Watchmen Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)March 20th, 2009
"Watchmen" - Makes a Welcome Difference
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009
It's a gloriously envisioned alternate 1985. Familiar but alien. The atmosphere is gritty. The city suffers from a lack of conscience. Ominous-looking dirigibles grace the cloudy skies. The world seems on the brink of destruction. Outlandishly costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society. And on one particular night, a comedian is murdered.
The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is no ordinary citizen. He was once part of a band of crime fighters called the "Watchmen". His death causes a vigilante name Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) to look into whether there is something sinister afoot. His quest reunites him with a handful of former colleagues, all superheroes themselves, though none are quite as dynamic and bullheaded as Rorschach himself.
It sounds pretty simple, but the Watchmen provide an epic storyline that The Fantastic 4 could never hope to achieve. The Watchmen provide salacious thrills that the X-Men dare not offer. And, the Watchmen dwell in a fantastical existence that Hellboy would find enviable. The Watchmen have culled their own distinct niche. There's a lot going on here. Maybe too much.
Lifting the pages of the graphic comic book up onto the big screen required ambitious cutting edge special effects. Most excellent was that of the glowing, blue-hued Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup). His special-effects suit was studded with 2500 blue lights. Therefore his glow follows his movements more closely than an on-set light could, and illuminates his surroundings in a more convincing manner than a computer effect would. There's an Oscar in special effects wizardry awaiting these guys.
While he is a sight to behold (with his perfectly sculpted body and his unable-to-ignore genitalia), his character is so blasé. He can stop a war. He can pleasure a woman doubly so. But he doesn't have a purpose. Omnipotence can get quite boring.
The evolution of the story and the characters required countless flashbacks. In fact, I think that some flashbacks required flashbacks. No matter. You'll certainly enjoy the opening 15-minute montage that propels you through a dystopian alternate version of history. This scene would be worthy of its own exhibit at one of the Smithsonian museums.
As for the movie as a whole? Well, I think that Dr. Manhattan, with his infinite wisdom, stated it best when he mused that it would be a thermodynamic miracle to turn air into gold. Admirably, "Watchmen" treads where other superhero films have failed to go and frequently surprises us with its tactics. There is an ample amount of violence and I supposed that if I were someone with superhero powers and was bored at night, I'd go out and raise a little Hell. I was surprised to learn that the actor who played Rorschach also played the monstrously baseball-talented Kelly in the Bad News Bears (1976). I was surprised at how clever the villain actually was. But perhaps with all of the ground that this story wants to cover, it would've been better if it had been broken up into three films. Given how wonderfully graphic the movie could actually be and perhaps should have been, I would want to see the Director's Cut.
Grade: B
S: 2 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3
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