Review: Watchmen

Watchmen
3 Lloyds – Not Family-Friendly
Rated R for graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language
Running Time: 2 hours 43 minutes

Watchmen is based on the 12-part DC Comics series
written by Alan Moore and featuring art by Dave Gibbons

In the 1950’s an ordinary guy puts on a mask and a superhero costume and starts fighting crime. Soon he’s joined by others who take up the same pursuit. As time goes on, a law is passed forcing them to hang up their capes. But then, a number of years later, one man begins to pull the superheroes back together. It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero named Rorschach.

But, is Rorschach really insane?

Or, has he indeed discovered a plot to murder superheroes, and even worse, millions of innocent civilians?

This Is A Rated R Movie!

You may wonder why I’m putting that as a heading. It’s quite simple really. This is not your typical superhero movie. This movie is Rated R for a reason. The violence is indeed graphic, and there’s lots of it. In other words, don’t think this is a superhero movie to send your kids to. It is not!

Watchmen is not in the genre of Superman
or even the more recent Batman movies.

Watchmen is described as a complex, multi-layered mystery adventure. It’s set in an alternate America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society. Aside from the superhero aspect, the plot line also centers around the Doomsday Clock which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union. Throughout Watchmen the time on the clock continues it’s move toward midnight, or the time when possible nuclear war could break out.

Watchmen is a look at the Nixon years,
through the eyes of dysfunctional superheroes.

When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up, but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach, goes into action. Single-handed at first, he sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As Rorschach reconnects with his former crime-fighting friends, he also keeps a journal of his every move. Wandering the city in search of help, he chronicles the despair and moral downfall of humanity he sees on every corner.

Their original mission…to watch over humanity…
But now…who’s watching the Watchmen…

A Special Effects Feast!

Watchmen is a long movie, clocking in at 2 hours 43 minutes. For me, that’s a really long movie. I’ve written many times before, anything over an hour and half better be good if it wants to hold my attention. I can honestly say, Watchmen held my attention for pretty much the entire movie. With the exception of an opening historical montage which dragged on, Watchmen moves along at a good clip. I glanced at my watch just twice. However, I was not looking at the time because I was bored. Instead, I wanted to see where we were in the story.

One thing is for sure, the special effects in this movie are incredible. Not only are they incredible, there are lots of them too. Of course special effects alone will not carry a movie. There also has to be a good plot line and character development as well. For me, I knew little to nothing about the concept of Watchmen. I have not read the comics, nor do I intend to. But, you don’t really need to know the background to know what’s going on in the movie. The character development fills in any gaps or questions of what’s going on. The plot line is also consistent throughout the movie. I can’t think of any place where I felt lost and confused about what was going on.

Will Watchmen Fans Like The Movie?

Watchmen has a huge comic book fan following. For them, the main question centers around the authenticity of the movie. In other words, does the big screen do justice to what’s described and found in the comic book? I screened the movie with a person who’s a big fan of the comic book and has read all of them. Walking out of the theater he said, “The movie stuck very close to what’s found in the comics. The attention to detail is wonderful too as the characters and sets are pretty much lifted straight from the comic book.”

I must admit, I liked the movie, even though the genre is a stretch for me. As a movie reviewer, I knew I couldn’t ignore Watchmen. That would simply be wrong. As I said above, this is a Rated R movie, and I’m very glad for that. Too often Hollywood tries to sanitize movies like this in an attempt to aim them at a younger audience. Watchmen is not family-friendly, nor is it something to be viewed by kids. This is an 18 and up movie.

While the movie is dark and tends to emphasize the morally debase side of humanity, there are some glimmers of hope throughout too. Not all of the dysfunctional heroes are tormented and bad. There’s the ever present struggle between doing what’s right instead of what’s wrong. But too often, wrong wins out over right. However, in the end, the tormented Rorschach is set free, leaving behind a butterfly ink-blot.

Some may be surprised at my 3 Lloyd rating, thinking it’s too high. Keep in mind, many things go into the decision for the Lloyd rating. For Watchmen the 3 Lloyd rating comes from the fact that from a production, storyline, special effects and character development aspect, this is a decent movie. But, that does not take away from the fact that this is a violent, sex filled dark movie that’s not for a wider audience.

Cautiously enjoy the show,
Dr. Rus

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