Special Movie Review - Watchmen

Watchmen

A film based on the extremely popular 1987 comic series of the same name has been a long time in coming. Finally, after fanboys all over the world wet their pants with the news that the graphic series was getting a film adaptation, the verdict is out: Hollywood did a fine job of bringing the comic to life.

Watchmen is actually very complicated in its scope of themes and plot. The story is convoluted with minor details into characters' lives and the like, but the major rundown is this - it is the 1980s, nuclear war is threatening to drive the world into a frenzy and maybe even annihalate all living beings. Russia and the US are at a standstill, each attempting to uncover what the other is doing. Only the Watchmen, a group of disbanded superheroes, can stop this threat, but only one of the group, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), is actually still practicing his "trade." People from the original Watchmen are being killed off, and Rorschach is tracing the clues back to his friends. Eventually, the Watchmen are brought together, including Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), who, with his already radioactive body, has the ability to stop a nuclear blast. The Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) and Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) also join in the fight for humanity's survival, but each of them has their own problem to deal with before saving the world.

This is only an infinitesimal part of the plot, and while it's way too intricate to elaborate on in just a short paragraph, it is brought out fully during the film. It should be, though; with a run time of almost three hours, Watchmen is a movie that requires full attention. The film is long, but it is necessary to incorporate all of the details that makes Watchmen such a fine superhero movie. 

Part of the strength of the film is the centrality of character. Each Watchman has his or her own personal flaws and abilities, and a lot of the plot centers around giving each character their own distinguished exposition. This is critical to the motif of the film; without the Watchmen's conflict, there would be no point in watching another film where the superheroes save the world. Watchmen takes this premise and almost flips it upside down. Instead of saving the world, the superheroes are at times doing more harm than good. Every superhero has a huge inner struggle, especially the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who reminds more of the criminals that he pursues than Batman or Superman. No, these superheroes are far from perfect, which is what makes them seem all the more real. They're not invincible or even morally sound - they are only human, and that's a scary thing when we think that they could be in control of our lives.

It helps that Watchmen's characters have actors that can really fulfill their unique personas. Haley as Rorschach brings about a significant look into the character, getting down and dirty with his human flaws while trying to be a perfect superhero. There's a lot of misanthropy here from the superheroes towards the "normal" humans - in essence, the Watchmen ostracize themselves and are ostracized by the public, and the theme of humans dwindling into nothingness because of their own nuclear destruction is an idea that strikes the Watchmen as somewhat fitting. Why protect a race that doesn't care? A chilling thought, perhaps, but one that we see more and more in our increasingly violent lifestyle of "take and don't give a shit."

While action is a huge part of the film, there's also so much more to focus on. The love story between Silk Spectre and Nite Owl is both relevant and sexy, made so in part because of Akerman's seductive nature and also because of the aggression of two superheroes. This tight knot between superheroes is not always there between the Watchmen, so to see two of the group having intimate relations helps to detract from the giant conflict of interest that the Watchmen face. 

Speaking of conflict, the film is brutally violent, grabbing the viewer and rendering them helpless, emphasizing how cruel our world has become. Broken bones are commonplace here, with a pretty graphic arm snap, so if you're a litte squeamish, this might be something to look out for during the film. Some of the blood is warranted, some is not - one has to give props to the fact that Watchmen had the balls to throw in the gruesome content, though, rather than give this a tame PG-13 rating. The violence is fitting, however, because of the topic of humanity's degradation. The sense of the darkness through the film needs to be contextualized, and it certainly is when we see gangs of switchblade-armed thugs get beaten to a bloody pulp.

But even if the film is decidedly dark, there's enough humor to engage the lighthearted viewer. There's definitely a constant shift between seriousness and comedy that emphasizes the snarkiness and sarcasm rampant in our world. Despite the laughter, this contributes to the black tone even more, since as we see the drastic change in tone we also feel how aloof the world has become.

The film does carry on a bit too far towards the end of the film, however, and scenes could have been cut out. At times, there's a feeling that everything is going to end, and then we go right back into something else. The length is a huge distraction, because the time flies, but not many people want to sit through a 3 hour film.

The direction by Zack Snyder is well-done, and though the slow, melancholy camera zooms and slow-mo sequences are hard to get into during the beginning, the viewer can adjust fairly easily. I thought that the slow-motion effects were going to be very corny at first, but as I slowly let myself immerse into the film's semi-surreal atmosphere, I found myself forgetting my annoyance. In the end, there are a lot of technical shots that are quite breathtaking, one in particular being a slow zoom-out that takes us through a cemetery sign. Instead of hating it, I began to like it more and more, especially with the creative approaches to camera angles.

Honestly, there's not much to criticize about the film. It may follow the comic a bit too closely, but if it didn't, the fans would be outraged. The misanthropy is almost an attack on our human race, one that we might find uncomfortable, especially in the fact that superheroes would sacrifice anyone to save the world. This is the point, though; when we think of superheroes, we think of hulking beasts who fight crime without morally thinking about the consequences or philosophizing on our existence as brutal savages, or people who care about every human being. Watchmen brings us back to reality; the people who save us, whether superheroes or police, are still only human, with their own weaknesses and biases. The film puts us in a fantasy world that is still grounded in a reality by using historical allusions and songs, which adds to this sense that, when humanity runs themselves into the ground, no one will protect us from ourselves. 

Oh, and blue penis.

Watchmen on Rotten Tomatoes