'Watchmen' Movie Review

Yes, I've read Watchmen. And yes, I do believe it is one of the most interesting, involving, thought-provoking, mind-blowing books I've ever read of any genre. Anyone who's read my reviews of comic book-inspired movies knows I've never claimed to be a comic book fan. I usually steer clear of the medium, but Watchmen was a must-read (actually a must-read over and over). And being a Watchmen fan going into Warner Bros Pictures' and Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed work, I had high hopes for this feature film based on what's widely regarded as unfilmable source material.

Did Snyder's cinematic vision live up to expectations? Absolutely. Snyder and writers David Hayter and Alex Tse had to lose portions of the graphic novel (which first appeared as a comic book series in the mid-1980s) in order to condense the story into a reasonable running time and comprehensible narrative. They also had the difficult task of making the film accessible to those who haven't read Watchmen without trampling on the dreams of Watchmen fans who've been waiting decades for a movie based on Moore and Gibbons' characters.

Watchmen fans must realize going in that this is not a panel by panel adaptation in the vein of 300. That would have been an impossible endeavor given the richness and sheer depth of the graphic novel. As such, important portions of Watchmen have been left out. Failing to make the cut in the feature film are any mentions of Tales of the Black Freighter (an animated short is being released separately on DVD) and Hollis Mason's Under the Hood. And Watchmen the movie relegates the past members of the Minutemen to mere fleeting glimpses in the film's marvelously inventive opening credits (one of the best lead-ins to a film I can recall). The ending's also been drastically tweaked. But all that aside, most importantly, the message, the tone, and the six central characters have made the leap to the big screen nearly completely intact.

The Set-Up

Alan Moore used Watchmen as a way to deconstruct the superhero genre while at the same time reflecting on world issues. What sacrifices would we be willing to make in order to save the world from itself? Does the end justify the means, if it entails the loss of life in order to stop a nuclear war?

Watchmen is set in an alternate 1980's reality in which presidential term limits are no longer enforced and the Doomsday Clock is closer than ever to striking midnight as the United States and Russia move toward nuclear war. In this twisted world, costumed vigilantes once worked side by side with law enforcement. Known as the Minutemen, these crime-fighters didn't have any special powers, just the desire to clean up the streets. As the original group aged and moved on, a new wave of costumed crime-fighters popped up. This new group (the Crimebusters) followed in the footsteps of the Minuteman, rounding up bank robbers and murderers, all without the backing of the power of a badge. But the tide eventually turned and costume-wearing vigilantes were forced into retirement with the passage of the Keene Act (the film glosses over this part of the story).

It's important to note the only member of this elite group with actual superhero powers is Dr. Manhattan, a former physicist named Jon Osterman who was tragically and traumatically transformed into an omnipotent blue being with the power to be anywhere at any moment and the ability to reshape particles. His existence helped the United States win the Vietnam War and has our enemies, particularly the Soviet Union, on edge.

After the passage of the Keene Act, Dr Manhattan and The Comedian, a ruthless, morally bankrupt, cold-blooded killer, are allowed to continue to work with/work for the government. Rorschach, another member of the team, continues to hunt down villains but does so unofficially, outside the confines of the law.

The Story

Although Snyder and company serve up backstories by way of flashbacks, most of the action in the movie Watchmen takes place following the murder of The Comedian. Rorschach becomes driven to find the truth behind who killed The Comedian (someone he holds in high regard despite his despicable acts). In order to ferret out the killer and find out if whoever it is is targeting costumed vigilantes and for what purpose, Rorschach pulls his old crime-fighting compadres out of retirement. As Rorschach, Nite Owl II, and Silk Spectre II dig into this plot to kill all 'superheroes', they uncover a conspiracy the depths of which they never anticipated upon hearing the news of The Comedian's murder.

The Cast

Watchmen is an ensemble piece brought to life by actors who aren't big name movie stars, a fact which works in its favor as no one actor overshadows any of the others. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Grey's Anatomy, Supernatural) embraces the role of a cigar chomping slayer who doesn't view violence as an option but rather as a necessity to keeping the peace. The Comedian's an emotionally damaged man, and Morgan plays him with a nasty twinkle in his eye that's something to behold.

Billy Crudup's all but unrecognizable once he transforms from Jon Osterman into Dr. Manhattan. Crudup wore a performance capture suit (which caused him to be the source of many laughs on the set) to play Dr Manhattan and it's his face and voice that give life to the huge, floating blue presence in Watchmen. Using a carefully modulated speech pattern, Crudup wholly conveys Dr Manhattan's detachment from the world around him. A side note: the big blue penis isn't Crudup's.

Patrick Wilson dons the costume of the crime-fighting bird lover Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II who can't get it up without getting the costume on. Rich and retired, Dan let himself go physically, and Wilson, who normally looks fit enough to star in ads for exercise equipment, totally transformed into this guy. Nite Owl II really is a heroic figure, a good and decent man who truly believed what the masked crime-fighters did helped innocent people. Dan's got a strong sense of right and wrong, and Wilson does a terrific job of making the audience connect with this guy who's lost without his costumed alter-ego.

Page 2: More on the Cast and the Bottom Line