Director:
Zack Snyder
Trailer:
Slight Plot Summary: Since this is not explained in the trailer, and if you haven't read the source material can be kinda confusing. "Watchmen" takes place in an alternate 1985 where "superheros" or masked vigilantes have been commonplace since the 40's. In the 60's a laboratory accident created "Dr. Manhattan", an actual SUPER-hero with actual reality altering powers changed the entire face of the world, and the other "superheros" place in the world. These heros fought in Vietnam, changing the outcome of the war, and having vietnam become our 51st state. Afterwards a police strike caused vigilantes to be outlawed, all except government sponsored ones, of which there were only two. President Nixon is in his fifth term in office, and the "Doomsday" clock for tensions with Russia that could result in Nuclear war is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. This setting is where our story starts.
Review: Having been deemed "The unfilmable graphic novel", one could assume that I was very eager to see this film, and you would be correct. So it was with great anticipation and excitement that my wife, Hawk, Dove, Dove's sister, and myself took in the 3/7 showing at our local theater. I was particularly interested to see how the Hawk clan would view the movie, as they had almost no knowledge of the source material it would be a good comparison to my wife and I who have read it.
Performance: I'll put to rest any Rorschach fears early. He was played to perfection by Jackie Haley I thought, which is pretty crucial as he's basically the narrator of the story and the driving force of the plot for the entire first half of the 160 minute film (Yep, almost three hours, empty bladder beforehand and bring a snack). The Comedian was also portrayed admirably is what I would call the best Jeffery Dean Morgan performance to date. This character fit him so much better then the crap part he's playing on Grey's Anatomy these days. It reminded me of his short stint on Supernatural where he played the boys father which I enjoyed. Nite Owl was adequately portrayed as the insecure depressed person whose missing a part of himself that he is in the comic. Ozymandias retains his pompous attitude and massive superiority complex to a tee. The only performance I was disappointed in was Malin Akerman's playing Laurie Jupiter. I found her performance reserved, like something was missing from it. Maybe it was just the naked sincerity that all the other characters give off that makes her performance pale in comparison. Aside from Rorschach, I was most impressed by Billy Crudup's portrayal of Doctor Manhattan. The emotional detachment of the character is crucial to the plot of the story, and i think it was a credit to the source material.
Plot: The plot of "Watchmen" has never been overly complex. It's a murder mystery that leads to a conspiracy. Nothing new exactly. Where watchman shines are the flashbacks showing how these characters got to where they were in life. It's a overly complex portrayal of something that usually is done in the first half hour of an origin story ala Spider-man. What is this character's motivation, and where does he come from. The 6 character's in "Watchmen" are real dysfunctional people. They make mistakes, errors in judgment, some are just plain cruel. A ton of info that was in the graphic novel to set the world mood was cut out for time, and some events and dialogue changed hands or moved to slightly different locations for the sake of simplicity in time. However, the changes were minor, and did not distract from the core plot which was wholly intact I am happy to say.
Special effects: I found the effects to be superb. The Dr. Manhattan glow effect was really something to behold, and you could tell that a lot of work went into getting that lighting right. We are really getting to the point where it's getting harder and harder for you to tell what's digital and what's reality. I thoroughly enjoyed the sequences of Dr. Manhattan taking complicated machines apart with his mind, and all the parts of it floating around him as he made adjustments and then put it back together. Rorschach's constantly shifting mask was intact, although the fabric they chose for it I thought was kinda dingy, in the comic it's bright white which makes for a much more dramatic effect. The only flaw I saw really, was that the older heroes like Sally's mother really didn't look her age that well. I've seen much better aging jobs in other films, but then again, this wasn't a make-up heavy film so it might not have been the best guy doing it. Something that was kept intact was the "graphic" nature of the graphic novel. While everything they portray did happen in the comic, the film really does show what happens when Dr. Manhattan explodes a Vietnamese soldier or Laurie Jupiter breaks someone's elbow. While on non-moving paper, the imagery of this stuff isn't as vivid as when it's moving and the camera zooms in on the bits. While everything looks amazingly accurate...for some folks it might be a little too much, and as such reduce Watchmen's mass appeal. NOTE: This film contains the most porn like sex scene, yes nudity and all that I've ever seen in a mass marketed film.
Enjoyment of experience and sum up: Overall I really liked the film, however I was alone in my level of admiration. My wife was a fan of the source material, but the realism level turned her off so much, that she came away with a sour taste of the film. Hawk thought it was interesting, but it didn't "do it" for him. Dove thought it was too long, and that's the only opinion i could get out of her. The sister just said it was "ok". So the reaction was kind of anti-climatic to my geek-asm over the source material being so well-maintained in the transition. In the end, I think that if you liked the source material, and don't have a problem with graphic imagery then you will really like Watchmen. I didn't think the length of the film was a problem as the pacing is done very well, however if you aren't interested then it would be a bore, so not a good date movie guys. if you know nothing about the Watchmen, then I think I'll have to say that you wait for video on this one.
Ratings out of 10:
Performance: 7
Plot: 7
Special effects: 8
Enjoyment of experience: 7
Desire to own: 10 (for the director's cut which features 40 more minutes of cut footage)
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Thanks for the review...its one we are wanting to see....he thinks it will be really good and Im just hoping it will be. Guess Ill have to tell you what I think once I see it!!
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