The twelve-issue comic maxi-series Watchmen was published in 1986, and has now become recognized as one of the top 100 novels of the 20th century. Its deep study of the psychological reasoning behind superheroic characters has influenced every facet of the comic-book industry. The story is gritty, realistic, and shockingly dark at times. It is not a tale for children, as its content is entirely too mature.
Many had previously (and infamously) called Watchmen "unfilmable," citing its overly complicated narrative and nonlinear storytelling. Zach Snyder, director of this 2009 film, has now proven them wrong.
For those who don't know, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985, where costumed vigilantes exist in the real world. With one major exception, none of the so-called "heroes" have superpowers, and many of them are slightly insane. The presence of these vigilantes has completely changed the world, with the U.S. winning the Vietnam War and the subsequent events of the Cold War becoming even more heated. In the present time of Watchmen, the "doomsday clock" stands at five minutes to "midnight," when nuclear devastation will be upon the world. The main plot of Watchmen revolves around a core group of "heroes," complete with lengthy individual flashbacks. When one of these heroes is murdered, a chain of events is set in motion that threatens millions of lives.
Fans of the novel may be dissatisfied with certain alterations to the original story. However, the changes all work in the end. Several alterations are actually superior to the original tale.Zach Snyder will forever go down in history as the one man with the ability to adapt comics into motion picture form while still maintaining their original integrity. Watchmen practically uses the original novel's panels as storyboards, yet still somehow makes them work in motion. This may be the single most visually well-done film I have ever seen.
Parents must take note: This is not a film for children. Heck, it may not be a film for you. There are at least two notable sex scenes in the film, though only one of them was very graphic. There was also quite a bit of nudity in the film, but only once was it ever used in an unnecessary way. Curses are thrown about like lawn darts, though never without reason. The violence is brutal and bloody. When a younger friend of mine asked me if I thought her parents might allow her to see the film, I replied, "Nope. Your daddy would drag you out of the theater. Too many broken bones and naked people."
Watchmen was always a tale of moral ambiguity, and this film is very accurate to its source material. This is not a simple film in which the characters are identified as "good" or "evil." This is a story about realistic human characters with real human flaws. Those looking for a superhero film will be disappointed: Watchmen is no such thing.This film is an elaborate series of stunningly beautiful musical montages. Watching Watchmen is like eating New York cheesecake drizzled with strawberry glaze. I found myself wanting to cheer at the action scenes, which are overly stylish, yet kinetic and real enough to seem plausible. Set to electric guitar rock combined with traditional superheroic orchestral fare, the action in this film makes the men in the audience feel like eight-year-old boys again (provided that the on-screen bone breaks and cracked spines don't make them vomit)
Sadly, Watchmen does have its narrative flaws. Even the original novel felt lacking, as though the reader was only privy to short glimpses into the lives of these complex characters. This film has the same problem, but does make up for it somewhat with its highly enjoyable visuals.
All in all, Watchmen is not a perfect film, but is still very good, acting as the new standard for comic book adaptations.
8/10
2 comments:
I disagree on almost every level. I have not read the series, but I was dragged to the theatre to watch it with a group of boys who had. My best friend and I spent the entire film waiting for the plot to make its grand entrance... and were severely disappointed. While the videography was fairly good, the lines were pretty terrible, the acting was worse, and the excess of sex and gore neither helped the film or were needed in any way. This movie does not deserve an 8. I wouldn't drop so low as a two or anything, but it certainly was not anything spectacular and if we have sunk so low as to appreciate something like this, then I do not have high hopes for the film industry in the future.
Well, I'm not really sure what to tell you. Since I've read the book, the story and makes a lot more sense to me; this film just sort of serves as a visual companion to it, I suppose. What might have been perceived as "bad acting" were really just awkward characters.
The original story never makes a "grand entrance," either; it's extremely dry and subdued. Really, it's not a superhero story.
I'll admit that I like the film less and less the more I think about it, but it's still good. The morals may not have been shown as well in the film (the main villain's attitude was almost COMPLETELY different), and I may have been applying what I knew from the book directly into the film. For me, it was like seeing characters that I'd already known for a long time brought to life, and that was really interesting. The movie REALLY, REALLY sensationalized it all, though, and that may have hurt it a bit.
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