Almost Perfect

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2009)

I have already shared some of my sulky after-movie rants here when I expected more from a comic book (or graphic novel) adaptation, and I thought while they are making films for profit they wont allow to lose megabucks in favor of some graphic violence. Never mind four letter words or sexually explicit scenes, which probably fall under more strict classification, maybe because they make a character more realistic (and Hollywood wouldn't want to be blamed for some kids getting mixed up between reality and the virtual universe), or more likely it's just the usual hypocrisy.
And now we can see it in full blow: aged ex-heroine boozing at two in afternoon, a physicist turned into a god-like creature who starts to develop god-like aloofness towards mankind, and a violent macho symbolising America's usually concealed or denied fascism and superiority complex. Mind you these are some of the good guys we're talking about! There are some more good guys with a little more touch of the boy scout creed of an average superhero but they wont be caught feeling squeamish about shedding blood and wont say crap instead of f**k, either. (They even do it not just say it!)
The cold war's atmosphere is captivating, but there's even more to it than the paranoid fear of a once highly potential nuclear holocaust. One of my favorite lines is when Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) goes about solving the general problem of mankind. In brief, he puts it this way: we don't need to declare war on any nation or anything more than 'the evils that beset' men. And this thing is the artificially expensive energy (sources like fossil fuels and oil) that is being used for the only sake of maintaining the economy. This way of thinking wasn't new in the eighties but nobody gave it a f**k, and now it is still vastly ignored on high levels but this is the very reason I am really glad they cared to give it some place in the movie. For the usual moviegoer a bullet in between Lee Iacocca's eyes wont say much but it was my secret warm spot :)
Apart from the deep thoughts there is what we can expect from a director like Snyder: beautifully choreographed fighting scenes every now and again. And not just in the third tier (as it's usually the case in this genre) but we're welcome with one great fight in the first few minutes. I felt ever so satisfied that there was only one character that could do harm by supernatural means, as the others had to perform some real exquisite stunts. This is what I call comic book on the screen, and Snyder proved that 300 wasn't just an accident.
I don't want to spoil the story, but the endgame is a real treat too, without any of the usual Hollywood cheesiness or ignorant spoon-fed moral. Something to think about and at the time of writing I have to admit it is even more. It's a magnetism that I feel very rarely: I simply must see it again in the movies, as I can't wait for the DVD release. Let's hope it'll be a major blockbuster and also a critically acclaimed piece and so we can hope for a long awaited beginning of the adulthood of comic book adaptations. Keep up the good work Zack Snyder!