Anticipated movie leaves an impression
By now everyone who has ever read anything about film for the past few months knows that “Watchmen” is based on one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time. Written by Alan Moore, who isn’t credited in the film per his request, “Watchmen” is a story set in an alternate reality of 1985. Nixon is still president, the U.S. won the Vietnam War and masked vigilantes are the norm.
“Watchmen” picks up the story after a law has been signed banning these masked vigilantes from operating. But, it seems that someone has a plan to kill the old superheroes. On a dark night someone breaks into The Comedian’s room and throws him out the window. The Comedian (Jeffery Dean Morgan, “Grey’s Anatomy”) was a member of the first masked hero squadron called The Minutemen, but he’s a hero for the wrong reasons. We get to know The Comedian through flashbacks, and he’s not a nice person. Actually he’s a downright nasty one, but he’s considered a hero because he fights for America.
As the story advances we are introduced to a slew of characters. Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, “Semi-Pro”) is a hero whose mask is a constantly-changing Rorschach test blob. Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson, “Lakeview Terrace”), is a slightly overweight man who you’d never suspect is keeping an arsenal of weapons and a hovering spaceship in his basement. Then there’s Malin Akerman (“Heartbreak Kid”) who plays the sexy Silk Spectre, a woman who straps on a latex suit and kicks a whole lot of butt.
But, by far the most interesting character is Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup “The Good Shepard”). He’s a glowing blue entity who can see his own future. He can teleport to anywhere, and is apparently made up of pure energy. After a science experiment gone wrong (people in comic books really should stay away from science labs), Jon Osterman is vaporized, and after a few days returns as a radiant blue man who is seemingly all-powerful.
I never read the comic, so I went into “Watchmen” not knowing anything about the source material and not caring whether they did it justice or not. I just wanted an interesting story with characters that I cared about.
While the plot of “Watchmen” wanders a bit, and there’s some extremely suspect acting by Akerman, overall I really enjoyed it. I was impressed with Dr. Manhattan and his thoughts about the human race. Listen to what he says, because he is like a modern-day Greek philosopher. His thoughts and actions transcend human existence, yet he understands humans because he was once one.
“Watchmen” also employs some dazzling special effects. Director Zack Snyder is back to some of the tricks he used in “300” with slow-motion fight scenes and backgrounds which are almost entirely CGI. “Watchmen” has a film noir feeling about it. If anything, it’s just wonderful to look at.
Grade: A-