Ultimate Geek Fu

Compare and Contrast


We were watching Watchmen the other night. Don't ask me why; I'm not exactly certain how it happened and don't know that I could explain if I tried. Just suffice to say: we were watching Watchmen, when suddenly The Kid piped up with one of those amazingly trenchant observations he sometimes blurts out that makes me wonder why his teachers always say he's so quiet in school.

"Oh," he said, nodding at the TV. "I get it. Watchmen is just like The Incredibles, only with everything exciting, funny, or interesting sucked out of it."

You know, he's right. The Incredibles is right up there with Captain America as being a movie that's pure joy to watch, while Watchmen is right down there with... Superman Returns? Swamp Thing? That Batman movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Hence today's UGF question, and it's a simple one. One idea. Two movies. What makes one fun and a good story to boot, while the other is a tedious plod?

Let the arguments begin.

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ULTIMAGE GEEK FU runs every Wednesday. Have a question that's just bugging the heck out of you about Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Star This, Star That, Star Whatever, The Starlost, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Firefly, Fringe, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville, True Blood, The X-Files, The X-Men, The Man From Atlantis, or pretty much any other SF- or fantasy-flavored media property? Send it to slushpile@thefridaychallenge.com with the subject line, "Geek Fu," and we'll stuff it in the queue.