Anyone who knows me knows I have been eagerly awaiting the film adaptation of Watchmen since I first read the graphic novel a few years back. The movie, which had been in development hell for more than two decades, has been called by many "unfilmable" due to its multiple character threads spread out over different time periods. That all changed when Zach Snyder, fresh off the success of his previous foray into comic adaptation, 300, took control of the product. Now, the day many of us thought would never arrive is finally here. The two questions on everyone mind right now are "Is it good?" and "Is it faithful?" and I am happy to answer both with a resounding yes. Hit the jump for the full review.
The Good:
- Rorschach- Jackie Earle Hailey is Rorshach. His deep, menacing voice is just how I always imagined it, never sounding annoying and forced like Christian Bale's Batman. While I would have liked them to make Rorshach a bit bigger, they thankfully never show much of Hailey's small stature compared to other characters. Whenever Hailey is on the screen, he owns it and whenever he's not, you anxiously await when he will be.
- Dr. Manhattan- I was actually never really a fan of him in the books, coming off a bit too dry and robotic in my mind. Luckily Zach Snyder chose to keep Billy Crudup(The Mastercard commercial guy)'s voice for the character. Because of this, Dr. Manhattan comes across more as an innocent person losing touch with his humanity than an all powerful robot(he's not actually a robot).
- Action- The action in the film is done amazingly. Snyder, while still using his partial slow-mo technique, uses it much less than he did in 300. Fight scenes were extremely well done and really showed the abilities of the Watchmen characters. The fights were also extremely brutal, with many bones being broken in extremely gruesome ways. One scene in particular completely took me by surprise when I expected a simple fight involving a few punches and kicks like in the comic and was instead shown a bone crunching, wince inducing slug fest.
- Malin Akerman- She's naked. Enough said.
- Opening Title Sequence- One thing I generally don't like about movies is the opening credit sequence. I don't see the point in putting a viewer into the action, then taking them out of it just to watch a few names go by for two or three minutes. Apart from the Bond films, these scenes are just annoying and I find myself falling asleep before the movie has really began(I'm looking at you Spider-Man). Synder does a fantastic job, showing a montage of the superheroes history set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin". Without spending to much time with the history in the actual story, the audience is shown this world's alternate history with the heroes role and impact on it.
- Visuals- Amazing visuals. Everything from the buildings to the exploding Vietnamese looked great. The city itself almost seems like a character in the story, adding even more despair and darkness to the film. The glow of Dr. Manhattan looks phenomenal l, adding to his god like image as he glows in a calm blue light as everyone else in enveloped in darkness. Rorschach's mask is another very cool aspect of the movie, always changing to suit it's wearers feelings.
- Comic Loyalty- Snyder was religiously faithful to the comic, ripping entire sets of dialogue right from the pages. While Snyder and actors had stated they always kept multiple copies of the book around the set and regarded it as their bible, I didn't honestly expect them to follow the story so religously.
- The Ending- The ending of the book was one of the few things I had a problem with when I read it. After the entire book is spent trying to be somewhat realistic, the ending to the book I felt was just plain stupid and ridiculous. Snyder, with help from the original book's artist Dave Gibbons, has changed the ending of the film but thankfully its for the better. Before you begin crying, the end result is exactly the same, it is just the means in which that end came about that is different. The plan, as well as other character reactions to events that happen at the end, are much more realistic and filled with more emotion, while I feel the book's was a bit rushed.
The Bad:- Not enough Comedian- The Comedian, whose death sparks the events of Watchmen, really wasn't in the film as much as I would hope. The Comedian, played extremely well by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, while a despicable character, he is also a great character and was explored much more in the comics. While a big part of the beginning and the catalyst for the events of the film, he quickly disappears and is never really shown again.
- Sally Jupiter- Her acting seemed a bit forced to me and I anxiously waited for her to be off the screen so we could get back to more exciting events.
The Ugly:- Rorschach's Size- Luckily they didn't show him compared to others that frequently but when they did it was a bit jarring. One scene in particular looked like an old man being pounced on by an angry midget.
- The Mystery of the Killer- The opening fight scene, while very well done, doesn't hide the identity of the villain at all and gives away a huge part of the story.
- Lower Manhattan(The Meat Packing District)- Yes there is a lot of blue dick in this movie. Sometimes more than one on screen at once. It flops, it dangles, and while it isn't as frequent or gigantic as some would like you to believe, it is there a decent amount.
Conclusion:
Overall this movie is an amazing achievement and one that most people will enjoy. For a fan of the comic, the movie is like watching the pages come to life. Everything from the visuals to the acting was spot on and if it wasn't how I imagined it it was better. Watchmen is not a dumb movie and caters to a higher audience like the graphic novel did. Don't bring someone in who just wants to see a guy in a costume beat up bad guys and doesn't want a movie that will make you think. While it has action, it is more about who they are and why these characters do what they do. Some of these characters might fight crime and rescue people but do they really do it to be good or do they do it for the fame? The action? Sexual gratification? Or even scarier do they just like to hurt other people. It's a superhero movie for adults, not all ages like previous superhero films have been. Watchmen has been getting mixed reviews from critics, many either loving or hating it. It isn't a movie for everyone. That being said, the majority of people I know enjoyed it. Of the seven other people I saw it with, six of them loved it while one hated it. If you want a great movie with unique characters that makes you think, Watchmen is the movie for you. If not, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is still in theatres.
Final Grade: A
