Watchmen Review [2]

Posted by Joseph Lee on 03.08.2009

A film that doesn't compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon.



Starring:
Patrick Wilson as Daniel Dreiberg/Nite Owl II
Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs/Rorschach
Malin Akerman as Laurie Juspeczyk / Silk Spectre II
Billy Crudup as Dr. Jon Osterman / Doctor Manhattan
Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake / The Comedian

Story: A masked vigilante named Rorschach investigates the death of former superhero The Comedian, and it's ties to a conspiracy to take out other former heroes to prevent them from stopping a nuclear war.

Fun Trivia: During early development in the early 1990s, mainly focused around the screenplay by Sam Hamm, early casting rumors included Robin Williams as Rorschach, Jamie Lee Curtis as Silk Spectre, Gary Busey as the Comedian, and both Richard Gere and Kevin Costner considered for the role of NiteOwl. The project underwent numerous rewrites under director Terry Gilliam and his collaborator Charles McKeown, but got eventually shelved by Warner Bros.

Watchmen. A graphic novel that was hailed as one of the best of all time is finally a movie. After being in development hell for over twenty years, with numerous directors trying to turn it into a film, it's Zack Snyder that finally was able to put something together. Only being a new fan of Watchmen, I may not be as hardcore as some, but I still loved the graphic novel and Snyder's vision tells me that he clearly did as well. He turned the "unfilmable" into a fantastic film.

If you're a fan of Watchmen, there is enough of the source material here to please you. Snyder translates panel-by-panel, sometimes at the risk of losing the general audience, most of the graphic novel. He cuts some things, or makes some minor alterations to make it more accessible, but it would have to be changed in order to be adapted. The one major change, works better than it's source material, which, let's face it, was silly and the one major detriment of Alan Moore's original work. You can feel the love of the material in Snyder's film, as he clearly grew up with Watchmen and tried his best to make sure that other fans would receive a film worthy of their love. Even the social commentary from the graphic novel is here, and it's just as applicable today as it was then. It's never preachy and it works just fine.

For the non-fans, there's a lot to enjoy here as well. It's very faithful to it's source material but at the same time, it never feels hard to follow. Even with it's long run time and the amount of material shoved into it, it all flows together nicely and I never had any problems with the pacing. The majority of the main characters get the proper buildup in flashbacks and storytelling, even The Comedian. While non-fans should read the source material, it's not necessary before or after viewing this film. It works great on it's own and that's what a film adaptation should do.

The performances vary from excellent to average. Malin Akerman is probably the worst of the bunch, but she's not bad enough to bring the movie down. If anything, the strength of her fellow cast members make her wavering performance seem unnoticeable. Patrick Wilson does great as the second Nite Owl, providing the only real "everyman" character of the film. He is the glue that holds the entire film together. Jeffery Dean Morgan and Matthew Goode bring fine performances as well. However, it's Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley who give the best showings here as Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach, respectively. Crudup is able to play to a god, who just can't seem to grasp what it means to be human like he used to. He nails all of the subtleties of the character. Haley plays the sociopath Rorschach as well as everyone hoped, and I can't imagine anyone else doing better. Haley was Rorschach. He lived the character in this film.

The direction of Zack Snyder may be questionable for some, but most should have expected the slow motion from the trailers and his previous film 300. I didn't have a problem with it. It enhances the action sequences it needed to and doesn't detract from anything. He also provides beautiful cinematography, with astounding special effects. This was needed to bring this world to life and he didn't disappoint. From the red planet of Mars to Vietnam flashbacks, everything looks spectacular. The fact that it also relies on the strong story and performances, and not the glossy look, is a bonus.

If I had any problems with Watchmen, they were incredibly minor. The makeup in some places feels flawed, in the case of Richard Nixon and the original Silk Spectre. Nixon looks like a caricature with a gigantic nose and I don't see why they couldn't have just cast an older woman to play the older Silk Spectre. The makeup looked incredibly silly and would take me out of the film for a moment. Aside from that, I also hated the song at the end of the credits, which was a cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row", by My Chemical Romance of all people. It was possibly one of the worst cover songs I've ever heard.

Some minor (and they're very minor) problems aside, this adaption of Watchmen is the best that the fans are going to get, and it's still an epic, beautiful comic book movie. Like Christopher Nolan and The Dark Knight before him, Zack Snyder has helped redefine what a movie based on a comic book should be. Go see this, and of course, read the source material if you haven't already.

The 411: Watchmen takes what many called "unfilmable" and turns it into an epic superhero tale. Zack Snyder translates the beloved graphic novel and makes a masterpiece of a comic book movie. Like it's source material, it's unflinching, uncompromising and beautiful. Snyder also includes the appropriate social commentary, action sequences and everything worthy of it's R-rating in order to please both fans and non-fans alike. For my money, Watchmen is an instant classic.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]