The Watchmen

I didn't know much about The Watchmen going into the cinema. All I know was it's based on a graphic novel by Allan Moore and that it's one of the best graphic novels of all time. I was originally planning to buy a copy of the novel and read it before the movie came out. But then I thought I might just end up getting disappointed with the movie if I read the novel beforehand. And so I avoided learning anything about The Watchmen and just wait for the movie. I think this was a good move on my part. Because I ended up liking the movie.

It's not your typical superhero film. You may get dismayed of you watch this expecting it to be like Spider-man, X-men or Iron Man. This movie is more like V for Vendetta(also an Allan Moore graphic novel) but has more action in it.

The story takes place in an alternate history where costumed vigilantes walked among us and affected certain moments in history. One of the most notable changes in history was the Vietnam war. With the help of Dr Manhattan, the only Watchmen with superhuman powers, America was able to win. And this victory resulted in Nixon getting re-elected as president. Now it's 1985, Nixon is still president, super heroes are abolished and the US is on the brink of nuclear war with Russia. At this same time, The Comedian, a member of The Watchmen, is thrown off his apartment window and is killed. This prompts his fellow Watchmen Rorschach to investigate who the murderer is. Rorschach theorizes that someone is killing off former superheroes. But his investigation leads him to uncover something far more bigger.

The movie is rather long, moves in a slow pace and has a series of flashbacks. But I didn't really have a problem with this because I found the visuals so stunning. Zack Snyder used the same techniques he used when he directed 300. Literally bringing the comic book image to life on the big screen. Like 300, the results were amazing.

The members of the Watchmen are all individually interesting characters. All the actors who played them did a great job representing them in the movie. Billy Crudup, who's voice and image was used to create the computer generated Dr Manhattan, was able to effectively speak as one who is losing touch with humanity. Mathew Goode was believable as Ozymandias. The smartest man in the world who, without conscience, will do what it takes to save the world. Patrick Wilson, Malin Akerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan were good playing Nite Owl, Silk Spectre and The Comedian respectively. But among the actors, Jackie Earl Haley stood out as Rorschach. He was the toughest and most interesting character of them all. Haley portrayed him excellently. My favorite scene in the movie was when Rorschach was in prison, and after splashing an inmate with boiling oil he says "You just don't get it... I'm not locked in here with you. You're all locked in here with me!". Best scene in the movie!

The Watchmen is a dark and complex story. It's the type of story that can most effectively be told as a graphic novel. Turning this into a movie is extremely difficult. So my hats off to Zack Snyder. I think no one else could have done a better job. Though the movie is long, it's actually rich in detail and excitement. It's a long movie I'd love to sit through and watch again.