Oct 20 2008Does 'Watchmen' End Differently Than You Remember It Ending?

That better not be true. They couldn't have gone through all that work to make background details mimic the original, and then totally change the ending. Doesn't make sense....

You know, because it doesn't make sense, I'm starting to think it has to be true.

If this is true, I'm going slap Zack Snyder round the face with a squid.

Yup, no squid in the movie. That's how it was written in the script.

Spoilers

I don't understand why such a critical thing would be changed? Did they worry that a modern audience wouldn't understand that the belief (that aliens were attempting to invade across dimensions, and frying brains in the process) would be plausible in a comic version of the 80s? Changing the crisis to just bombs blowing up is so boring I hardly know what to say. We have bombs blowing up in the real world, I can watch a Die Hard crapathon for that. This is really really disappointing, I'm worried if I haven't been recommending this movie in vain.

They'll regret it later if they changed that large of a plot point... this whole project lives or dies on the fans of the graphic novel.

and hell... I didn't even know Goonies was ever a comic!

*eats Advil Tablet*
oh sorry, I have a headach that's all

will so many people be mad if the endings different? maybe it's not, and he just added to it??

Having read the Watchmen comic this past weekend, I can say that this disappoints me in every single way. Even sexually.

Um, this potentially altered ending makes no sense.

How would it help fulfill Oz's plan to unify the human race by setting of explosions at various points across the globe? It'll just look like a global war has commenced, which would immediately make everything worse...

bitch bitch bitch

Ridiculousness. If this is true, oh god over half of the population going to see the movie will absolutely riot!

Remember how they made "The Mist" EXACTLY like the book except for the ending - which destroyed the entire (otherwise perfect) movie?

Looks like that might happen with the Watchmen! YAY!!!

I have sort of a conundrum here. I'm a fan of the book, but i've been seriously skeptical about any of this, especially with Zack Snyder involved, and when I try to explain to people why I think this, I sort of feel silly. My view is that production values have sort of gone downhill in the past 6-8 years (or more?), and while the massive amount of money and engineering that has gone in VFX in the last decade, I really feel like VFX people just aren't nearly as talented, and don't put as much thought or effort into effects like they did in the 80's or 90's, which affect sthe way I see the film overall.. I work in the field, so alot of people I know are involved in this stuff, but I always feel bad saying (thinking?) it.

Does anyone else feel like this???

I don't think the giant monster would have been so well received by the mass audience. To be honest, when I read Watchmen, that was one of the WTF moments that I found hard to swallow. I still think it's a very well written story, but maybe this is more relevant. Afterall, the doomsday clock is set at 5 to midnight indicating high tension between the U.S. and Russia.
Veidt wanted to unify people by presenting them with an unknown, common enemy, which would have ended the nuclear conflict... ideally. I wonder how they justify the nuclear explosions in the movie. They've got my attention. I can't criticize it until I see it.

God dammit. Since Snyder had the balls to make a Greek homoerotic screensaver into a movie, I thought he'd be the man to
give me my vagina mouthed squid beast. For shame Zack Snyder, for shame.

#4 Die Hard crapathon... You my friend are an idiot.

S.O.B. That really sucks, I loved the original ending. This suck's.

It was a fake ending. In final movie there will be the giant squid.

i just hope they blow that giant squid up with nuclear-like bombs...

Well lets just hope this is wrong information leaked on purpose to throw us off. Like in Cloverfield when the drawings of the monster came out then it was totally different. We make them do that by blabbing everything we hear as a rumor and spoiling it.

@#17 Eru,
Where did you hear that? I'd really like to know. I'm sure a lot of us would.

Alright, we all know it sucks when one of our favorite books has an ending change when it goes to film. But as comic geeks don't we constantly see the changing circumstances and attitudes of our favorite characters over the years? How many continuity rewrites (Zero Hour and AOA for example) have changed an origin story or a "death of" story. Every artist envisions their adaption of an existing work differently and sometimes everything pans out and sometimes it crumbles in a damn hulk movie where hulk in fact, does not smash (Ang Lee will never be forgiven!). While not having the squid is different, as long as this (ridiculous) nuke ending flows with an enjoyable film, I'm willing to give it a shot. Though deep down I too am hoping for a super secret squid ending, because as a life long comic geek, I love the old bait and switch. (And squids rule, vote Cthulhu 2008!)

Entertainment Weekly's special on the film said "the apocalyptic ending is different".

Okay, I have gone to A LOT of sources, and the giant squid is in.

I soooo hope so TetraShiva. Snyder hasnt stopped talking about faithful his film is going to be to the book that if that ending change is true then he is a BIG FAT PHONY!!

I hate to say it but I agree with #13. The giant squid at the end was always a "Did I just miss something?" albeit "Neato..." moment of the comic.

As someone who is not a complete comic geek, I have witnessed two very different reactions to the inter dimensional squid alien ending. A lot of people just don't get it and are therefore alienated by it. Although, this alternate ending is just plain horrible. Why the hell does Ozy and Doc Manhattan team up to build a machine??? Why do they team up at all??? Of all the cool things Doc Manhattan can do... He chooses to mimic nuclear bombs? Lame.

Well, the giant squid may be a bit dated. However, having Doc and Ozy working together as if that would make sense. The nukes going off all over the world makes me think they confused the point of saving the world.

Right, Veidt sees Manhattan as a threat and tries to destroy him in the novel. Then Giant Dr. Manhattan almost kills him until Veidt convinces him to stop. Then he starts believing that Veidt's plan is for the greater good. But it takes some convincing, anyway. Why would they team up?

Even if the original ending isn't in the theater version, I hope they filmed it anyway just to put on the DVD. That would be good, since they'll probably have to cut the movie anyway and add some content for a director's cut DVD release.

all you little fan boys newbs need to STFU. Zack made the right choice in removing the squid. both ideas have the same effect, zacks choice is more believable and IMHO gets the point across more efficiently!

Dane, you sound like a fanboy of Zack's.

I will gave Zach raped by gorillas if this true

I hear that Ozy uses the machine to frame Manhattan; ie, convince the world that Manhattan is the common enemy.

To those who say this movie lives and dies on how the diehards receive it - I imagine that demographic will actually be a rather small percentage - how many Dark Knight movie fans have actually ever read any Batman comics? Movie reach a much, much bigger movies than even classic comics like this do. Sure, they may piss you off - but they'll be raking in the money from everyone else. I fear the samething (potentially even worse) for The Spirit.

I heard of Watchmen during my teens circa mid 1990s, and the work has been referenced on plenty of works and TV shows. The ending needs to be the same. That strengthened the whole point of the story. Who Watches the Watchmen? Plus, nuclear bombs don't make sense because it would confuse all the nations and start a war instead of ending it.
Enter ANARCHY: The squid happening was to confuse all the global powers that there was a bigger threat out there, and fighting amongst each other was futile if the planet was threatened by an alien force. That ended the war and brought everyone together. I know that people didn't understand the book, or forgot what Moore was telling us with his story because of the Giant Squid. I love the ending in the book. I love the story and the characters, and I think people today are smart enough that after watching all the events that ocurred in the book through the movie, if it's faithful to the book, that a giant squid exploding at the heart of New York City to kill masses of people, would make perfect sense about ending a war. Heck, even watching Veidt question Doc Manhattan if what he did was right, brough that sense of insecurity about the whole thing. Who watches the Watchmen? Watchmen is incredible and in no way outdated.

I'm SO fuckin pissed that they took out the squid!! I'm still gonna see the movie, but damn!!

Saw the movie last night, no squid. its junk really, the movie felt empty.

Im a huge fan of the comics and when i saw the film i think they choice in ending was perfect. it made the movie more relate able to the public. i think people would have laughed at the giant squid and would have been pissed about it. example: actually showing the alien in indiana jones
i also like it because its different from the novel so its almost like two different pieces of work... bottom line they needed to change that for the movie to be received well by more than just fanboys.

Just thought folks might like to hear from someone who never read the graphic novel and came to the whole story fresh...the plotline of Ozymandias scheming behind Dr. Manhattan's back to bring the world together by framing Dr. Manhattan as their "common enemy" totally worked as an ironic, post-modern sci-fi/superhero movie plot. I think it still generates all the sort of moral conundrum questions about heroism and justice and what-is-the-right-thing-to-do that I understand Watchmen to have raised in the first place. It also opens up great questions about whose ideas about a good, peaceful earth ought to prevail, and whether there is any sane way to ever get people to get along. Still, I'm sorry for the die-hard squid fans, though.