It’s so nice to watch a movie that has a well-written script, addresses potential plot holes and deals with exposition intelligently.

Despite the fact that nothing blows up, at least not physically, in this movie, I enjoyed it immensely. It’s certainly pretty, and the acting is wonderful. Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer) is beautiful, but the movie makes absolutely no attempt to hide her age, or the physical differences between Lea and her much younger lover. It’s based on a French novel, so of course there is Drama, but it is not stupid drama. One of the reasons I really loathe romances (aside from the lack of boom boom pow and all that) is the creation of artificial obstacles, usually by the device of having the characters act like they have the IQ of warm jellyfish. Here, nobody is stupid – not even Edmee, the very young and innocent wife – and the obstacles are very real, not simply things that would vanish if people stopped being foolish.

Rupert Friend is, of course, the eye candy, but by jingo he can act.  As can everyone else in this movie.  It’s not often that a movie that would be watchable with the sound off is a thousand times better with it on.

1. What is up with the musical score? It’s like they got bored partway in and just used the director’s iPod set to “shuffle”. 99 Luftballons – seriously?

2. Apollonia Vanova: HOT. AS SUNS ARE HOT.

3. Truly not following the pretentious-movie-critic whining about the violence. Hey, about violence? It is violent. And ugly. Apparently the chattering classes would have preferred The Comedian’s attack on Silk Spectre to be more like Rhett Butler dragging Scarlett O’Hara upstairs, rather than, oh, actually beating the crap out of a woman so she isn’t in any position to fight off a brutal sexual assault.  A.O. Scott’s adult sensibilities are offended at the notion that if a superhero beats up a bad guy, that is going to involve pain, and broken bones and crippling, bleeding injuries, instead of an “Oof!” and a pratfall.  I’d suggest that these critics need to spend less time in confined spaces where the main meal is popcorn, and more time on the planet with the rest of us.

4. She’s right: Ozymandias is an asshole.

5. Yes, the squid ending was changed. No, this is not really a problem. There are many things that work in a graphic novel that would look stupid on the big screen, and a giant vaginaform squid is one of them. The plot change got to the same place without changing the story.

6. I’m actually OK with the sex scene even though it was kind of unnecesary and overlong. It does show a lot of the dynamic between Silk Spectre II and Night Owl II; he’s sort of along for the ride and baffled about it and she is, basically, running the show.

7. I wonder how much of some people’s offense is really rooted in the fact that there is male nudity as well as female. I suppose they wanted Dr. Manhattan to constantly be clad in discreet Jack Kirby-style boy shorts.

Old Master Fu! Reborn heroes! Giant scaly evil wyrms devouring elephants! Helicopter vs. flying dragon aerial combat over Los Angeles! Grim-faced FBI agents trying to figure out just what the hell we’re dealing with here, Mr. Secretary of Defense! Angst-ridden Korean doomed lovers!

Gamemaster Joe-Bob says check it out.