MovieChat Forums > Alpointeu (2004) Discussion > Deathwatch

Deathwatch

posted 19 years ago by leah-h
20 replies | jump to latest

I saw R-Point yesterday and my biggest impression of it is that it's exactly like 2002's Deathwatch, only instead of featuring nine British soldiers in the First World War, it's nine Korean soldiers in the Vietnam war. And I didn't think it pulled it off quite as well as Deathwatch.

Apparently R-Point is going to get the Hollywood treatment soon, but I have to wonder why: didn't Deathwatch come out in America? Maybe it didn't do very well...

Anyone else got any thoughts?

[–] erik88-1 19 years ago

I've just seen R-Point and I thought the exact same thing. But R-point is way more scary.

[–] hopeasusi 19 years ago

Deathwatch was really awful excuse for a movie. British actors trying to be German soldiers at WWII and still now even trying to lose their own accent? Com'n... And the plot was not even worthy to be mentioned among all other things.

R-Point at the other hand is quite amusing with it's ghost theme and all. But I think the ending fails a bit... maybe more than a bit.

But then again, these are just my opinions.

[–] Darkfyre_rn 19 years ago

Think you got your movies mixed up. Deathwatch was 9 Brits in WW1, you're thinking of The Bunker mate, which wasn't that bad, then again I'm a Jason Flemyng fan. Deathwatch was pretty wicked for such a low budget movie, and Andy Serkis is a riot in it.

[–] Without_You 19 years ago

I can't help but agree with hopeasusi, deathwatch was one of the most useless films ive ever seen.

[–] lewis_hurt 19 years ago

Deathwatch was crap, r-point was good!
That is my view, i was deeply dissapointed with deathwatch and slightly by this movie.
Korea is the best up and coming film makers nation and soon will (hopefully) over take hollywood.
I somehow think this will not be on Hollywoods remake agenda as it deals with Veitnam war which has been a very controversal subject.

[–] Bigwolf_bigteeth 19 years ago

The remake has already been scheduled. No doubt it will involve American soldiers being haunted by the ghosts of VC. I can't wait for the Yanks to totally ruin it.

[–] Knight_Yellow 19 years ago

At least the yanks will actualy give you a clue as to why the entire film took place.

I too thought that r-point was very similar to Deathwatch, granted DW's acting was poorer and basicly the entire film was less "dark".....

But you could at least understand what was happening.

It might just be that the subtitles were very poor.... but i couldnt help but get lost 2 seconds into the movie...

Guy kills whore, finds his mate dying....

9 random soldiers are in some STD clinic.... then they are at a harbour with the other guy.

Turns out one of them doesnt excist, they kill some random VC, said VC appears randomly throughout the film....

people go crazy and start making odd mistakes (everybody is dying... but oh look i can see one of my long dead mates!!! ill go have a chat with him and break off from my squad!)

A lot of people would like to believe that the eastern directors credit their audiences with more intelligence.... i would doubt that.

Your average eastern film makes no sence at all...... Casshern, hero, flying daggers, r point.....

I would credit the lack of understanding to culturaly different directing... Eastern audiences dont want the answers to everything in their films.

Western audiences on the other hand prefer their movies to be explainable....

[–] StudioLAX 19 years ago

I dont want to insult anyones intelligence, but I think the whole point is that its supposed to be confusing.
After all life (and possibly death) doesn't have all its questions answered neatly like your typical Bruckheimer or some other money lender piece of box office cgi nonsense.
I for one want to see more films like this that force the viewer to think instead of spoon feeding them the answers.
Of course it could just be about the disorientating effects of war, and what happens when soldiers are somewhere they shouldn't be.

[–] Memories-Of-Murder 18 years ago

"Western audiences on the other hand prefer their movies to be explainable...."

Speak for yourself. Me, i have a big allergy to be spoonfed. If nature gave me that wodnerful thing that is the human brain, i'll not let it go to waste, evne if it's for going to watch a movie. Besides, it's way more fun to both watch and think a movie. Much more intense and rewarding experience. Beside,s the real effort is to not think while watching a movie, so why i would be so stupid to "turn by brain off", hem? Not worth the effort.

"This are Nice shoes! Couldn't you afford some real Nike?"

[–] pigface_uk 18 years ago

I had no problems understanding R-Point. Maybe not all of the 'western audience' likes the fact that Hollywood assumes we are all too stupid to work out a less-than-blindingly-obvious plotline?

[–] ShanksLFC 17 years ago

"Western audiences on the other hand prefer their movies to be explainable...."

Because Western cinema has been pounded into the dirt by purile, shallow Hollywood crap that has placed the standard at the level where plot and characterisation play second fiddle to special effects and 'the movie-star'. Just get Tom Cruise and some explosions and Hollywood's happy.

[–] disastrophy 19 years ago

Deathwatch. That's EXACTLTY what I said!!

In my opinion Deathwatch is a film much better - quicker movement of plot, characters are more engaging - although, if I didn't see Deathwatch, I think R-Point is a very good film.

Its biggest fault is the plot moves so slow, but aside from that it's mostly all good; good acting, there is alot of tension build up, and the message behind the story comes across clearly.

I don't think the developement of characters is absolutely essential (in Deathwatch it was a bonus more than a neccessity). After all, the story is not about THEM as people, but how, in war, people die and they become mere statistics; they are obliterated as if they mean nothing, have no life story etc.

Yes, I definitely reccomend it to anyone, if they have or haven't seen Deathwatch.

[–] caljones 18 years ago

I'd agree with that and Knight Yellow's analysis of R Point.
I preferred Deathwatch by quite a long way. There were some pretty grizzly deaths in that and it was pretty creepy.
R Point just jumped around and left too much unexplained.

[–] gafferg 18 years ago

I agree with most posters on this board,i thought deathwatch was an atmospheric movie with a half decent plot, not a classic by any description but not a bad way to kill a couple of hours!Watched r-point last night and was hugely disapointed.It's just pieces of other films thrown together(deathwatch,the trench,the keep even a bit of apocalypse now!)Apart from the awesome oldboy and the decent brotherhood i'm still waiting to see the fruits of the much hyped korean film industry.....

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lyricalysound 18 years ago

Right Knight_Yellow, and you know exactly how a soldier in a combat situation reacts, right? Because you yourself have been in a combat situation before right?

[–] Knight_Yellow 18 years ago

And you have been in a combat situation i take it?

Thats a no is it?

ahh good.

"Oh my dead friend who got killed when he seperated from the team is calling me over to him!, ill just seperate from my team to go talk to the walking corpse of my dead friend.... there is nothing that could possibly come back to bite my arse about this"

[–] rick-deckard45 18 years ago

Deathwatch is worse than this. I give R-Point about a 5/10, but Deathwatch rates at highest 2/10

[–] suckerforhorror 16 years ago

Deathwatch is 1000 times better than this slow boring crap

Lucky Ones Die Fast

[–] Strazdamonas 15 years ago

"Apparently R-Point is going to get the Hollywood treatment soon, but I have to wonder why: didn't Deathwatch come out in America?"

How can hollywood miss the opportunity to make money of a known title without having to make any new ideas.

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"Common sense is not so common."
- Voltaire