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New Yorker Spoils Watchmen Ending

Written by Kevin Johns

Wednesday, 04 March 2009 19:00

Watchman is many things, but it is primarily a mystery. Who murdered The Comedian? Who's behind the international events pushing the world closer and closer towards armageddon?

Well, if you want the answer to these questions, but don't feel like reading the book or seeing the movie, just read Anthony Lane's scathing review of Watchman in The New Yorker. By the third paragraph of the review, Lane has revealed the film's climax and completely spoiled the twist ending.

As (Cult)ure has reiterated before, the world needs film critics. What the world doesn't need are film critics who dislike a film so intensely that they become intent on spoiling it for everyone else before they even get a chance to see it.

We writers and editors continue to contribute to (Cult)ure because we love art and we want to help increase the pleasure other people get from art by stimulating discourse. Sometimes this discourse means positive reviews, sometimes it means negative reviews. At the end of the day, however, negative reviews are just warnings, a friendly heads-up to say, "this might not be worth your time." Nothing more, nothing less. We would never intentionally spoil other people's enjoyment of a work of art just because we do not think it is worthy of praise. What Anthony Lane has produced in his review isn't even criticism. It is sabotage. By ruining the surprise ending, Lane has stolen something away from every single audience member who wanted to make up their own mind about Watchman.

Other responses to Lane's review:

http://sanseverything.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/who-watches-the-watchmen-watchers/

http://thesomewhatambitious.com/2009/03/a-review-of-a-review-anthony-lanes-review-of-the-watchmen/

http://www.orbis-quintus.net/?p=3731

http://mountainofjudgment.blogspot.com/2009/03/anthony-lane-watches-watchmen.html

http://edgeofthewest.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/watchmen-and-the-scene-of-reading-being-a-response-to-anthony-lanes-review-of-zack-snyders-adaptation-of-alan-moore-and-dave-gibbons-novel/

http://www.metroactive.com/metro/03.04.09/film-watchmen-0909.html

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April Yorke

March 05, 2009

Votes: +0

Anthony Lane sucks my balls

OMG! I not at all surprised by Lane. When I wrote that piece, I assuredly did not mean him. It's not the first time he's stirred up controversy by giving away the plot in his reviews, and, having read him, I feel confident adding that he's an idiot. He got slapped around for his "sexist" review of Sex and the City: The Movie. His review wasn't sexist; it was ignorant and displayed a basic inability to follow the plot. Given that half of it was fashion montages, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Gah! I hate spoilers!

Brendan Blom

March 06, 2009

Votes: +0

Anthony Lane

I just read Lane's review - er, four hours before I'm going to see the movie.

I think Lane's kind of like Homer Simpson with an education. The last line of his review is, "'Watchmen' marks the final demolition of the comic strip, and it leaves you wondering: where did the comedy go?"

Apparently Lane likes his comic/graphic/illustrated books and the movies based on them to be humorous. Kind of like Homer hitting the TV and shouting, "Be more funny!"

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Last Updated on Friday, 06 March 2009 05:52

Kevin Johns is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

New Yorker Spoils Watchmen Ending

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