Reviews by Matt

The variety of hero in the comic book/graphic novel medium is staggering. If you look hard enough you can probably find a hero just like you. There are joke-filled and light-hearted heroes like Superman, Spiderman and The X-Men, and there are the darker ones like Batman, Spawn and Blade. Then here are those seen in “Watchmen.” They make the brooding Bruce Wayne look like Bozo the Clown.

Set in an alternate 1985 where Nixon has been elected to his fifth term as president and where America won the Vietnam War, “Watchmen” is not exactly the feel good movie of the year.

When the retired hero known as The Comedian, Edward Blake, (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is murdered, it sets off a chain of events that lead down a dark path. Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) begins an investigation and warns his fellow heroes that someone may be “picking off costumed heroes.” He looks to fellow heroes Dan “Night Owl” Dreiberg (Patrick Wilson,) Laurie “Silk Spectre” Jupiter (Malin Akerman,) Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) and Adrian “Ozymandais” Veidt (Matthew Goode) for help. When they dismiss his theory as paranoia, Rorschach continues his investigation alone until he begins to uncover something worse than just a killer.

There is so much I could talk about. Honestly I could fill this entire section with my opinion on the movie. Hell, I could even manage the entire paper if I nitpicked enough. Luckily for you, they won’t allow me to ramble that long.

“Watchmen” was, and may still be, considered un-filmable. The plot is not easy to follow, they play with time, each character has a rich and detailed background and it is not an upbeat story. For the most part the characters are either horrible people or damn near impossible to relate to. It is about as anti-Hollywood blockbuster as you can get. To top it all off there are legions of fanboys who are going to destroy a director if it is not done properly.

Just how do you film the un-filmable? How do you please the devoted fanoys? Simple, you get one to direct it. Zach Snyder (“300”) was just the man for the job. As a fan, he knew what the fans wanted. He was able to balance the need to make it marketable with the need to make it fan approved.

There are going to be moments that fanboys are going to hate, namely the end. The end is essentially the same, but a big part of the book ending is missing. The movie ending works better on a few levels. It appeals to the mass audience and it is easier to follow than the original. I am about to say something here that may incur the wrath of fanboys everywhere: I like the movie ending better. It the grand scheme of things, it worked better in getting the message across.

While the fanboys are busy writing the hate mail, I will add that there are some things the movie did better than the book. One was the movie made Dr. Manhattan human. A lab accident caused Dr. Jon Osterman to become dismantled at the atomic level. He manages to reassemble himself and Dr. Manhattan is born. He can see his future and change things at an atomic level and make them completely different. As a result, he understands how everything works, except humans. He becomes less and less human with everyday that passes. In the book, he seems distant and disconnected. Reading it, one could think he would have this deep booming voice (and he does when he makes himself bigger), but the choice to make it a normal voice makes him human.

While I am on the topic of Dr. Manhattan, lets talk blue genitalia. Dr. Manhattan is naked throughout the entire movie. This is one of those things that the movie could have changed from the book. It is not crucial to include this in the movie, because it is only caused the audience to laugh and detach from the movie.


It also eliminated some of the more unnecessary storylines. There are a bunch of extra characters that add to the depth of the world of “Watchmen” but are not important to the overall plot. Two such characters are the newspaper vendor and the guy who hangs out at the newsstand and reads a comic book. While these two are interesting characters, they are not vital. They make cameo appearances, but unless you have read the book, you would not notice them.

From an acting standpoint, there are a few highlights, particularly Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The Comedian could have been played as a complete psycho. The Comedian is the worst humanity has to offer. He kills without remorse and sees life as one big joke. Morgan’s performance makes you feel for The Comedian. He has a human side; he just chooses to ignore it. He understands the dark side of human nature, the brutal and unforgiving side, and he becomes a parody of it. He relishes in the punishment-free violence he gets to inflict. In a flashback, he and Night Owl are breaking up a riot. Disturbed by what he sees, Night Owl asks, “What happened to the American dream?” The Comedian merely smiles and replies, “We’re it.”

Will fanboys like this movie? I think so. The two fanboys I went with seemed to enjoy it, even if they did not agree with all the changes. How will the uninitiated feel? I would be surprised if they did not at least enjoy it. The movie may be dark and, at times, depressing, but it is very well done.


9 out of 10
Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language
162 min