I thought that the film improved on the comic in a number of respects, from eliminating the casual racism, to giving the characters more realistic motivations (like Big Daddy's backstory, which I see no reason to doubt being as presented [ties into Marcus' actions and dialogue too neatly], the reaction of Hit-Girl to her father's death, Dave's reactions to the bloodshed about him. etc.).  Nor do I find fault with its straying from realism, given the prevalence of this throughout.  Without that, there is no film (or comic).

I was never really into comics as a kid.  As such, I was only aquainted with what was happening in the industry thanks to the ravings of a couple of friends who were big fans.  Even so, the series might have escaped my notice had I not been playing in a Superheroes RPG in the mid 1990's.  One of my comic-obsessed friends was running that campaign, and noted some similarities between a character I was playing and that of Rorschach.  He loaned me a copy of the issue where Rorschach was roaming around breaking bones while trying to dig up information.  I was immediately hooked.

What followed was a two week odyssey whilst I visited every comic shop in town trying to pick up all of the issues of this 7-year-old series.  Read was followed by re-read.  Many times.  It continued to influence my thoughts on the genre and a much later supers RPG campaign began to get populated by NPCs inspired by the series - Laurence Schexnayder, Janey Slater, Edward Blake, etc.   I began to follow other comics, particularly Alan Moore's other works, and ones that followed his footsteps such as _Sandman_, _Rising Stars_ and _Powers_.  I have dressed twice as Rorschach for Halloween, to the puzzlement of most of the people about me (except those blessed enough to be in the know like me).

Over the years, I have also followed the buzz about the movie project, largely with disdain that it could be properly brought to screen.  I doubted that any studio or director would have the balls to do a faithful adaptation.  As I saw how good an adaptation Zack Snyder did of _300_, however, I began to have a little hope.  And when the first trailer (scored with the very appropriate Smashing Pumpkins song) hit, I rejoiced to see shot after shot directly lifted from the comic.

Even now I have my doubts about the film - some of the casting has me concerned, and I worry about changes to the story even as I admit the logic behind them.  Regardless I simply cannot wait for March 6th and have infected my family with my enthusiasm.

WRT Peter Jackson. While I loved the LoTR series, Peter Jackson wouldn't recognize subtlety if it came up and bit him on the ass. A Jackson-directed _Thor_ movie would be high on visual spectacle, but low on humanity (think _King Kong_). I personally think Branagh is a much better choice, and the lack of an "event movie" on his resume bothers me not at all.

Both the plot and low-budget fx remind me of The Chronicles of Riddick. I would also agree with the Uwe Boll comparisons. I expect this to suck hard.

I'm with you, Shadow. As an adaptation, _Starship Troopers_ could hardly have been worse. It twisted the very message of the book and did away with the coolest concepts invented in it - the powered armor, tactical nuclear weapons, 30 second bombs, etc. Instead the film revelled in idiotic tactics and equipment, turned Raczak into a brute, and turned the elite Mobile Infantry into brainlessly ineffective groundpounders. The only defense I've seen for the film is that Verhoeven was "parodying" Heinlein, and even that is a massive stretch.<br /> Independant of its lack of value as an adaptation, as a SF film, Troopers was a forgettable and moronic POS that proved that the director of _Robocop_ had long since lost it (I mean - dodging FTL asteroids in spacecraft? Come on!). Even remembering it puts a bad taste in my mouth. This film merits only scorn and oblivion, not nostalgia.

Heh - it looks like I'm 180 degrees from everyone else here. I generally *like* this show. I *like* that the protagonist has had children. I *like* the fact that he doesn't try to hide his age, but counts on everyone else thinking he's a world-class bullshitter. I *like* that he reinvents himself every few years. Altogether it adds up to a Highlanderesque show with a very different feel to it and a sense of optimism unusual for this typically-melodramatic genre. That being said, I don't think it is a perfect show. I question the point of making the doc married if it doesn't delay her getting together with Amsterdam at all. I wonder how Amsterdam's past has escaped scrutiny by his coworkers given his stories. Still, given a dearth of better content on teevee these days, I'm hoping that it gets picked up.

The plot sounds fantastic, but I found it surprisingly 'meh'. Borrow it from your local library instead first.

gauley: it was written in 2004-2005ish, iirc. So definitely "inspired by". I liked the concept, but the plot and execution of the book was kind of hum-drum, so the concept of a movie version doesn't get me all that excited.

"Zagyg (Gygax spelled backwards)" Err - no it's not. It's clearly derived from Gygax, but still...

almostunbiased: could you be thinking of the similarly-named "Session 9" which also took place in an abandoned hospital? That was a 2001 film, however, which makes it older than you describe. Decent film, though. Atmospheric.