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For years people have been waiting for the cinematic vision
of Dave Gibbons and the seemingly unflattered Alan , it has finally
arrived under the guise of Zack Snyder who directs after the success of
300 two years ago. That incorporation of CGI technology, slow-motion
action set pieces did unprecedented business at the US box office and
booked Snyder's ticket for the Watchmen gig. He brings the same
empassioned fever for action and story to the unfilmable graphic novel.
But herein lies part of the problem, since its initial publication in 1987, the movie business has seen a metamorphic change in the landscape of superheroes; two years after Watchmen was published - we had Tim Burton's imaging of Batman with larger than life characters, huge set designs and psychologically downtrodden protagonists who have darker secrets than the villains. And since then we have had Spiderman, Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men and the return of Superman, and five further Batman films. Where does the 'Citizen Kane' of graphic novels fit into this niche, does it have a place and does what it is speaking about have much to say. Luckily a lot of the fears and neuroses expressed in the novel and in this adaptation are more prelevant than initially thought. The year is 1985, Richard Nixon is still president of the USA but the Doomsday Clock is ticking down closer to the theoretical midnight where global armageddon will occur as the Cold War reaches its height of fear as America and USSR both have missiles pointing at each other. Watching all this are the now retired Watchmen, seemingly unwanted in the current climate; leaving it to the politicians to sort out the mess they got themselves into. All retired the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is sitting at home seeing the clock put to five minutes to, when his door is burst open he is attacked and murdered. At his funeral the other men reunite sociopath Rorschach (Jackie Earl Harley), Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) and the superhuman Dr. Manhatten (Billy Crudup); Rorschach speaks of redemption and revenge, the others think the Comedian had it coming to him. Ozymandias and Manhatten are working for the government attempting to make renewable energy readily available to the masses, while Nite Owl floats around enjoying his new identity but looking the worst for it. Watchmen always made the point of deconstructing the notion of super-heroes; the Watchmen are a collective group of highly talented individuals in technical know-how, physical attributes with Dr.Manhatten the only one with super powers, and this was gained by an accident in a laboratory. Part murder-mystery with Rorschach playing Sam Spade as he tries to find the Comedian's murderer; part conspiracy theory; part anti-establishment by saying only Nixon and Kissinger could get USA into such a bad mess making it a part political satire; and naturally part super-hero action fantasy. But it is odd that it is the last part of this mixture that sometimes gets lost in the adaptation - at times too wordy for its own good, and too bogged down in being both faithful and given equal screen time to each character. It is a shame that the Comedian is killed off so early, as Morgan's portrayal is so top notch it is left to flashbacks to totally paint his picture. The Watchmen are not perfect no-one is, especially a superhero; there is jealousy, envy, pride, attempted rape a lot of the seven deadly sins are covered by men/women meant to symbolise the pinnacle of humanity. The wordiness of it all does slow down the whole film, already a 160minutes and it is only when we get the fistfights and ass kickings that you feel the movie is going anywhere; too often the intellectual Ozymandias and Dr.Manhatten inspire whimsical ennui. When the more impetuous, physical Watchmen (Rorshchach, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre) appear on screen, it comes alive with fire and brimstone - Rorschach's set up and imprisonment is the best moments of the film; his psychological profiling scene acts as both backstory and comedy; his scene of intimidation leads to the best line in the film ('You people think I'm stuck in here with you. When really you're stuck in here with....me!') as he roars to the fellow inmates and then his breakout gives us a leap into the third act and eventual denouement. Ultimately the film has a cod ending, based on conspiracy theories and everybody has to fall for us to rebuild, it is shocking for someone like myself who has never read the novel - in a way I felt let down and disappointed althought there was one line from Nite Owl to Ozymandias as he holds a control in his hand ('What is that some other ultimate weapon?' 'You could say that', as he switches on a television). The film ends with the legend of Watchmen about to be born in print form, we have witnessed the myth making process. The largely unknown cast, or less renowned cast pays off as they embody their characters with less cultural cache than say an A-list cast most likely might have done; as I have said kudos to Morgan but the best character is Rorschach a ball of fire played by Oscar-nominated Harly all gusto and guts. Patrick Wilson (very good in 'Hard Candy',)is solid here with a relative weakling and poor soul. Matthew Goode is too smooth and laidback. Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre has a thankless role as the lone female Watch-person gets bogged down by her feeble romantic relationship with Nite Owl ending in an excruciating to watch sex scene and Billy Crudup gives some pathos to Dr. Manhatten a blue phenom who can teleport, multiply himself and do anything except find a pair of underpants to cover up his blue genitalia. All in all as a comic book entertainment it is an impressive achievement to keep momentum and attention together for the entire running time, as a Watcmen novice I am pleased but i can sense some Watchmen veterans being somewhat letdown by the whole event.
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