Analysis of Watchmen
Jimmy the Greek so eloquently put together a great piece on Watchmen, however, on our site we sometimes like to one up on some things, so here’s Watchmen’s one up. Cause its that good, seriously.
Set in an alternate 1985, Watchmen takes place during Richard Nixon’s third term. The situation with Russia is heating up, and the doomsday clock has hit about four minutes to midnight. The Russian military is missile testing within a couple hundred miles of Alaska, and in Afghanistan the conflict between the US and Russia is rising. In come the Watchmen.
The Watchmen, who Jimmy already ran over, are basically second generation superheros along the lines of Batman more than Superman. They have a lot of gadgets and gizmos and weapons and sweet fighting skills, but no actual super powers. That is, except for Dr. Manhattan, who is more a bundle of pure energy than anything. (And an entire entry could be written on how Dr. Manhattan could be a portrayal of an ever detaching God.)
The first hour and a half of this movie is a lot of flashbacks, which is great, because like Jimmy, I had no prior experience with this story besides movie trailers and a quick synopsis from a computer geek in the technology center at my school. These stories do a great job drawing you in and helping you understand where the characters are coming from. Many of them came from homes in which their parents were not the nicest, and in some cases were basically prostitutes. I think I would lay on the edge of becoming like Rorschach if I had an upbringing like him.
The last half of the movie is stunning. The fight scenes in this movie have just enough slow motion to make them incredible. Night Owl II and Silk Spectre II are not only great as a couple, but great as a fighting duo. Plus she is GORGEOUS. Dr. Manhattan is exactly who I would want to be if I were in some sort of high energy physics accident, minus the detachment from human kind, and being naked all of the time. But isn’t it every geeks dream to have total control of all matter? The dude can splatter a person with the flick of his finger, or teleport anywhere in the universe. Come on, agree with me and say that is sweet. Their vehicle is quite interesting. To me, it looked something like the head of WALL-E or other various robots used in some minor movies in the eighties, but it was still pretty sweet.
The ending is incredible. It will floor you as to the solutions that are come to, and as to the identity of the person behind the killing of the Comedian. This is a must see movie whether you have read the graphic novel or not. Did you know the graphic novel was voted one of the top 100 for the last century by Time Magazine? Yea…it’s that good. Read it and see the movie, or see the movie and then read it. Either way, dish out the dough, and enjoy.
Time: 162 minutes
Rating: R
My Rating: 4.7/5
P.S. If your one of those parents that lets their kids see rated R movies, please don’t be stupid and let them see this one. There was a kid in the theater sitting right behind me, and the whole time I kept thinking of all the things that kid should not have seen at his age. There is nudity, there is blood, there are brutally violent scenes. Respect the rating. PLEASE!
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