A scene from 'Watchmen'. Courtesy Warner Bros.
For the first 10 – 15 minutes Watchmen had me hooked. 3-hours later I left feeling unfulfilled and questioning why they even attempted to make a movie that was once labeled “unfilmable”. Where the movie fails is that (from what I’m told – I’ve never read it) it is very true to the graphic novel it’s based on (so if you’re a fan of the graphic novel stop reading this review and go enjoy your movie). If you’ve never read the graphic novel (or don’t even know the movie is based on one) you will feel so detached from the characters and story you might as well get someone to tell you the same inside joke for 163 mins. If you look at other recent graphic novel adaptations like 300 (which Zack Snyder directed as well), Sin City and even V for Vendetta – they’re enjoyable films that can hold your interest without the need to refer back to the basis of the work. Sure you might get something more out of the film if you do but the point is you don’t have to in order to understand the film.
The other problem I had with Watchmen is that it felt flat on the screen. The cinematography, sets, costumes (with the exception of Rorschach’s inkblot mask) all felt tired and dull. A movie of this caliber should blow you away visually from the first frame to the last (like The Dark Knight did). Instead we have Dr. Manhattan’s ridiculous blue CGI glow (and his exposed…parts), Nite Owl II’s cheap looking flying machine and a scene on Mars that makes Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars actually look good.
The movie did have a few high points. Jackie Earle Haley did an amazing job as the character Rorschach (although a reason of why you should care about the character would be nice). The flashbacks of how the ‘Watchmen’ began in the early days (as the ‘Minutemen’) were great and I wish they focused more on that aspect instead of skipping over it in the opening credits. The idea of an alternative 1985 has so much potential but it was wasted as an after thought.
My recommendation is stay home and watch one of the movies I mentioned above or check out Pontypool and One Week at the theatre instead (both deserve your attention more than Watchmen).
** out of 5 stars
Rated R
Cast: Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Official Site IMDb
