Since its release in 1986, Alan Moore’s “The Watchmen†has arguably become the greatest graphic novel to ever grace shelves, inspiring dozens of this generation’s best comic book writers and artists and helping to make the hybrid form of literature a viable one in pop-culture lore.
While the film isn’t as epic in scale and its message, Zack Snyder’s version of the Watchmen is an excellent film that still manages to capture the essence of the graphic novel and makes the most of a can’t win situation.
Considering the huge amount of fans of the graphic novel, Snyder’s job of making them happy and putting together a film that wasn’t five hours long [it could have easily been that long] were nearly impossible. Despite the fact that many of the things that made the graphic novel so unique, particularly the weaving of “The Curse of the Black Freighter†and “Under the Hood†into the main story, are absent, “The Watchmen†is still an enjoyable romp.
Combining the slow-motion effects made popular in films like “300†and “Sin City†with a noir-style narrative [think “The Spirit,†but done well] “The Watchmen†is a buffet for the eyes and is as well-crafted as any other comic book-inspired film released over the past few years, “The Dark Knight†included. As matter of fact, some may argue it’s in the same league as “Iron Man†and “Spider-Man 2.â€
Even hardcore fans that feel “The Watchmen†is too way strayed from its source material will find it hard to argue that the film is well put together and manages to live up to the majority of the hype it had around it.
Helping the film achieve this goal is a superb performance by Jackie Earle Haley [Semi-Pro, Bad New Bears] as the masked vigilante Rorschach. Eerily intriguing and equally as dangerous, Haley’s performance is comparable to any top-tier star in Hollywood today.
The fighting scenes alone prove that Haley has the ability to be an action star.
Billy Crudup [Almost Famous] is also uber strong as Mr. Manhattan and when combined with the solid performances of Patrick Wilson as Night Owl II and Malin Akerman [27 Dresses] as Silk Spectre II, “The Watchmen†has plenty of star power and talent on the screen to survive.
Despite the fact that the plot may move along slow at times, the quality of the cast’s performance, combined with great special effects and a top notch soundtrack make this film a worthwhile entry into the canon of the series and one that is an excellent starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the source material.
Sometimes, when you are so close to a piece of literature, it’s hard to distinguish how good anything based on it really is. Because of that, anyone who can separate the graphic novel of “The Watchmen†with the movie will find it immensely enjoyable.
Fanboys, however, may have to look elsewhere.
This movie was dragged and extended, but if interested, a person can really understand the numerous flashbacks and then get the sense of what the movie is about. My friend thought this movie was long, boring and lacked action, but I saw much more in it than action. To understand the characters’ early life and problems, I thought this was a good movie even if it was long. The graphics are touching also. Since Zack Snyder directed it, it reminded me a lot like 300, where the graphics are tough yet realistic, and every punch looked painful.