Review: Watchmen

By FORCH F. FORTIER
Who watches the Watchmen?

It’s a question asked many times throughout the 2009 film adaptation of the hit graphic novel, Watchmen, created by comic book legend, Alan Moore (V For Vendetta) and drawn by Dave Gibbons.

Directed by Zack Snyder (300), Watchmen is one of the few near-literal adaptations of a comic book, ever.

The movie opens with a break in at the apartment of one Edward Blake, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Losers), who gets attacked, and after a battle with his intruder; Blake is thrown out of his apartment window and falls to his death.

A vigilante by the name of Rorschach, played by Jackie Earle Haley (A Nightmare of Elm St (2010), Little Children), discovers a clue where Blake’s body fell and investigates. It is then that Rorschach discovers that Blake was one of his former associates known as "The Comedian", in the superhero team, The Watchmen.

Ascertaining that someone is trying to kill former superheroes, Rorschach takes it upon himself to warn his former Watchmen, and attempt to find out who is behind the mystery. What he doesn’t know is that the murder is only a small part of the mystery, and that there is a bigger plot afoot.

The movie is set against the backdrop of an alternate 1985, in which Richard Nixon is still president, and the threat of nuclear war with the Russians seems to be inevitability. The film explores a timeline that goes from the early days of superheroes in the ‘40s and ‘50s to the present-day 1985. The back-story is played out throughout the film, and the story follows a linear time-line with flashbacks intertwined.

Featuring an ensemble cast, which includes: Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), Malin Ackerman (Couple’s Retreat), Patrick Wilson (Lakeview Terrace) and Matthew Goode (Leap Year), the cast plays their respective roles with absolute brilliance. The characters look and feel as they do in the source material.

I really enjoyed the characters of Rorschach and Nite Owl [played by Patrick Wilson]. Both characters were acted very well, and escaping into the film, I developed an emotional connection to both heroes, and the inner struggles of each. Jackie Earle Haley is truly a masterful actor, and deserves all of the kudos for his acting that one can get. He should have received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for this performance.

Watchmen features a different side of the idea of superheroes than one would expect. It is a dark story, without a real “happy ending”, so if that were what you are expecting, I would recommend that you do not watch it.

The visuals of the film are amazing. The scenery and set design are just impeccable. When watching the film, it looks like that era, and the costume design is done very well. Not completely matching the original comic, however it looks more realistic on screen.

There are moments in the movie, where you can see exactly how it looked on the page. It was almost like they used the graphic novel as a storyboard for the movie. Even the promotional posters for the film were real-life representations of pages from the book itself.

There are maybe 2-3 items changed from the book to the film, but the changes make more sense in the grand scheme of things. Nothing that ruin the movie going experience for the viewer, nor would any “fanboys” object. The general consensus among fans has been positive.

I recommend this film to any lover of comic book films, or action/drama films that don’t follow your typical formulaic endings.

I give Watchmen 8 out of 10.