaps there will be a reversal later.
At the end of the first episode, the white police chief, the genocide survivor wheelchair black, and the black Angela who fights for the director, form an antagonistic relationship, angela is in the black and white poles.
At the same time, she is also a Vietnamese who is now ruled by the United States. The plot after that is likely to revolve around the contradictions and entanglements of Angela's identity, and this dramatic tension is undoubtedly a point of view.
Not to mention the Pharaoh's Great Broadcast (Fog), Angela's passionate charm awaits you.
In short, the excitement has just begun, the good drama is still to come, there is no need to make a conclusion prematurely, and it is worth looking forward to seeing how it fills the pit.
Bluestone Film Editorial Office | Morning