WATCHMEN MOVIE REVIEW

Yes, I've read Watchmen. And yes, I do believe it is one of the most interesting, involving, thought-provoking, mind-blowing books I've ever read of any genre. Anyone who's read my reviews of comic book-inspired movies knows I've never claimed to be a comic book fan. I usually steer clear of the medium, but Watchmen was a must-read (actually a must-read over and over). And being a Watchmen fan going into Warner Bros Pictures' and Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed work, I had high hopes for this feature film based on what's widely regarded as unfilmable source material.
Did Snyder's cinematic vision live up to expectations? Absolutely. Snyder and writers David Hayter and Alex Tse had to lose portions of the graphic novel (which first appeared as a comic book series in the mid-1980s) in order to condense the story into a reasonable running time and comprehensible narrative. They also had the difficult task of making the film accessible to those who haven't read Watchmen without trampling on the dreams of Watchmen fans who've been waiting decades for a movie based on Moore and Gibbons' characters.
Watchmen fans must realize going in that this is not a panel by panel adaptation in the vein of 300. That would have been an impossible endeavor given the richness and sheer depth of the graphic novel. As such, important portions of Watchmen have been left out. Failing to make the cut in the feature film are any mentions of Tales of the Black Freighter (an animated short is being released separately on DVD) and Hollis Mason's Under the Hood. And Watchmen the movie relegates the past members of the Minutemen to mere fleeting glimpses in the film's marvelously inventive opening credits (one of the best lead-ins to a film I can recall). The ending's also been drastically tweaked. But all that aside, most importantly, the message, the tone, and the six central characters have made the leap to the big screen nearly completely intact.




The Set-Up
Alan Moore used Watchmen as a way to deconstruct the superhero genre while at the same time reflecting on world issues. What sacrifices would we be willing to make in order to save the world from itself? Does the end justify the means, if it entails the loss of life in order to stop a nuclear war?
Watchmen is set in an alternate 1980's reality in which presidential term limits are no longer enforced and the Doomsday Clock is closer than ever to striking midnight as the United States and Russia move toward nuclear war. In this twisted world, costumed vigilantes once worked side by side with law enforcement. Known as the Minutemen, these crime-fighters didn't have any special powers, just the desire to clean up the streets. As the original group aged and moved on, a new wave of costumed crime-fighters popped up. This new group (the Crimebusters) followed in the footsteps of the Minuteman, rounding up bank robbers and murderers, all without the backing of the power of a badge. But the tide eventually turned and costume-wearing vigilantes were forced into retirement with the passage of the Keene Act (the film glosses over this part of the story).
It's important to note the only member of this elite group with actual superhero powers is Dr. Manhattan, a former physicist named Jon Osterman who was tragically and traumatically transformed into an omnipotent blue being with the power to be anywhere at any moment and the ability to reshape particles. His existence helped the United States win the Vietnam War and has our enemies, particularly the Soviet Union, on edge.
After the passage of the Keene Act, Dr Manhattan and The Comedian, a ruthless, morally bankrupt, cold-blooded killer, are allowed to continue to work with/work for the government. Rorschach, another member of the team, continues to hunt down villains but does so unofficially, outside the confines of the law.




The Story
Although Snyder and company serve up backstories by way of flashbacks, most of the action in the movie Watchmen takes place following the murder of The Comedian. Rorschach becomes driven to find the truth behind who killed The Comedian (someone he holds in high regard despite his despicable acts). In order to ferret out the killer and find out if whoever it is is targeting costumed vigilantes and for what purpose, Rorschach pulls his old crime-fighting compadres out of retirement. As Rorschach, Nite Owl II, and Silk Spectre II dig into this plot to kill all 'superheroes', they uncover a conspiracy the depths of which they never anticipated upon hearing the news of The Comedian's murder.




The Cast
Watchmen is an ensemble piece brought to life by actors who aren't big name movie stars, a fact which works in its favor as no one actor overshadows any of the others. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural) embraces the role of a cigar chomping slayer who doesn't view violence as an option but rather as a necessity to keeping the peace. The Comedian's an emotionally damaged man, and Morgan plays him with a nasty twinkle in his eye that's something to behold.

Billy Crudup's all but unrecognizable once he transforms from Jon Osterman into Dr. Manhattan. Crudup wore a performance capture suit (which caused him to be the source of many laughs on the set) to play Dr Manhattan and it's his face and voice that give life to the huge, floating blue presence in Watchmen. Using a carefully modulated speech pattern, Crudup wholly conveys Dr Manhattan's detachment from the world around him. A side note: the big blue penis isn't Crudup's.
Patrick Wilson dons the costume of the crime-fighting bird lover Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II who can't get it up without getting the costume on. Rich and retired, Dan let himself go physically, and Wilson, who normally looks fit enough to star in ads for exercise equipment, totally transformed into this guy. Nite Owl II really is a heroic figure, a good and decent man who truly believed what the masked crime-fighters did helped innocent people. Dan's got a strong sense of right and wrong, and Wilson does a terrific job of making the audience connect with this guy who's lost without his costumed alter-ego.
Malin Akerman carries the load for women, representing females in Watchmen's male-dominated alternate reality. Carla Gugino shows up in a few brief but pivotal scenes as Akerman's character's retired crime-fighting mom – the original Silk Spectre – but for the most part it's up to Akerman as Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II to provide the female perspective. Silk Spectre II has a rocky relationship with her mother (who was raped by The Comedian) and she's torn between two men and torn apart by the knowledge of who her father might be. Yet she's still a strong woman. And physically she's just as capable of kicking ass as her male cohorts. Akerman's not known for action roles, but she handles the fight scenes well and definitely heats up the screen during her love scenes with Wilson and Crudup. Plus, she looks gorgeous in latex.
Matthew Goode has one of the more difficult tasks in the film, giving life to the one main character who doesn't get as much screen time as the rest of the group. Goode plays Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias as a slightly effeminate admirer of Alexander the Great who speaks with the barest whisp of a German accent. Considered the smartest human being on the planet, Adrian Veidt is a puppet master and Goode plays him as though he possesses many secrets behind his smug, holier than thou smile.
If there's one actor who steals scenes in Watchmen it's Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs/Rorschach. Hidden behind a mask for the majority of the film, Haley brings Rorschach to life on the screen exactly how he was written in Watchmen. It's a perfect, flawless match between actor and character.




The Bottom Line
The film opens with the death of The Comedian quickly followed by a six-minute opening credits sequence that's absolutely breathtaking. Backed by a lengthened version of Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin', this unforgettable montage of scenes plunges us into the universe of Watchmen as it moves through the past exposing the history of the costumed vigilantes leading up to the film's present day. Watchmen fans will either be dismayed by how Snyder condensed so much from the graphic novel into that opening or will embrace the fact he was able to get as much as he did into such a short segment and still add his own touches to specific characters backstories. I embraced it (particularly the bit on the grassy knoll in Dallas) and felt it set the perfect tone for the remaining two hours and 40ish minutes.
Now, Watchmen does have its flaws. I missed the interaction at the newsstand that was in the graphic novel, and I would have liked to see more of the original Minutemen. But I've got to say that without making a five-hour long movie, I'm not sure there was a way to make a better Watchmen movie. The production design is incredible, the effects are absolutely first-rate, the acting is top-notch, and Snyder chose exactly the right songs for crucial moments in the film.
Watchmen is not a film for everyone and it won't connect with audiences looking for the standard superhero genre flick. Watchmen is unflinchingly violent, there's nudity (Dr Manhattan's penis is right there in your face – even if you blink, you won't miss it), raw sex, and there's none of the lighthearted superhero-type moments in this that we've come to expect from major motion picture adaptations of comic books. Watchmen presents a world in which actions have real consequences and they're not necessarily pretty, and if people were in fact superheroes, they'd be warped and in desperate need of some serious therapy. This film's gritty and nasty and you want to wash your hands when you're done watching it. But I'm betting after just one screening of the film, you'll think more about Watchmen than any other comic book/graphic novel-inspired movie you've ever witnessed.