Movie Review - Watchmen

(WARNING: Incoherent rambling debating Books vs. Movies ahead. Skip to next paragraph for review.) Let me start by saying that, a year ago, I read the “Watchmen” graphic novel by Alan Moore. Since then, I have been wondering how you could turn a story that complex and dense into a movie that wasn’t at least 6 hours long. It turns out that all you’d need to do is eliminate pretty much every minor subplot, and greatly trim down some of what you do decide to leave in there. That’s not to say this was a bad movie, far from it. In fact, I liked it very much. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that the graphic novel was much more complete. That’s just a nitpick, though. Books of any kind can afford to be as complete and nuanced as the author wishes it to be. It’s one of the perks of writing books as opposed to making films.

All that being said, I liked Watchmen. It’s the story of a world where costumed heroes exist, only one of whom has any real super-powers. The movie takes place in the 1980s, during the height of the Cold War and under the constant threat of nuclear holocaust, and long after those costumed heroes have been forced by the government to either retire or work for them. When Edward Blake (one of those former costumed heroes) is thrown out of his apartment window to his death, the mystery behind who did it begins to unravel a larger conspiracy.

You know he dead.

Director Zack Snyder (300) did a fantastic job making this movie look great. A lot of the shots are pretty spot on when compared to the panels of the graphic novel. The casting is pretty good too. Jackie Earle Haley is great as Rorschach (a sociopath whose moral compass has no shades of gray). Ditto Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan (the only character with real superpowers). The rest are good too.

Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan

Now a warning for parents: this may be a comic book movie, but it is rated R for a reason. In fact, some media watchdog groups are saying it should have been rated NC-17. Watchmen is EXTREMELY violent and there’s plenty of cussing too. Also, since Dr. Manhattan chooses not to wear clothes (as evidenced above), there are a few shots of flaccid blue penis in the film. Also, there’s a sex scene and an almost rape scene. This movie earns it’s R.

Rating: 3*** out 4****
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