Review: Watchmen
I haven’t read the graphic novel so I was able to walk into this movie with a clean slate. Typically if I really like a movie I’ll read the book afterwards, but at no time will I say “the book is way better.” The people who say that are assholes. Regardless, I was very pleased and might just read the graphic novel after watching the movie. It was well worth my money. It goes without saying that R rated movies aren’t intended for children. Don’t take your kids to this. At the theatre, there were no less than 10 children. That’s more than 10 people younger than 13. When these kids grow up to store the cannibalized remains of dead prostitutes in their deep freezers, I’ll plainly point my finger at the mothers and fathers who took them to see movies with overly graphic content.
Yes, this movie has graphic content. It’s very graphic. I’m not a fan of gore in movies, but this is just on the safe side because it isn’t a main part of the film. For a full plot synopsis you can head over to several other sites that contain detailed spoilers, character bios, summaries, and what have you. I will try to focus on what, in my opinion, details a good movie and it’s not limited to simply seeing tits and ass.
There are three areas a movie must represent to be good. Each can be to a lesser degree than the next, or totally absent provided another is represented with enough intensity. These three areas are: characters(including acting), story(substance and delivery), and cinematography/special effects. A good movie can be totally character based with little to no story or meaningful cinematography. It can have so much story that you feel emotionally invested in what’s going to happen next, though you don’t necessarily care for the characters. Finally it can be all about the spectacle. Bright lights, contrasting colors, creative camera angles, computer graphics, etc.
The best movies contain each of these areas, think Lord of the Rings. Zack Snyder is dominant in the area of spectacle and cinematography. He has developed a unique style that lends itself well to adapting graphic novels. Namely with his work on 300 and now Watchmen. He literally takes the cells from the comic and translates them to storyboard, then to film. I said I didn’t read the graphic novel, but watching the movie I could recognize the shots pulled right off the pages. They are very cinematic in a way only comic book artists can create. Snyder has a brilliant way of shooting fight sequences. Some people really hate the slowing of the camera to accent a dynamic pose right before it translates into a devastating blow, but I am not one of those people. I wouldn’t mind seeing the same technique applied to porno.
The characters are great, though I think it is in no part due to the filmmakers because these must have been great before they were put in a movie. There are notable performances by Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It’s hard to imagine what the parts would be without being played by those two men. Each character is psychologically disturbed in their own way. Silk Spectre II is the daughter of an overly obsessed parent who wants her child to follow in her footsteps. Rorschach is a violent sociopath similar to the Punisher. He’s witnessed and committed too many horrors to be “normal.” Dr. Manhattan is a great being, with a large blue electrified penis, so powerful he has lost his humanity and is increasingly disassociated from the events on Earth. Nite Owl II is exactly what you would expect from a forcibly retired super hero. He’s middle aged, square(in the classic sense), impotent, and in many other subtle ways, inadequate outside of his suit. The Comedian is the most unlikeable of them all and justifiably gets the shit stomped out of him within the first five minutes of the movie. As likely represented in the source material and stated directly in dialog during the movie, the Comedian is a parody of American lifestyle, cruel, and carefree. Of course there is Ozymandias, but the meat of the movie is centered around characters I’ve already mentioned.
The story is very strong. It has a classic comic book/mystery movie feel. The villain has a blue tiger with horns for a pet. There’s an arctic stronghold, a “who done it” murder at the very beginning, and you don’t know with 100% certainty who the bad guy is until they reveal it in the last hour. Did I mention this movie comes in at about 160 minutes? It is fairly long but still has a somewhat rushed feel to it. A feel that there are several pieces missing from the whole that I can’t quite put my finger on. On top of that the tone of the movie is very schizophrenic.
Having an uninformed vantage, it’s hard to say what is actually intentional. They say the tone of the graphic novel is very broad but so is the music Snyder chose. I have to wonder if the music is a parody of the story, which is in turn a parody of the characters, who are in turn parodies of comic book characters, and society in general? Regardless, the tone can go from horrific to hilarious and back in less than five minutes and some of the music doesn’t sound like it fits the situation. I’ve read people complaining about “Hallelujah” playing during a sex scene, which to me seemed fairly appropriate considering the two major events leading up to it. Honestly, haven’t you thought “hallelujah” while having sex for the first time in years… with a model no less?
What I’m referring to is “The Sound of Silence” played during the Comedian’s funeral. Sure, the lyrics are depressing but all Simon and Garfunkel sounds chipper. Too chipper for what is supposed to be a solemn moment… or is it because he’s the Comedian… or maybe a “ding dong the witch is dead” moment? I guess I could ask around and see what the consensus is but I’d like to watch it several more times to reach my own conclusions about the meaning.
I’m going to mention the sequences that stand out in my mind before I conclude this review. Leading up to the Comedian’s funeral, each character has a flashback of a horrible moment in their interactions with him. It’s a little hard to determine the timeline of each event but I thought it was very well executed for how he pertains to the story, and why you shouldn’t grieve for him after the ass kicking he receives. For me, Dr. Manhattan’s origination story served as a vehicle to illustrate his growing disenchantment with the cold war and humanity. The moment Rorschach is arrested and up until the prison break, are the best parts of the movie. He has a very memorable line, which you’ll know when you hear it, and there are a handful of good character based scenes. Scenes that don’t necessarily drive the story but are meaningful in their own way.
This is the kind of movie that sticks with you. If you like it, it might stick with you because of the moral dilemmas, sociological parodies, action sequences, or style. If you hate it, it will stick with you long enough for you to rush home and write a scathing review on why it is the “WORST MOVIE EVER”. If nothing else, go see it so when your favorite book/comic/graphic novel gets optioned for a film, the producers don’t think twice.
Score: 4.5/5
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